The local Mosque Is Central to the Lives of Muslims Living in Japan
The Yokohama Mosque in Yokohama's Tsuzuki Ward echoes with the sound of Friday prayers chanted in Arabic. Worshippers in the 200-square-meter mosque number about 70--Muslims from Asia, Africa and elsewhere. The premises were purchased last summer and then renovated, opening for services at the end of last year.
Before that, Muslims in Yokohama prayed in private apartments. On Friday, the holiest day of the Muslim week, worshippers would gather at one of their apartments for prayers, while police looked askance at the long lines of cars parked outside. Sometimes during the fasting month of Ramadan, police would get calls from neighbors uneasy about the large and mysterious after-sunset gathering of foreigners.
In January 2006, the local Islamic community decided to purchase a two-story reinforced concrete building and turn it into a mosque. The price: 100 million yen. The contract called for a 10 million yen down payment in March, with the remaining 90 million yen to be paid within four months. An appeal went out for contributions from foreign Muslims all over the country--in Osaka, Nagoya, Toyama, Niigata and Hokkaido.
"There it was, May already, and we'd collected no more than 20 million yen," recalls Iqbal, a 43-year-old Pakistani used car dealer.
Iqbal came to Japan in 1988, and launched his dealership three years later. Now he owns three used car showrooms in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Business is good, but "When there's no mosque, something important is missing from your life," he says.
A mosque is more than a place of worship. It occupies a central role in Islamic life. Adults not only pray there but also attend sermons as well, given by religious teachers. Children study the Koran there. The mosque collects charity and assists the poor. It forms the core of the Islamic community.
There are currently between 30 and 40 single-story mosques in Japan, plus another 100 or more apartment rooms set aside, in the absence of more suitable facilities, for prayers. Many Muslim communities have plans to build mosques in the near future.
Mohammad, 38, runs an Asian grocery store in Tsunashima, Yokohama. The Sri Lankan had 520,000 yen in savings, and was thinking of donating 300,000 yen towards the purchase of the mosque. He changed his mind and donated 500,000 yen, virtually emptying his account.
He says: "When you make a contribution to a mosque, God prepares a house for you in heaven. It's thanks to God that I've been able to make my way in Japan up to now. And God will continue to help me in future."
The deadline for payment of the 90 million yen was 11 a.m July 20. On July 10, the community was still 5 million yen short. Iqbal worked the phones, contacting foreign Muslims all over Japan. On the morning of July 20, 2 million yen arrived in cash. That, plus contributions forwarded directly to a special bank account, just made up the required amount.
In Nagoya, local foreign Muslims, most of them used car dealers, got together and purchased for 46 million yen a suburban building that had previously been a clothing store, turning it into the Nagoya Port Mosque, which opened last autumn.
"Wherever in the world Muslims live, it's only natural that there be a mosque," says Hanif, a 36-year-old Sri Lankan.
Factory workers
At 5:30 on Sunday morning, the muezzin summons the faithful of Shin-Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, to worship at the New Anjo Mosque. Among the more than 300 who had been here for Saturday night prayers, about 100--this reporter with them--spent the night at the mosque.
More than half the worshippers are Indonesians working at nearby factories turning out auto parts and other products on a subcontract basis. The workers are participants in a three-year program that since the early 1990s has offered training (for one year) and on-the-job experience (two years) to about 5,000 overseas applicants. Second in numbers only to the Chinese are those from Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country.
"Don't cheat people," says the preacher. "Earn your profits by just means only. Profits are given to you by God. He wants to test you in your use of them. Help the needy, follow the way of Islam--and God will reward you."
"It's hard to say afternoon prayers at work," says one trainee. "And if there's overtime, I can't say prayers after sunset either."
Muslims pray five times a day--in the morning, just after noon, around 3 p.m., after sunset and at night. Morning and nighttime prayers can be recited at their lodgings. The noon prayer can be said during the lunch break. But mid-afternoon and sunset prayers present a difficulty.
"When I first came," says another trainee, "I said to the boss, 'Give me time to say my prayers, and in return I'll work really hard for you.' All it takes is 10 minutes. And a serious Muslim who says his prayers is serious about his work, too."
In their home countries, most offices and factories set aside space for prayers. But Japan, even as it welcomes Islamic workers, offers very little in the way of workplace prayer space. Prayer and work do not mix naturally here.
"I'm going to my lodging to get some sleep," says an Indonesian trainee as he leaves the mosque at 8 a.m. Sunday. "I have to go to work this evening. I'm on the night shift."
He works from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every night except Saturday. This is his third year in Japan. He's worked the night shift for the past year. "It's good for me," he says. "I asked for the night shift. It means I can pray five times a day."
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Monir Morshed is a 32-year-old Bangladeshi engineer working for a computer company in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. At the end of last year, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Every year more than two million Muslims from all over the world journey to this holiest of Islamic sites. "The pilgrimage washes your sins clean," Monir says. "You feel as if you've been reborn."
He came to Japan in 1993 on a Japanese government scholarship. He graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, went on to graduate school to do a master's course, and then stayed in Japan to work.
Last year, he began to think seriously about going to Mecca. He gave his employers notice that he would be taking three weeks' leave towards the end of the year. In summer, he began to observe Islamic teaching with particular rigor. Dining with colleagues, he refrained not only from drinking but also from so much as touching a sake bottle.
In September, there was an office party. "Before, when we poured each other drinks, my colleagues would pour my juice while I poured their beer. But I couldn't do that any more, so I made up for it by serving their vegetables for them."
Devout Muslims must abstain not only from alcohol, but also from food or cakes flavored with alcohol.
"Strictly speaking, it's not right for me even to attend dinners where alcohol is served," Monir says. "However," he adds--in an apparent concession to Japanese ways--"socializing is important, too."
In Islam, there are specially qualified holy men who answer questions put to them by believers. These questions can be about anything, from matters of faith to human relationships, business and contracts, even politics. Answers are
grounded in the Koran and in judgments rendered by great scholars in the past.
Shaikh Hafiz Salman, 43, graduated from a religious seminary in Pakistan and now serves as imam at the Otsuka Mosque in Tokyo's Toshima Ward.
"Muslims living in Japan are beset by questions that simply don't arise among Muslims in the Islamic world," he says. "It's my job to address these questions."
Monir consulted Shaikh Hafiz regarding whether it was acceptable for him to attend office parties.
"It would be best not to, but if you must attend, do not touch alcohol," Shaikh Hafiz replied. Monir's leave of absence began on Dec. 20. At a year-end party just before, his boss took him aside and said, "Take care of yourself; we'll see you next year." Monir had felt uncomfortable about taking time off. "It pleased me that the boss spoke to me like that," he says.
Children learn Arabic
At the mosque in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, about 10 children around age 10 are learning the Arabic alphabet. Every day from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the mosque holds Koran classes. They started last November, at the urging of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims living in the area who wanted their children to be properly versed in the ancestral religion and the Arabic language. The classes are taught by the parents themselves.
Slaiman, a 39-year-old Sri Lankan who lives in neighboring Yamato and deals in used cars, sends his two sons, age 8 and 4, to classes at the mosque. He himself began studying Arabic at age 5 at a mosque school in Sir Lanka. He wants to give his own children a similar religious environment.
"The Koran is written in Arabic," he says. "If the children don't learn it now they won't be able to read it properly or understand the meaning of the prayers."
Islam is not faith in isolation. It teaches faith, morality and human relations as a whole, and children must learn it early if they are to fully master it.
"Japanese schools teach only knowledge--not how to be a good human being," says one Muslim father.
Nasr-abdllah, 49, operates an Asian grocery store in Shinjuku Ward. Originally from India, he has plans to open an Islamic school.
"Foreign Muslims living in Japan are deeply troubled about their children's education," he explains. "In some cases, the father wants to send the children to school in his home country, but his Japanese wife is opposed. Some couples have divorced over this."
Nasr-abdllah's Japanese wife took their six children to Malaysia for two years, to give their three daughters, when they reached school age, the benefits of Islamic schooling.
Hossein, a 43-year-old car dealer in Katsushika Ward, has been in Japan 20 years, but he and his Japanese wife plan to take their three children to his native Bangladesh next July so the elder children, a 10-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, can acquire the beginnings of an Islamic education.
They currently attend a local elementary school. Forbidden by their religion from eating pork or any meat not prepared in accord with Islamic rites, the children bring lunch from home following the same menu but prepared to conform to their faith. School authorities waived the usual dress regulations, allowing the daughter to wear an Islamic scarf.
Hossein says: "Soon, my daughter will have to don a full veil, which exposes only the eyes. It will be hard for her to attend Japanese school. As for my son, I want him to grow up to be an Islamic scholar in Bangladesh."
There are many Islamic schools in Western nations with large Muslim populations, but in Japan, there is not a single Muslim elementary or junior high school. The Otsuka Mosque in Toshima Ward plans to register itself as an educational corporation and establish an Islamic school, but for now all it can offer is a daycare center with no official status.
Source: Asahi.com
In January 2006, the local Islamic community decided to purchase a two-story reinforced concrete building and turn it into a mosque. The price: 100 million yen. The contract called for a 10 million yen down payment in March, with the remaining 90 million yen to be paid within four months. An appeal went out for contributions from foreign Muslims all over the country--in Osaka, Nagoya, Toyama, Niigata and Hokkaido.
"There it was, May already, and we'd collected no more than 20 million yen," recalls Iqbal, a 43-year-old Pakistani used car dealer.
Iqbal came to Japan in 1988, and launched his dealership three years later. Now he owns three used car showrooms in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Business is good, but "When there's no mosque, something important is missing from your life," he says.
A mosque is more than a place of worship. It occupies a central role in Islamic life. Adults not only pray there but also attend sermons as well, given by religious teachers. Children study the Koran there. The mosque collects charity and assists the poor. It forms the core of the Islamic community.
There are currently between 30 and 40 single-story mosques in Japan, plus another 100 or more apartment rooms set aside, in the absence of more suitable facilities, for prayers. Many Muslim communities have plans to build mosques in the near future.
Mohammad, 38, runs an Asian grocery store in Tsunashima, Yokohama. The Sri Lankan had 520,000 yen in savings, and was thinking of donating 300,000 yen towards the purchase of the mosque. He changed his mind and donated 500,000 yen, virtually emptying his account.
He says: "When you make a contribution to a mosque, God prepares a house for you in heaven. It's thanks to God that I've been able to make my way in Japan up to now. And God will continue to help me in future."
The deadline for payment of the 90 million yen was 11 a.m July 20. On July 10, the community was still 5 million yen short. Iqbal worked the phones, contacting foreign Muslims all over Japan. On the morning of July 20, 2 million yen arrived in cash. That, plus contributions forwarded directly to a special bank account, just made up the required amount.
In Nagoya, local foreign Muslims, most of them used car dealers, got together and purchased for 46 million yen a suburban building that had previously been a clothing store, turning it into the Nagoya Port Mosque, which opened last autumn.
"Wherever in the world Muslims live, it's only natural that there be a mosque," says Hanif, a 36-year-old Sri Lankan.
Factory workers
At 5:30 on Sunday morning, the muezzin summons the faithful of Shin-Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, to worship at the New Anjo Mosque. Among the more than 300 who had been here for Saturday night prayers, about 100--this reporter with them--spent the night at the mosque.
More than half the worshippers are Indonesians working at nearby factories turning out auto parts and other products on a subcontract basis. The workers are participants in a three-year program that since the early 1990s has offered training (for one year) and on-the-job experience (two years) to about 5,000 overseas applicants. Second in numbers only to the Chinese are those from Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country.
"Don't cheat people," says the preacher. "Earn your profits by just means only. Profits are given to you by God. He wants to test you in your use of them. Help the needy, follow the way of Islam--and God will reward you."
"It's hard to say afternoon prayers at work," says one trainee. "And if there's overtime, I can't say prayers after sunset either."
Muslims pray five times a day--in the morning, just after noon, around 3 p.m., after sunset and at night. Morning and nighttime prayers can be recited at their lodgings. The noon prayer can be said during the lunch break. But mid-afternoon and sunset prayers present a difficulty.
"When I first came," says another trainee, "I said to the boss, 'Give me time to say my prayers, and in return I'll work really hard for you.' All it takes is 10 minutes. And a serious Muslim who says his prayers is serious about his work, too."
In their home countries, most offices and factories set aside space for prayers. But Japan, even as it welcomes Islamic workers, offers very little in the way of workplace prayer space. Prayer and work do not mix naturally here.
"I'm going to my lodging to get some sleep," says an Indonesian trainee as he leaves the mosque at 8 a.m. Sunday. "I have to go to work this evening. I'm on the night shift."
He works from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every night except Saturday. This is his third year in Japan. He's worked the night shift for the past year. "It's good for me," he says. "I asked for the night shift. It means I can pray five times a day."
Pilgrimage to Mecca
Monir Morshed is a 32-year-old Bangladeshi engineer working for a computer company in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward. At the end of last year, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Every year more than two million Muslims from all over the world journey to this holiest of Islamic sites. "The pilgrimage washes your sins clean," Monir says. "You feel as if you've been reborn."
He came to Japan in 1993 on a Japanese government scholarship. He graduated from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, went on to graduate school to do a master's course, and then stayed in Japan to work.
Last year, he began to think seriously about going to Mecca. He gave his employers notice that he would be taking three weeks' leave towards the end of the year. In summer, he began to observe Islamic teaching with particular rigor. Dining with colleagues, he refrained not only from drinking but also from so much as touching a sake bottle.
In September, there was an office party. "Before, when we poured each other drinks, my colleagues would pour my juice while I poured their beer. But I couldn't do that any more, so I made up for it by serving their vegetables for them."
Devout Muslims must abstain not only from alcohol, but also from food or cakes flavored with alcohol.
"Strictly speaking, it's not right for me even to attend dinners where alcohol is served," Monir says. "However," he adds--in an apparent concession to Japanese ways--"socializing is important, too."
In Islam, there are specially qualified holy men who answer questions put to them by believers. These questions can be about anything, from matters of faith to human relationships, business and contracts, even politics. Answers are
grounded in the Koran and in judgments rendered by great scholars in the past.
Shaikh Hafiz Salman, 43, graduated from a religious seminary in Pakistan and now serves as imam at the Otsuka Mosque in Tokyo's Toshima Ward.
"Muslims living in Japan are beset by questions that simply don't arise among Muslims in the Islamic world," he says. "It's my job to address these questions."
Monir consulted Shaikh Hafiz regarding whether it was acceptable for him to attend office parties.
"It would be best not to, but if you must attend, do not touch alcohol," Shaikh Hafiz replied. Monir's leave of absence began on Dec. 20. At a year-end party just before, his boss took him aside and said, "Take care of yourself; we'll see you next year." Monir had felt uncomfortable about taking time off. "It pleased me that the boss spoke to me like that," he says.
Children learn Arabic
At the mosque in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, about 10 children around age 10 are learning the Arabic alphabet. Every day from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the mosque holds Koran classes. They started last November, at the urging of Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims living in the area who wanted their children to be properly versed in the ancestral religion and the Arabic language. The classes are taught by the parents themselves.
Slaiman, a 39-year-old Sri Lankan who lives in neighboring Yamato and deals in used cars, sends his two sons, age 8 and 4, to classes at the mosque. He himself began studying Arabic at age 5 at a mosque school in Sir Lanka. He wants to give his own children a similar religious environment.
"The Koran is written in Arabic," he says. "If the children don't learn it now they won't be able to read it properly or understand the meaning of the prayers."
Islam is not faith in isolation. It teaches faith, morality and human relations as a whole, and children must learn it early if they are to fully master it.
"Japanese schools teach only knowledge--not how to be a good human being," says one Muslim father.
Nasr-abdllah, 49, operates an Asian grocery store in Shinjuku Ward. Originally from India, he has plans to open an Islamic school.
"Foreign Muslims living in Japan are deeply troubled about their children's education," he explains. "In some cases, the father wants to send the children to school in his home country, but his Japanese wife is opposed. Some couples have divorced over this."
Nasr-abdllah's Japanese wife took their six children to Malaysia for two years, to give their three daughters, when they reached school age, the benefits of Islamic schooling.
Hossein, a 43-year-old car dealer in Katsushika Ward, has been in Japan 20 years, but he and his Japanese wife plan to take their three children to his native Bangladesh next July so the elder children, a 10-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, can acquire the beginnings of an Islamic education.
They currently attend a local elementary school. Forbidden by their religion from eating pork or any meat not prepared in accord with Islamic rites, the children bring lunch from home following the same menu but prepared to conform to their faith. School authorities waived the usual dress regulations, allowing the daughter to wear an Islamic scarf.
Hossein says: "Soon, my daughter will have to don a full veil, which exposes only the eyes. It will be hard for her to attend Japanese school. As for my son, I want him to grow up to be an Islamic scholar in Bangladesh."
There are many Islamic schools in Western nations with large Muslim populations, but in Japan, there is not a single Muslim elementary or junior high school. The Otsuka Mosque in Toshima Ward plans to register itself as an educational corporation and establish an Islamic school, but for now all it can offer is a daycare center with no official status.
Source: Asahi.com
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