Against
a
backdrop
of
globalization
and
the
growing
influence
of
Middle
Eastern
oil
money,
Muslim
people
and
their
culture,
in
such
forms
as
mosques
and
halal
foods,
are
becoming
more
familiar
in
Japan.
The
stories
below
show
how
the
Muslim
presence
is
spreading
and
touching
the
daily
lives
of
ordinary
Japanese.
Number
of
mosques
growing
in
Japan

|
In the city of Gifu, this mosque was opened in July in a paddy field with 140 million yen donated in Japan and abroad. |
From
across
a
rice
paddy
in
the
city
of
Gifu
drifts
the
sonorous
melody
of
the
Adhan,
the
Islamic
call
to
prayer.
Rounding
the
bend,
the
visitor
is
greeted
by a
white
dome
framed
against
the
blue
sky.
Inside,
Muslim
faithful
from
countries
such
as
Malaysia
and
Bangladesh
are
going
about
their
Friday
prayers.
Gifu
Mosque,
which
opened
on
July
27,
is
regularly
packed
with
about
100
worshippers,
who
press
their
foreheads
to
the
navy-blue
carpet
stretched
between
the
main
room's
pure-white
walls.
"When
I
pray
here,
I
feel
relaxed,
and
forget
my
worries,"
said
Mohammad
Afzal
Cheema,
a
39-year-old
Pakistani
who
runs
a
used-car
business.
One
of
the
mosque's
founders
is
Qureshi
Abdul
Wahab,
a
51-year-old
Pakistani
who
also
runs
a
used-car
trading
business
in
Nagoya.
Explaining
the
founding,
he
said,
"We
had
gathered
in a
prefab
building,
but
decided
to
build
this
new
mosque
because
the
old
location
was
becoming
too
small
for
prayers."
Construction
of
the
Gifu
Mosque
cost
about
140
million
yen,
which
was
raised
through
donations
in
Japan
and
abroad.
The
number
of
mosques
in
Japan
has
been
on
the
rise
since
around
2000,
and
there
are
now
more
than
50
nationwide.
Last
November,
one
was
opened
in
Sendai.
Another
is
currently
under
construction
in
Fukuoka.

|
Muslims pray inside the Gifu Mosque. |
Keiko
Sakurai,
a
professor
of
Islamic
regional
studies
at
Waseda
University,
said
that
the
growing
number
of
Muslims
settling
down
in
Japan
is
behind
the
increase
in
mosques.
Sakurai
estimates
that
there
are
about
56,000
legal
Muslim
residents
in
Japan,
more
than
four
times
larger
than
the
number
of
13,000
in
1990.
Sakurai
explained
that
many
Muslims
run
restaurants
and
used-vehicle
businesses,
adding
that
Pakistanis
in
particular
have
tapped
their
international
networks
to
succeed
at
used-car
trading.
Given
the
increase
in
the
Muslim
population,
some
Japanese
companies
are
deciding
to
accommodate
their
prayers.
USS
Co.,
a
major
used-vehicle
auction
firm,
began
building
prayer
rooms
inside
its
auction
houses
four
years
ago.
Representative
Executive
Vice
President
Dai
Seta
said,
"We
created
them
because
we
had
more
and
more
customers
from
Islamic
countries."
Now
most
of
the
firm's
18
auction
sites
around
the
nation,
including
the
one
in
Yokohama,
have
prayer
rooms.
Customers
seemed
to
be
pleased.
One
Iranian
said
he
used
to
pray
in
nearby
parking
lots,
but
that
now
he
and
others
have
gravitated
to
the
auction
house
and
its
prayer
room.
Halal
foods
more
popular
lately

|
Alflah SuperMarket in Ikebukuro district, Tokyo, offers halal foods. |
The
Alflah
SuperMarket
near
Ikebukuro
Station
in
Tokyo
becomes
busy
with
customers
in
the
evening.
The
market
sells
halal
food
for
Muslims.
Demand
for
halal
food
grew
at
the
market
in
September
as
Muslims
observed
Ramadan,
a
month
of
fasting
during
the
day
and
dining
with
the
family
after
sunset.
One
45-year-old
man
from
Pakistan
visits
the
supermarket
two
or
three
times
a
week.
He
said,
"I
can
enjoy
meat
dishes
again
without
worrying
because
Japan
has
begun
selling
halal
food."
Halal
means
"permissible"
in
Arabic.
Halal
foods
are
those
that
are
allowed
under
Islamic
dietary
guidelines,
for
instance,
those
that
do
not
include
pork
or
alcohol,
or
that
include
beef
or
chicken
prepared
according
to
strict
guidelines.
Alflah
imports
foods
that
are
specially
processed
under
halal
guidelines
in
Australia.
Several
dozen
stores
around
the
country
handle
halal
foods.
Strong
Internet
sales
of
halal
foods
have
been
a
boon
for
Diamond
Trading
Ltd.
The
firm
is
predicting
a
more
than
10%
increase
in
sales
this
year
compared
with
a
year
earlier.
"Lately,
there
has
been
an
increase
in
Islamic
exchange
students
and
orders
are
coming
in
from
all
over
the
country,"
said
Hoque
Mahbubul,
president
of
the
company.
A
20-year-old
university
student
from
Bangladesh
who
frequents
the
company's
Web
site
said
he
places
orders
with
his
friends
to
share
them.
At
Ritsumeikan
Asia
Pacific
University
in
Beppu,
Oita
Prefecture,
the
cafeteria
run
by
the
Japanese
Consumers'
Co-Operative
Union
offers
meals
prepared
with
halal
food
for
the
Muslim
students.
Extra
precautions
are
taken:
the
dishes
and
cooking
utensils
are
separated
from
the
regular
ones
to
keep
non-halal
foods
from
mixing
in.
"The
ingredients
are
hard
to
procure
and
the
dishes
take
a
long
time
to
prepare,"
said
Takashi
Kinoshita,
the
manager.
"But
it's
worth
all
the
work
if
it
makes
the
exchange
students
happy."
Many
Islamic
exchange
students
have
expressed
a
desire
to
work
in
Japan
after
graduation.
As
Japan
continues
to
deal
with
its
falling
birthrate
and
shrinking
population,
these
exchange
students
are
strong
potential
candidates
to
expand
the
work
force.
Providing
meals
that
Islamic
students
and
businesspeople
can
enjoy
is a
small
investment
for
Japanese
educational
institutions
and
companies
and
an
incentive
for
Islamic
expats
to
remain
active
in
Japanese
society.
Arabic
studies
open
doors

|
People learn Arabic at the School of Arabic Language located in a condo in Shinjuku, Tokyo, after a day's work. |
"Masaa
al-khair"
means
"good
evening"
in
Arabic,
the
teacher
explains.
In a
condominium
near
the
Tokyo
Metropolitan
Government
offices
in
Shinjuku
district,
a
group
of
company
employees
interested
in
the
Middle
East
attend
a
class
at
the
School
of
Arabic
Language
after
work.
Akira
Hinoki,
a
54-year-old
man
who
lived
in
Saudi
Arabia
as
an
exchange
student,
heads
the
Arabic
language
school
he
set
up
in
1987.
There
are
currently
76
students
enrolled
in
the
school.
This
past
year,
enrollment
increased
by
10.
Wakako
Otani,
32,
one
of
the
newcomers
and
a
beginner
in
the
language,
works
for
the
Japan
External
Trade
Organization.
Otani
said,
"I
want
to
create
corporate
exchanges
between
Japanese
companies
and
Middle
Eastern
firms
by
holding
local
exhibitions."
In
class,
she
struggles
with
getting
used
to
the
new
language
as
she
vocalizes
conversational
phrases,
including
questions
such
as,
"What
is
your
occupation?"
At
the
Arabic
Islamic
Institute
in
Tokyo,
run
by
the
Saudi
Arabian
government,
the
evening
Arabic
language
class
is
packed
with
office
workers.
It
was
so
popular
that
the
30-seat
course
filled
up
just
two
days
after
registration
opened.
Students
use
textbooks
to
practice
conversational
Arabic
and
learn
pronunciation
and
grammar.
Aki
Yamada,
a
41-year-old
who
has
been
attending
the
school
since
last
fall,
helps
corporate
trainees
sent
from
the
Middle
East
settle
into
life
in
Japan.
She
was
an
exchange
student
in
Egypt
and
can
understand
some
conversational
Arabic.
She
said
it
was
important
for
her
to
learn
enough
of
the
language
to
be
able
to
navigate
various
situations,
for
instance,
if a
trainee
has
to
go
to
the
hospital.
Corporate
employees
who
tell
their
colleagues
or
bosses
they
study
Arabic
often
get
asked
by
their
companies
to
travel
to
the
Middle
East
to
do
local
research.
The
school
is
planning
a
course
on
translating
Arabic
language
newspaper
articles
into
Japanese.
The
nonprofit
Japanese
Organization
for
Arabic
Language
Examinations
was
launched
last
year.
Yoshiko
Miyakawa,
who
helped
set
up
the
organization,
studied
Arabic
in
Egypt,
where
her
husband
worked.
She
returned
to
Japan
and
searched
for
a
place
where
she
could
test
her
language
skills.
Unable
to
find
one,
she
decided
to
form
an
organization
herself.
Miyakawa
said,
"I
hope
this
becomes
a
bridge
to
the
Arab
world."
Source
:
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/FR/TNKS/Nni20081027IS0ISLM1.htm |