Tokyo Mosque in the capital of Japan hosts more than 50 thousand visitors from the Japanese community who want to get to know the Islamic religion better.
Hafiz Muhammet Rıfat Çınar, the imam preacher of the Tokyo Mosque affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs (DİB), spoke to AA on the occasion of the 1-7 October Mosques and Religious Officials Week.
He said that they showed the academician guests from the country's leading universities such as Çınar, Waseda, Keio and Meiji around the mosque and introduced them to Islamic civilization.
Noting that he observed that master's and doctoral students were directed to research Islamic issues, Çınar stated that the most intense appointment requests to visit the mosque came from academics.
MANY REQUESTS FOR PRIVATE INTERVIEWS
Çınar stated that he gave remote and face-to-face interviews on topics such as zakat in Islam, foster siblings, and divorce.
Pointing out the scarcity of resources on Islam among local publications, Çınar stated that nearly 30 reference works published by DIB in Japanese were distributed to more than 100 mosques throughout Japan.
"Every day is open door day for Tokyo Mosque. The number of visitors without an appointment is between 300-400 on weekdays and rises to over 1000 on weekends due to increased activities. In this context, I believe that Tokyo Mosque hosts more than 50 thousand guests a year, with or without an appointment. At least 3/4 of this population is made up of Japanese," Çınar said.
Reminding that October 1-7 is celebrated as Mosques and Religious Officials Week in Turkey, Çınar conveyed his greetings to his colleagues who contributed to the construction of the Tokyo Mosque and worked in this mosque.
JAPANESE FALL ASLEEP WHILE LISTENING TO MUSIC IN THE COURTYARD
Shibuya Municipality employee Jouman said that he had the opportunity to come to the mosque for the fourth time due to the proximity of his workplace, but he did not know much about the Tokyo Mosque.
Stating that he found the architecture of the mosque beautiful and toured its interior, Jouman added that when the weather was good, he sat in its courtyard and fell asleep while listening to music.
The Japanese architect, who became a Muslim about a year ago and took the name "Islam", stated that he came to the mosque, three minutes away from his house, at 03.30 and learned the call to prayer.
Noting that he quit alcohol and cigarettes and consumed halal food in the last year, Islam said that his faith is improving day by day.
Indonesian organizer Diah also stated that he observed Japanese people traveling to learn about Islam in the mosque he visited every time he came to Tokyo, and that he was happy about this.