Indonesian imam leading prayer as quake hits goes viral

AFP  |  Jakarta 

A video of an Indonesian imam stoically reciting evening prayers in as a deadly earthquake struck neighbouring has gone viral on social media, with praising him for his unwavering faith.

The white-robed Islamic leader was preaching yesterday night at a mosque in Denpasar on the holiday island of when the shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck.

Footage of the imam, recorded on a cellphone, showed him supporting himself against the wall as the room shook violently around him and as some congregants fled the building.

Other worshippers can be seen stoically remaining in prayer as the mosque rocked from side to side.

The powerful quake killed at least 91 people and damaged thousands of buildings in A number of mosques on that island have collapsed with worshippers inside them.

It was also felt strongly in the neighbouring Bali, a predominantly Hindu island in the world's largest Muslim majority nation.

The clip quickly went viral after the mosque posted it to

It has been watched more than 130,000 times on and shared on and

"I am crying... he did not even flinch, even though it is allowed to leave your prayer during an earthquake," said Indonesian Yusuf Mansur, who shared the clip to his two millions followers on

"The faith shown by the Imam and the worshippers is extraordinary," a user Inyol tweeted to his 39,000 followers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Mon, August 06 2018. 17:00 IST