Newsletter No. 889
Research-Review
January 31, 2008

 

BARAKATULLAH’S MISSION IN JAPAN (1912)

Mohammed Barakatullah (1854-1927) is remembered as one of the real pioneers of Islam in Japan. He was born in British India and much of his career was spent as a professional revolutionary and Pan-Islamic activist. He spent about five years in Japan, from 1909 to 1914, most of that time as a teacher at what is now Tokyo University for Foreign Studies. While in Japan, along with his religious activities, he wrote pamphlets attacking British imperialism. Since Britain was Japan’s main international ally under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1922), some of his work was eventually suppressed by the Japanese government and his teaching appointment was terminated.

There are other scholars on this network who have studied Barakatullah more closely than I have, but I thought I’d like to share an article from my archives that others may not be aware of. It was published in the English-language Japan Weekly Mail on July 16, 1912. Although the article is not entirely accurate, it provides an interesting snapshot of Barakatullah’s activities at a certain point in time.

Mohammedanism in Japan
Japan Weekly Mail
July 16, 1912

The propagation of this religion has recently commenced both in Tokyo and Yokohama. The principal preacher of the faith is Mr. Barakatullah, the teacher of Hindustani at the Tokyo School of Foreign Languages, who arrived in Tokyo the year before last. This gentleman is only 25 years of age. Most of his life has been spent in England and America. Up till quite recently he was engaged in newspaper work in New York. Soon after reaching Japan he began teaching Mohammedanism and is the editor of an English Magazine called The Islamic Fraternity, which is devoted to the propagation of the faith. At present there is only one Japanese convert, but there are 2 Chinese, and some 24 converts belonging to other nationalities. They meet at Mr. Barakatullah’s house at 40 Daimachi, Asakusa, every Friday. The doctrines taught by Mr. Barakatullah are said to be proving very attractive to certain military men; chivalry, pluck, honesty and hospitality being highly commended. The Japanese convert, a Mr. Hatano, was last year married according to Mohammedan rites. He is a very sincere and earnest-minded man and is giving great assistance to Mr. Barakatullah in the dissemination of Mohammedanism among the Japanese.

COMMENTARY

From Selcuk Esenbel of Bogazici University on February 1, 2008:

I would like to thank Michael for the Barakatullah article. As you know, Hatano, again an enigmatic figure, wrote the well-known Asia in Danger propaganda pamphlet that was sent all over the world. Abdurresid Ibrahim translated it into Ottoman Turkish. Hatano has been studied extensively by El Mostafa Rezrazi, a member of Shingetsu. We need to study this early period in more depth. I always wondered about this ritual conversion of Mr. Hatano and a certain Baron and Baroness Hiki. Was this different from the familiar agent-conversions of the 1930s as a romantic search for the “other,” or the beginning of that mode? One wonders still.