page_title: Pontianak
section_title: Religion
hierarchical_section_title: Pontianak / Demographics / Religion
caption_attribution_description: English: Masjid Jami' Pontianak, also known as Sultan Syarif Abdurrahman Mosque.
context_page_description: Pontianak is the capital of the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, founded by Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie as a capital of Sultanate of Kadriyah on 23 October 1771 / 14 Rajab 1185 AH. Syarif Abdurrahman Alkadrie developed Pontianak as a trading port on the island of Borneo, occupying an area of 107.82 km² in the delta of the Kapuas River. It is located on the equator, hence it is widely known as Kota Khatulistiwa. The city center is less than 3 kilometres south of the equator. Pontianak is the 26th largest city in Indonesia in terms of population, as well as the fourth largest city on the island of Borneo in terms of population after Samarinda, Banjarmasin, and Balikpapan.
  The city was founded as a small Malay fishing village at the bank of the Kapuas River. It then became the seat of the Pontianak Sultanate for several centuries. Pontianak was then incorporated into the Dutch East Indies after an agreement between the Pontianak Sultanate and the Dutch Government. During the colonial era, Pontianak was the seat of the Residentie Westerafdeeling van Borneo, one of the residencies of the Dutch East Indies.
context_section_description: The majority of the population are Muslims (63.4%), the rest are Buddhists (20.2%), Catholics (9.1%), Protestants (3.2%), Confucians (1.3%), Hindus (0.1%), and others (0.1%). Most of the Muslims are the Malay, Javanese, Madurese, etc. While most of the people who adheres Buddhism and Confucianism are Chinese Indonesian, many Chinese adhere to Christianity. The Dayak people adheres to either Catholicism or Protestantism, while also incorporating local beliefs. Some of the Dayak also adheres to Kaharingan, a local folk religion. However, the Indonesian government does not recognize Kaharingan as a religion and therefore classifies those who adheres to Kaharingan as Hindus.
  Several places of worship are located in Pontianak, such as the Jami Mosque of Pontianak, which is considered the great mosque of Pontianak. Located in the complex of the palace of the former Pontianak Sultanate, this mosque is the oldest mosque and is one of the two buildings that witnessed the establishment of the city of Pontianak. At first, this mosque was also used as a center of government for the Sultanate of Pontianak. The name of this mosque was given by Syarif Usman Alkadri who is the son of Sultan Sharif Abdurrahman, who continued the construction of the mosque until it was completed.
  Other places of worship are the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Pura Giripati Mulawarman, Vihara Budhisatva Karaniya Metta, and the Pontianak Congregation of West Kalimantan Christian Church. Some of these have existed since the Dutch colonial era, while some are constructed by the Indonesian government.
caption: Masjid Jami' Pontianak, first built in 1771 on the banks of Kapuas River. The place of worship is among the oldest surviving structures in Pontianak. The muslim population are predominantly consist of the native Malays, along with smaller number of Dayaks and communities from other provinces.
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