I read a really interesting summary of Islam in Japan at hurights.or. One of the most intriguing elements of the report covered the progress and ongoing challenges Japan’s Muslims encounter when it comes to everyday practise and expression of their faith.

Muslims are generally established and accepted within modern Japanese society, which pledges to protect the rights of all people, including its estimated 70,000 strong Muslim population.

90% of Japan’s Muslims are foreign male residents from Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh, while only 10% are Japanese. Many Japanese Muslims are women who converted to Islam to marry Muslim men.

Islam in Japan: From Inside Out

Finding halal food products in Japan can be challenging, but the situation is improving: there are more and more restaurants, grocers, food servers, and catering services that offer imported and local halal food. The Internet is making it easier – several websites list the location and contact information of places where halal food suppliers can be found.

This growing availability of halal food shows that Japanese society is adapting to Islamic laws and what society has not yet managed to put on a plate, Muslims themselves can improvise. Take for example, the Muslim mothers who pack lunches for their kids, as public schools don’t (yet) provide a Halal option. Japan’s Muslim population is also flexible and some choose to buy meat from local supermarkets, when there is no halal butcher in the area, and say their own blessings for food.

Japan and the “V” Word

Foreign and Japanese Muslim women also face the question of the hijab. For many Muslim women around the globe, wearing a veil or a headscarf is not so much a religious duty, but rather a personal choice, an aspect of freedom, and a right as a human being.

Some Muslim women in Japan wear a hijab wherever they go, while others prefer to wear their hijab only during prayers at their respective mosques.

Japanese law permits the wearing of the headscarf everywhere, although some women feel they have experienced mild prejudice in certain workplace situations, or have lost out on jobs because of this very personal choice.

Work and Pray

Mosques are the only places that are exclusively for Muslims, and those in Japan play a vital, dynamic role. In 1908, there were only two mosques in Japan, and in 2008 there are forty.

Land and construction is expensive in Japan, so often, office and residential buildings are converted into mosques, which are used for prayer and  social gatherings. They also house Islamic study sessions and weddings, with space for offices and places where Japan’s Muslims can gather, worship, and socialize.

Devout Muslims who pray five times a day for ten-minute intervals understandably find it difficult to fit into a culture in which constant hard work is expected and highly valued. Though this can be tricky for some, many of Japan’s Muslims have found ways to compromise by making up prayers after work that may have been missed during work hours. They “collect” prayers that have been missed during certain parts of the day or night.

In this way, and the others I’ve touched on in this blog, many Muslims in Japan are managing to harmonize their Japanese and Muslim lifestyles.

Posted in Muslims & Islam