The core value of Ramadan, the holy act of fasting is universal to help people learn how to resist reckless temptations. Believers observe fast from dawn to dusk without experiencing the ecstasy of food and drink. This is practiced by all Muslims irrespective of where they live, but the way fasting is celebrated, somewhat differs from region to region.
There are some solid reasons why Japanese are very different from the rest of the world, or at least the world we are aware of so far. Japan was isolated, literally, for hundreds of years. No one knew what was happening on the Islands, nor did the Japanese have a clue about what was beyond their Islands.
As the Muslim month long fasting period known as Ramadan, Tokyo Camii, the largest mosque in Japan, began providing free iftar (evening meals) to 200 visitors, regardless of religion, to introduce residents to Islamic culture, according to The Japan Times.
Moreover, one of things that distinguished non-Muslim Japanese from other non-Muslims around the world is that most of them do not have existing stereotypes about Muslims. They receive the information, process it logically, ‘the Japanese way’, and react to it.
With a little more than 13 million people living in the most populated city in the world, the chance of meeting a Muslim in Tokyo is around 0.0007%. Ramadan in Tokyo can also be a life changing experience for two special reasons. Firstly, if you look at foreign countries with relatively larger Muslim population, you would sometimes find some segregation by nationality or language. However in Tokyo, there are only two or three big masjids. So you will have the richest, most diverse and interesting chats by just walking around. Secondly, your chances of being the first Muslim to introduce Ramadan and fasting in Islam to the majority of the Japanese people you meet are extremely high. It’s a big responsibility and a great honor too.
Because Ramadan is largely unknown in Japan, fasting Muslims may feel like they are fighting a lonely battle.
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