Mosaic Cross Christian Solo

The mosaic art was located surrounding a statue.

The statue is on major road in Surakarta. [jalan utama]

The mosaic art has drawn ire from conservative Muslim group. [memancing kemarahan hebat]

They said that an aerial view of the art showed that ..

That the design resemble a Christian cross. [mirip menyerupai]

Muslim troops [lascar] has questioned the design.

The demanded that the city administration review it. [ demand that  + infinitive]

We have asked the administration to evaluate the cross-like mosaid.

We have asked the administration to replace it with other motif so as not to [sehingga dan dengan demikian tidak] cause controversy and sectarian disputes.

He is a spokesperson.

There is an aerial photo of the mosaic on jln. Sudirman.

This photo also went viral and caused controversy among internet users

He is Surakarta mayor.

He dismissed the opinions saying that …[by – with]

The mosaic art is located in front of city hall.

The administration never planned for the road mosaic to resemble a cross. [plan for – with to]

He was not involved in the creation of the design.[be – terlibat]

If I had planned a cross an a road, I would have blasphemed my own religion.

A cross is very much respected by Christian.

No cross is placed down below.

All are placed up above.

He is a chatolic.

He further elaborated that …

In Catholicism, a cross had specific requirements, such as in term of size. [memiliki kaidah seperti halnya ukuran]

It must also have a figure of jesus on it.

The design has been prepared by public works agency.

The administration would keep the art despite the controversy on social media.

Going viral is normal.

Separately, he said …

The mosaic design has been integrated with the x statue, circle area, and palace hall.

All are located in the area.

The design has to be seen as one, starting from x statue until…not separately.

He told a press briefing at city hall.

He also explained that …

The mosaic was designed based on the 8 directions of a compass with ..

With the statue as the center point.

The eight directions are shown with the yellow lines of the mosaic.

He called on [menghimbau meminta] people to be levelheaded. [kepala dingin]

He heard explanations and opinions from a number of institutions and experts.

The police have concluded that there were no sectarian elements in the design.

People have to be wiser.

People have to look at things with a clear perspective.

Don’t waste your energy by relating things to sectarian sentiments.

He also dismissed the negative sentiments surrounding the mosaic design.

He echoed the police’s statements, saying that ..

Complaint about the design was a one-sided perspective.

Don’t skew reality with a one-sided perspective. [menggiring]

  

==

He finally decided to cover a cross-shaped road mosaic with paint following / after …

Following complaints from conservative muslim groups.

The administration has met with several religious leaders.

He came up with a number of solutions.

But to prevent the polemic from dragging on, [ ing - berkepanjangan]

Previously, the Surakarta's Muslim Troops (LUIS) and the Surakarta Syariah Council (DSKS) questioned the design of the mosaic

They also demanded that the city administration review it.

In response to the controversy, he said his administration never planned to have a cross-shaped road mosaic in front of his office.  

the mosaic was actually inspired by keraton (royalty) symbols of the Surakarta Sultanate.

its designer was also a Muslim.

The art project was not finished yet.

The administration decided to paint over it rather than change the mosaic by adding more andesite tiles. [instead of – ketimbang]

the road mosaic could only be perceived as a picture of a cross.

 “We give the the Surakarta administration the discretion to choose how to change the cross. [kebijaksanaan]

This is to avoid an incorrect interpretation and to make Surakarta conducive.” 

It is the second incident in which Muslims have objected to the display of the Christian symbol in the past few months.

In December, villagers of Purbayan cut off a wooden cross on a Christian’s grave, arguing that the religious symbol was not welcome in the village’s cemetery. [tidak diperkenankan]