A growing number of attendees in Japanese mosques were either born in Japan or never got a chance to study either Arabic or Urdu, the two main languages being used in most of the mosques in the country.
With all the different Muslim ethnic groups in Japan from all over the world, both English and Japanese are two unifying languages that could tie the Muslims from various ethnic backgrounds together.
The reasons a Japanese Imam is much better equipped to give sermons, lead in daily prayers and guide the community in religious affairs are quite a few.
Many new converts and not yet Muslims alike, both feel more comfortable with someone who can speak Japanese language and deliver sermons in the language they know well.
Now, people have started realizing that the new generation of local Muslims and the Japanese public in general, do not resonate with foreign-born Imams who do not know much about the local culture and can not speak any other language except the one they were raised in.
Most of the mosques continue to rely on foreign-born imams for their religious knowledge and fluency in Arabic. But they also want Japanese imams who can speak Japanese language like native speakers and serve as competent communicators with an ear for interfaith issues, and engagement with the local media.
However, the fact of the matter is that there are too few Japanese Muslims who are trained to lead regular prayers, deliver sermons and perform other dawah related activities comfortably.
We, the born-Muslims need to make concerted efforts to encourage and train newly-converted Japanese Muslims to come forward and start participating actively in Dawah activities in the mosques and in their daily lives.
We, the born-Muslims need to make concerted efforts to encourage and train newly-converted Japanese Muslims to come forward and start participating actively in Dawah activities in the mosques and in their daily lives.
The time has come for Muslims in Japan to debate this issue openly and find ways on how we can help Japanese Muslims take leading roles in the local Muslim communities in the country. The future of Islam in Japan are the children and the youth.
Japanese-born Imams are very difficult to find if not impossible. It will be years before the number Japanese imams becomes large enough to meet the growing demand of the Muslim community.
Some mosques are taking steps to correct the situation by sending newly converted young Japanese Muslims to go to Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim countries and study Arabic and Islamic Studies. However, there is a lot more to do in this regard.
mashallah allah akbar god shall guid his belivers and more will get to know him round the world amein