01 November 2015•Update: 03 November 2015
By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA, Indonesia
Thousands of Indonesians including high ranking government officials prayed for rain Sunday in hopes that it would bring forest and land fires in Sumatra and Borneo to an end.
The ritual, known as Istisqa, was carried out at the gigantic Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta after three months of the fires, which have spread a thick, smoky haze over parts of South East Asia.
Religious Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin told Antara News that he hoped "God will send down blessings in the form of rain across the country" and that "all the experiences of the last few months [would] end".
