An underground tunnel connects the Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest in the world, with the Jakarta Cathedral. It is touted—justifiably so—as a reflection of interreligious dialogue in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country. However, the tunnel itself is restricted to official delegations meeting with either the mosque’s leaders or those of the cathedral.

Fortunately, we were able to walk between the sites as part of a joint site visit, which began at the Istiqlal Mosque. The word istiqlal means independence, and the mosque itself was built to celebrate Indonesian independence in 1975. It is a massive site, one of the largest mosques in the world, and a Christian architect won the design contest with a blueprint reflected in the mosque’s modern layout—another indication of Indonesia’s multicultural and interfaith heritage. With no wood, only steel and Indonesian marble, the mosque is integrated into nature in the midst of a bustling city. It can host tens of thousands of worshippers, though it was sparse when we toured its five floors, one for each pillar of Islam: creed, prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage. An open-air outdoor worship space offers a view of the cathedral spire, and I wondered whether Barack Obama had visited either site when he lived in Jakarta in his youth. We were fortunate enough to have an audience with the mosque’s Grand Imam, a soft-spoken man whose friendship with the late Pope Francis bore fruit in a declaration of cooperation and understanding signed by the two just last year.

After the visit with the imam, one of the many official guides who had embraced our group showed us a rather large drum, which he dubiously claimed was the third largest in the world. Soon, we had ducked into the surprisingly small Friendship Tunnel, which has modern art installations that center commonalities between Islam and Christianity.

The Archbishop of Jakarta is also quiet and reserved, though he spoke at length about Indonesia’s struggle for independence, the role of youth in social activism, and Catholic theology. I have noticed that senior religious leaders often lack the fervor and crowd control abilities of, say, politicians. Candidly, their manner of delivery is sometimes snooze-inducing, even if the content is interesting. Still, the respect both men—and the dozens of Muslim and Christian colleagues we met during our tours—have for interreligious dialogue is inspiring, and augurs well for the week to come.