STUDENT VIEW

Acceptance of Islamic
Culture in Japan
By Parveen Begum

Author Parveen Begum

Introduction
Japanese society does not have much contact with Islamiccivilization and therefore it is worth knowing how the Islamic
community in Japan lives, follows its religion, and practices its
customs and food in a monocultural country with conventional
tradition, heritage and culture. The citizens of Japan are graduallyprogressing towards the acceptance of other cultures due to theincrease in the immigrant population from different parts of the world.
This article will present the views of Islamic people living in Japan andthe communal responses from society.

Islamic Religious Practice
The word “Islam” comes from an Arabic word meaning“submission or surrender to God out of one’s own willingness”. Islam
is a monotheistic religion with “Allah” as one God and “the prophet
Muhammad” as the messenger of God. It is also referred to as
Shahadah in Arabic and is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book ofMuslims, multiple times (Image). It is regarded as “sunnah” when aMuslim follows the principles of Muhammad – sunnah meaning thespeech and deeds of Muhammad. The Quran consists of 30 units
called “juzz”, with 114 chapters called “surah”. Devout Muslims
Photo: Author

believe it was revealed to Muhammad in the seventh century by Allah,
and take as proof of this the surah Ibrahim 14:1:
AlifLaamRa. We have sent down to you (this Book) in order thatyou bring mankind from darkness to the light by the permissionof your Lord, to the Path of the Almighty, the Praised.
Faith in one God, five obligatory prayers, fasting during the month ofRamadan, offering alms or charity, and performing Hajj (a mandatory
pilgrimage to Mecca for Muslims at least once in their lifetime) are thefive founding pillars of Islam. There are five obligatory prayers known
as “Salah” in Arabic that are performed at different times and facing in
the direction known as Qibla. These are the dawn prayer or “Fajar”
performed before sunrise, “Zohar” at noon, “Assar” in the evening,“Maghrib” during sunset and “Isha” at night. The significance ofprayer is mentioned in surah Taha 14 as: “Verily I am Allah: there is nogod but I: so, serve thou Me (only) and establish regular prayer forcelebrating My praise.”
Usually, men offer prayers in the “masjid” – a place for worship –and women pray at home. Before every prayer, there is a call for prayer
from the priest of the mosque called “Adhan” in Arabic. Every Muslim
is required to do ablutions – “wodhu” – before the daily prayers tocleanse themselves. Islamic people also follow a different, lunar
calendar from the main Western calendar, and fast during its ninth
month known as Ramadan. Usually, they do not eat or drink during theday from sunrise until sunset, in the belief of gaining rewards fromAllah. Verses from surah Al-Baqarah state the importance of fasting:“Oh, you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribedto those before you, that you many learn piety and righteousness.”
There are two main festivals in Islam, called Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-alZuha. They are better known as Ramadan and Bakrid. The first day of
the first month, Muharram, is celebrated as the beginning of the newyear.

Practicing Customs

The holy book of Muslims, the Quran.

68 Japan SPOTLIGHT • September / October 2019

Islamic culture is based on humility and simplicity in daily life.
Permissible deeds and things are said to be “halal” and unacceptableones are said to be “haram”. Devout Muslims believe in eternal life andthat the way to reach paradise is to follow the preachings of the Quranand the principles of Muhammad. The rules are basically genderbiased. As Islam emphasizes modesty, women are not allowed to
expose themselves by the wearing of tight or transparent dresses. In
addition, Muslim women wear a scarf covering their heads which ishttps://www.jef.or.jp/journal/

STUDENT VIEW
called a hijab. The ardent devotee would wear a veil covering the entire
face completely with only the eyes visible, which is known as a niqab.
It is sunnah for the men to grow a beard. “And say to the believing
women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; thatthey should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must
ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over theirbosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands.” Theseverses from the surah An-Nur explain about the hijab for women.
Every Friday is considered as an auspicious day and especially men
are obliged to offer the noon prayer, Zohar, in a mosque and trading orignoring the call for prayer can have several consequences. There is aseparate surah indicating the significance of Friday, the Jumma prayer
verses 9-10: “O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed for theSalah on Al-Jumu`ah (Friday), then hasten (Fas`aw) to theremembrance of Allah and leave off business. Then when the Salah iscomplete, you may disperse through the land, and seek the bounty ofAllah, and remember Allah much, that you may be successful.”

Food Habits of Muslims
Despite the variations in eating habitats and cuisine based on whereMuslims live, it is forbidden to eat pork. Furthermore, restrictions on
eating also include dead animals, blood, any animal that has beenslaughtered without mentioning the name of Allah, and killing it in a
cruel or violent way by gunshot, arrows and so forth. Consuming
alcohol is also prohibited in Islam. The pig is regarded as a disgusting
animal in the religion, as explicitly mentioned in surah Ma’iddah 5:3.
Pious Muslims follow these injunctions and refrain from eating andconsuming pork and alcohol.

Methodology & Discussion
I interviewed a handful of Muslims from various countries who arecurrently living in Japan about their lifestyle. Subsequently, I also
asked some Japanese citizens about their views on Islamic people
living in Japan. Two different types of questions were prepared for theinterviews, which were conducted according to the convenience of theparticipants and did not last more than 15 minutes. The participants
were informed beforehand regarding the purpose of the interview andtheir personal identities were not revealed. Seven Muslims – five
women and two men – participated in the interviews, one each fromIndonesia, Syria, Iran, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Singapore,
who had lived in Japan for at least two years.
Most of the interviewees live with their families in Japan and theyreported that the facilities offered in Japan were favorable for daily life.
Despite the high cost of living compared to their home countries, theyfelt that the public schools, child day-care facilities, insurance, andother socio-economic policies were beneficial for living in Japan. They
said that there are only a limited number of mosques with extended
facilities and these are available only close to the Tokyo region. Mostly,
the working people find it difficult to attend Friday prayers at a mosque
because in Japan the public holidays are on Saturday and Sunday,
whereas in their own countries there is a public holiday on Friday.
Some students said they were permitted to pray on campus as there isa prayer room for Muslim students.
Regarding food habits, responses revealed that most of the Muslims

rely on online shopping to buy food from their home countries andhalal meat (slaughtered in accordance with the Islamic way). Most ofthem refrain from buying foods, snacks and drinks outside and arevery particular about the ingredients. Some universities offer halal
foods in cafeterias for students. Certainly, most of them feel tired while
fasting in the month of Ramadan. When the Muslim women wereasked about the hijab, they said they appreciated the Japanesecommunity’s respect towards other cultures. The Muslim women wear
the hijab freely and are able to practice their faith without any major
harassment. Interestingly, the women who do part-time jobs statedthat wearing the hijab was not a hindrance for them during the processof hiring.
I interviewed five Japanese citizens – three women and two men –to assess their responses to the Islamic community. Three of them,
university students, replied positively that they have Muslim friends
from different countries and it is fun to be with them. The other two,
who are working people, answered that they have do not have any
Muslim friends and hearing the word Islam or Muslim gives them animage of people wearing long white single-piece dresses with a scarf
on their head and beards like sheikhs. Most of them were not very
familiar with the beliefs and rules that are followed by Muslims. Some
university students said they were surprised to hear from the Islamic
students about their lifestyle and how they sincerely follow it. For
instance, one of the interviewees reported that it would be hard foranyone to fast a whole month. Intriguingly, most of the Japanesecitizens acknowledged that there is a lack of comprehension about theconcept of religion, but they would support the right of others to follow
their beliefs.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the codes of conduct and practices vary from one
religion to another. There are some countries which have strong
cultural bonds and influences that are contrary to the principles ofother religions. But the spread of globalization has not seen Japan
become isolated and there are increasing numbers of foreigners
arriving here due to its conducive education, social and economic
policies.

Interview Questions
Interview questions for Islamic people• Where are you from?
• How long you have been in Japan?
• How do you practice your religion freely in Japan and what are theconstraints?
• What are your insights into Japanese culture?
• Do you think Japanese people are open towards other cultures?
Interview questions for Japanese citizens• Do you have any Islamic friends?
• What do you know about Islam?
• How do you feel about Muslims in Japan?
• How open are you to other cultures and towards Muslims?
Parveen Begum is from India and is currently a postgraduate student at SokaUniversity.

Japan SPOTLIGHT • September / October 201969