BurfordTJustice
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Japan - The Land without Muslims
The Japanese do not feel the need to apologize to Muslims for the negative
way in which they relate to Islam.
"In Japan, Islam is perceived as a strange religion, that any intelligent
person should avoid."
(TJP) There are countries in the world, mainly in Europe, that are
presently undergoing significant cultural transformations as a result of
Muslim immigration. France, Germany, Belgium and Holland are interesting
examples of cases where immigration from Muslim countries, together with the
Muslims' high fertility rate, effects every area of life.
It is interesting to know that there is a country in the world whose
official and public approach to the Muslim matter is totally different. This
country is Japan. This country keeps a very low profile on all levels
regarding the Muslim matter: On the diplomatic level, senior political
figures from Islamic countries almost never visit Japan, and Japanese
leaders rarely visit Muslim countries. The relations with Muslim countries
are based on concerns such as oil and gas, which Japan imports from some
Muslim countries. The official policy of Japan is not to give citizenship to
Muslims who come to Japan, and even permits for permanent residency are
given sparingly to Muslims.
Japan forbids exhorting people to adopt the religion of Islam (Dawah), and
any Muslim who actively encourages conversion to Islam is seen as
proselytizing to a foreign and undesirable culture. Few academic
institutions teach the Arabic language. It is very difficult to import books
of the Qur'an to Japan, and Muslims who come to Japan, are usually employees
of foreign companies. In Japan there are very few mosques. The official
policy of the Japanese authorities is to make every effort not to allow
entry to Muslims, even if they are physicians, engineers and managers sent
by foreign companies that are active in the region. Japanese society expects
Muslim men to pray at home.
Japanese companies seeking foreign workers specifically note that they are
not interested in Muslim workers. And any Muslim who does manage to enter
Japan will find it very difficult to rent an apartment. Anywhere a Muslim
lives, the neighbors become uneasy. Japan forbids the establishment of
Islamic organizations, so setting up Islamic institutions such as mosques
and schools is almost impossible. In Tokyo there is only one imam.
In contrast with what is happening in Europe, very few Japanese are drawn
to Islam. If a Japanese woman marries a Muslim, she will be considered an
outcast by her social and familial environment. There is no application of
Shari'a law in Japan. There is some food in Japan that is halal, kosher
according to Islamic law, but it is not easy to find it in the supermarket.
The Japanese approach to Muslims is also evidenced by the numbers: in
Japan there are 127 million residents, but only ten thousand Muslims, less
than one hundredth of a percent. The number of Japanese who have converted
is thought to be few. In Japan there are a few tens of thousands of foreign
workers who are Muslim, mainly from Pakistan, who have managed to enter
Japan as workers with construction companies. However, because of the
negative attitude towards Islam they keep a low profile.
There are several reasons for this situation:
First, the Japanese tend to lump all Muslims together as fundamentalists
who are unwilling to give up their traditional point of view and adopt
modern ways of thinking and behavior. In Japan, Islam is perceived as a
strange religion, that any intelligent person should avoid.
Second, most Japanese have no religion, but behaviors connected with the
Shinto religion along with elements of Buddhism are integrated into national
customs . In Japan, religion is connected to the nationalist concept, and
prejudices exist towards foreigners whether they are Chinese, Korean,
Malaysian or Indonesian, and Westerners don't escape this phenomenon either.
There are those who call this a "developed sense of nationalism" and there
are those who call this "racism". It seems that neither of these is wrong.
And Third, the Japanese dismiss the concept of monotheism and faith in an
abstract god, because their world concept is apparently connected to the
material, not to faith and emotions. It seems that they group Judaism
together with Islam. Christianity exists in Japan and is not regarded
negatively, apparently because the image of Jesus perceived in Japan is like
the images of Buddha and Shinto.
The most interesting thing in Japan's approach to Islam is the fact that
the Japanese do not feel the need to apologize to Muslims for the negative
way in which they relate to Islam. They make a clear distinction between
their economic interest in resources of oil and gas from Muslim countries,
which behooves Japan to maintain good relations with these countries on the
one hand, and on the other hand, the Japanese nationalist viewpoints, which
see Islam as something that is suitable for others, not for Japan, and
therefore the Muslims must remain outside.
Because the Japanese have a gentle temperament, and project serenity and
tranquility toward foreigners, foreigners tend to relate to the Japanese
with politeness and respect. A Japanese diplomat would never raise his voice
or speak rudely in the presence of foreigners, therefore foreigners relate
to the Japanese with respect, despite their racism and discrimination
against Muslims in the matter of immigration. A Japanese official who is
presented with an embarrassing question regarding the way the Japanese
relate to Muslims, will usually refrain from answering, because he knows
that a truthful answer would arouse anger, and he is both unable and
unwilling to give an answer that is not true. He will smile but not answer,
and if pressed, he will ask for time so that his superiors can answer, while
he knows that this answer will never come.
Japan manages to remain a country almost without a Muslim presence because
Japan's negative attitude toward Islam and Muslims pervades every level of
the population, from the man in the street to organizations and companies to
senior officialdom. In Japan, contrary to the situation in other countries,
there are no "human rights" organizations to offer support to Muslims'
claims against the government's position. In Japan no one illegally smuggles
Muslims into the country to earn a few yen, and almost no one gives them the
legal support they would need in order to get permits for temporary or
permanent residency or citizenship.
Another thing that helps the Japanese keep Muslim immigration to their
shores to a minimum is the Japanese attitude toward the employee and
employment. Migrant workers are perceived negatively in Japan, because they
take the place of Japanese workers. A Japanese employer feels obligated to
employ Japanese workers even if it costs much more than it would to employ
foreign workers. The traditional connection between an employee and employer
in Japan is much stronger than in the West, and the employer and employee
feel a mutual commitment to each other: an employer feels obligated to give
his employee a livelihood, and the employee feels obligated to give the
employer the fruit of his labor. This situation does not encourage the
acceptance of foreign workers, whose commitment to the employers is low.
The fact that the public and the officials are united in their attitude
against Muslim immigration has created a sort of iron wall around Japan that
Muslims lack both the permission and the capability to overcome. This iron
wall silences the world's criticism of Japan in this matter, because the
world understands that there is no point in criticizing the Japanese, since
criticism will not convince them to open the gates of Japan to Muslim
immigration.
Japan is teaching the whole world an interesting lesson: there is a direct
correlation between national heritage and permission to immigrate: a people
that has a solid and clear national heritage and identity will not allow the
unemployed of the world to enter its country; and a people whose cultural
heritage and national identity is weak and fragile, has no defense
mechanisms to prevent a foreign culture from penetrating into its country
and its land.