Students from an Aichi prefectural high school visited the Masjid for an event to interact with Young Muslims.
Time & Date: June 30th(Sat) 5~7PM
Place: 4F prayer room, Masjid Nagoya
Participants: 29 Japanese High Schoolers. 26 Young Muslims (16 Boys, 11 Girls)
In the first half of the event, the Masjid gave a talk on how diverse the 1.8 billion Muslims across the globe are, and that we as Muslims are people that desire peace.
Afterwards, we held a Q&A session where the Japanese high schoolers could ask whatever interests them to the Young Muslims that gathered. Below are some of the summaries of the conversations they had.
Q. How did you go through Ramadan?
A. I read 20 pages of Quran every day at school.
A. I love basketball so much, I even went to the morning practice for the basketball club at school. I played badminton for 4 hours.
Q. Have you ever felt oppressed as a Muslim woman?
A. I’ve never felt that way.
A. I do feel the existence of male privilege living in Japan, but that’s not because I’m a Muslim.
Q. What are some of the troubles you face at school?
A. It is difficult to come out to my friends that I’m Muslim. It’s difficult to decide when to come out to my friends that I’m Muslim.
A. It’s difficult to refuse when my friends ask me out for Ramen. I feel bad that my friends have to decide which restaurant to go to depending on my dietary restrictions.
Q. Is Japan a difficult country to live in as a Muslim?
A. I can’t go for Yakiniku. I hope someone opens up a Halal Yakiniku chain restaurant.
A. I think it’s all good as long as people have an understanding.
In the second half of the event, Japanese high schoolers and young Muslims sat together and enjoyed their conversation along with some Arab cuisine given out by the Masjid for dinner.
There were young Muslims that came all the way from Gifu and Kyoto. Some came despite their upcoming exams, or their Eiken-test. Some came to the Masjid after a long time, and some even for the first time. A big thank you to you all, for making the event a success.
※ Some comments from the Japanese high schoolers can be seen here.
※ Details of our previous exchanging event can be seen here.
