istiqlal mosque has one grand imam, one deputy grand imam, and seven imams. the grand imam is former deputy minister for religious affairs (2011–2014), nasaruddin umar and the chairman of istiqlal mosque is the former indonesian ambassador to syria (2006–2010), muhammad muzammil basyuni. previous grand imams include zaini miftah (1970–1980), mukhtar nasir (1980–2004), nasrullah djamaluddin (2004–2005) and ali mustafa yaqub (2005–2015). the current deputy grand imam is al hajj syarifuddin muhammad, former chairman of the indonesian hafiz association.