REVIEW OF ANIS ON THE MUSLIM MINORITY IN JAPAN

One purpose of the Shingetsu Newsletter is to review books and articles published in our field. Here, Sandra R. Leavitt (Shingetsu Member No. 55) of the Department of Government at Georgetown University, Washington DC, provides us with an overview of an article by Bushra Anis about Islam in Japan. Leavitt is a specialist on the politics of Southeast Asia.

Bushra Anis, “The Emergence of Islam and the Status of Muslim Minority in Japan,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 18, No. 2, October 1998, pp. 329-346.

In this 1998 article, Bushra Anis provides a much-needed overview of Islam and Muslims in Japan. Because any imported cultural system must adapt to its new context, he begins with an overview of the relevant features of Japanese culture and history. Next, he conveys how Islam has manifested itself and evolved in Japan since the first Muslims arrived in the latter half of the 19th century. This section addresses Islam’s historical development, mosques, Qur’anic translations, role of organic Islamic organizations, Da’wah movement, and conversion experiences. Anis then discusses the socio-economic status of Japan’s Muslim minority, their geographic distribution, and the challenges Japanese Muslims confront as a minority. He concludes by discussing the future of Islam in Japan, returning to the theme of placement within the host culture. In general, the article makes a useful contribution to literatures on Muslim minorities and Japan’s various ethno-religious minorities. However, it is principally an empirical piece without substantial analytic rigor. As such, it provides a useful starting point for those interested in exploring the status of Islam in Japan, a state normally, and inaccurately, considered socially homogeneous.

Japanese culture is portrayed as both accommodative and rigid, uniform as well as varied and flexible. Anis states that “the Japanese have been cultural borrowers,” yet “highly selective” in their borrowing. Imperial Japan and Islam shared the trait of close synergy between political and religious legitimacy. The importance of hierarchy and concept of obligation are also seen as shared characteristics between Japanese and Islamic cultures. In contrast to Islam, however, Japan has traditionally placed political and economic objectives ahead of socio-religious values. Three major belief systems have dominated Japanese culture: Shintoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Christianity arrived in 1549 and was promoted during the U.S. occupation of Japan after WW II. Islam was not introduced until 1877, despite the spread of Islam to the rest of Asia by Arab-Muslim and South Asian-Muslim traders as early as the 8th century (but more consistently beginning in the 13th century). Unlike Muslims, Japanese typically practice “at least two different religions or sometimes even three religions concurrently.” According to Anis, atheism is growing in Japan while Muslims are returning to their faith.

Awareness of Islam in Japan has been greatly affected by international events. Anis states that the first Muslim community comprised refugees from Central Asia and Russia during WW I. Interest in Islam was piqued by the Japanese occupation of Muslim communities in China and Southeast Asia during WW II. Post-war independence of African and Asian states led to increased diplomatic, economic, and cultural exchanges between Japanese and Muslim-majority states. The 1973 oil shock produced increased awareness of and interest in Islam, as did the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Muslims in Japan are served by five well-established mosques, “three in Tokyo and one each in Kobe and Nagoya.” The first was built in 1905 at Izumi, Otsu, the second in 1914 in Kobe, and the third in Tokyo in 1938. Until 1972 with the aid of the Muslim World League in Mecca, translation of the Qur’an into the Japanese language was done by non-Muslim Japanese scholars. The first translation was completed in 1920, followed by four others. Haji Umar Mita was the first Japanese Muslim to translate the Qur’an into Japanese.

Approximately 50 Islamic organizations support Japan’s Muslim communities. While most are civil-society organizations, some are run by the diplomatic missions of Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Indonesia. Japanese cities outside Tokyo with more than one Islamic organization include Kyoto, Osaka, Kanagawa, Aichi, Shizuoka, and Hokkaido. Anis highlights the functions of five of Japan’s most well-known organizations. The Japan Muslim Association, founded in 1952, had its roots in two other organizations, the Great Japan Islamic Association, which was founded prior to WW II, and the Association for Islamic Studies, which surfaced during the U.S. occupation. Others described by Anis include the Islamic Center—Japan, Islamic Cultural Society—Japan, Japan Islamic Congress (Japan’s largest with approximately 30,000 members), and Islamic Welfare Corps and Fatiha Foundation. As in other countries, Japan’s Islamic organizations provide educational opportunities, travel to Hajj, language training in Arabic for Muslims and non-Muslims, land for graveyards, publications about Islam, schools, propagation of Islam, libraries, research facilities, salat, financing, halal and haram services, and public relations.

Demographically, there are approximately 250,000 Japanese Muslims, or 0.16 percent of the total population. According to the Islamic Center—Japan, 200,000 of these were born abroad and are not ethnically Japanese. In the past 25 years, 50,000 ethnic Japanese have converted to Islam, notably through marriage of Japanese women to recent Muslim immigrants. The vast majority of Japan’s Muslims (80 percent) are laborers and workers employed in Japanese industries who have immigrated from India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Thailand. The other 20 percent of Japan’s Muslims are middle-class businessmen and professionals. Most Muslims live in central Japan due to greater industrial, commercial, and financial opportunities there. Others live in port cities.

Problems facing Japan’s Muslims are broken into two categories: those facing all Muslims and those specific to socio-economic class. The latter category, comprising those who migrated to Japan primarily for economic reasons, continue to have serious economic challenges due to low levels of education. With few resources, they also face difficulty in obtaining medical care. Those who marry Japanese women to enhance their economic security are said to have a hard time practicing their faith. Japan’s Muslims in general face a great deal of social pressure to conform to mainstream society. Thus, when Anis claims Muslims in Japan enjoy “complete freedom in the choice of religion” and that “many other religions…are practiced without any antagonism or prejudice,” he must be referring to the lack of official discrimination. Other problems faced by Japan’s Muslim community include a lack of Islamic education and schools, lack of Arabic studies, a shortage of proper mosques, absence of Muslim graveyards, and the unavailability of halal meat. Of these, a dearth of educational facilities and teachers seems to be the biggest problem.

Anis closes with a discussion of the future of Islam in Japan, including prospects for religious conversion. He is both optimistic due to shared characteristics between Japanese and Islamic cultures, and pessimistic on account of the lack of resources available and the undisciplined behavior of practicing Muslims in Japan.