Mosque that started from a renovated house in west Japan takes root in the community

On the morning of April 10 this year, when a chill remained in the air, Muslims gathered in a residential district of the Osaka Prefecture city of Ibaraki. They were there to celebrate Eid, marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. Altogether, about 300 people from the Middle East, Southeast Asia and other regions visited the two-story Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, which is adorned with golden decorations. During prayer, the mosque was so full that some prayed on the rooftop.

Japan’s Muslim population is increasing. According to Hirofumi Tanada, a professor emeritus at Waseda University familiar with the Muslim community in Japan, the number of Muslims grew from an estimated 30,000 at the end of 1990 to about 110,000 at the end of 2010, and to about 230,000 by the end of 2020. Based on statistics of foreign residents and the percentage of Muslims by country together with data from the Japan Muslim Association, the estimated number of Muslims in Japan at the end of 2023 is believed to be over 270,000.

In addition to people who came to Japan as laborers during the bubble economy, and later settled and formed families, an increase in the number of students and researchers from overseas and the influx of technical intern trainees are said to be factors behind the increase. The number of Japanese followers of the religion is also increasing. Meanwhile, the number of mosques in Japan has grown, too — from three in the late 1980s to 50 in 2008, over 100 in 2017, and at least 133 as of May 2024.

Usually about 100 people, consisting mainly of students and researchers from the nearby Osaka University and their families, attend the Osaka Ibaraki Mosque. The mosque was established in 2006 after nearly 30 years of fundraising, mainly by students. They initially aimed to set up a mosque in the city center, but this proved financially difficult, so they bought a two-story wooden house near the local university and renovated it.

“At first I wanted them to move out quickly,” reflected 72-year-old Kuniko Nakajima, who lives next to the mosque. When it was first established, she was busy with work and didn’t have anything to do with it. She was also fearful of foreigners. People who came to the mosque would park their bicycles in front of her house, and some also littered, and she cautioned them. But after she retired from her job six years ago, and spent more time in her house, she came to recognize familiar faces, exchange greetings and receive souvenirs. Now she is friends with them, even doing neighborhood weeding with them and helping maintain the mosque’s plants.

Mohammad Moinuddin, 45, an assistant professor at Osaka University’s Graduate School of Humanities, who is from India, has been attending the mosque for many years. “It’s for coexistence and harmony,” he says. “When there’s trouble, it’s important to apologize right away and say, ‘I’m sorry.'”

One resident commenting on the mosque said, “It was built before I realized it,” while another remarked, “I thought it was a store because there was only a signboard.” Amid such talk by locals, Muslims participated in local festivals, futsal tournaments, school community studies, and human rights lectures organized by the city, holding mosque tours and exchange gatherings. They distributed curry to local residents and handed out snacks before Ramadan, when the number of people coming to and leaving the mosque increases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they distributed masks, and after infections subsided, they greeted people while handing out towels and other items, valuing interactions with those living in the neighborhood. When the child of an international student couple remained on a waiting list for day care and they couldn’t attend classes, elderly people from the community center took care of the child until a care facility was arranged.

When the number of people attending the mosque increased and it was decided to rebuild the facility, some Muslims considered moving to a more easily accessible location, but in the end, they decided to rebuild it in the same place, partly because doing so would enable them to keep costs down, and partly because they had already established a relationship with the local community. The new mosque was completed with over 100 million yen (about $704,000 at the time) in donations gathered domestically and through crowdfunding worldwide.

As the facility previously accepted Muslim victims of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and since the region including the mosque was damaged during the 2018 quake in northern Osaka Prefecture, more than 20 solar panels were installed, and propane gas was also prepared so that local residents could use the facility as a shelter in times of disaster. Residents were invited to the opening ceremony in September 2023, and the mayor of Ibaraki also gave a greeting there.

Professor Emeritus Tanada pointed out, “From the perspective of multicultural coexistence, ties with the community become increasingly important.” Mohsen Bayoumy, 55, a teacher at Osaka Ibaraki Mosque, who is from Egypt, commented that those at the mosque were living as a part of the community, so it was only natural to make efforts to understand and be understood by people in the community.