Temple in Oita, Japan, Offering Opportunities to Learn Islam

May 18, 2018

Nakatsu, Oita Pref.- A Buddhist temple in southwestern Japan is holding study meetings on Islam to offer opportunities for people to understand different cultures.

Amid an increase in the number of Muslims studying in Japan or visiting the country for sightseeing, exchange activities are expanding.

In a meeting held at a weekend in April, Daido Jikaku, deputy chief priest of Zenryuji, a Soto-school Zen temple in the Oita Prefecture city of Nakatsu, Altaf Khan, 37, imam of Beppu Masjid, a mosque in Beppu, another city in the prefecture, and Muslim Sayeed Zafar, 36, delivered speeches.

Attendees learned about Islamic teachings and customs, asking questions such as whether it is acceptable to invite Muslims to hot springs.

Jikaku, 43, is organizing exchange activities with Beppu Masjid, completed nine years ago as the first mosque in the Kyushu southwestern region of Japan, and delivering speeches on Islam at local festivals. He started such activities after an Afghan Muslim colleague apologized to him for an Islamic extremist group destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan when he was working at an international nongovernment organization for educational support.

Realizing that he did not know much about Islam despite more than 1,000 years of protection by Muslims for the statues of a different religion, Jikaku started learning more.

After returning to the temple, which is his home, four years ago, Jikaku felt anxious that people around him held an image of Islam linked to terrorism by extremists.

"I'll continue grassroots efforts so people do not consider ordinary Muslims to be the same as extremists," Jikaku said.

Sayeed, who came to Japan from Pakistan 18 years ago as a student, is currently running a used vehicle sales business in Beppu.

He feels that living in Japan is easier than when he came to the country, thanks to an increasing number of places for prayer and supermarkets offering halal foods.

Muslims are often "isolated" in local communities, Sayeed said. People may feel fear when they see bearded and turbaned Muslims, but the study meetings can lead to "mutual understanding," he said.

The meeting in April was joined by some 20 local residents, including Buddhist supporters of the temple.

The participants talked to the speakers after the study session, viewing the meeting with Muslims as a rare opportunity.

"I felt that Muslims and Japanese people may be similar in their ways of living and sincerity," said Rumiko Suga, a 68-year-old business owner in Nakatsu. Jiji Press