Personal Brief:
My name is Keisuke Toda. I am 22 years old and live in Fujisawa near Yokohama. My field of specialty in the Masters is “Fasting Ramadan” because I am interested in Islamic Studies in general. My interests are: first, Islam, then “Populism”. Also, I am interested in changing myself through research. I embraced Islam on the second week of this Ramadan. It was Wednesday 18th of August 2010. You can say I was a Buddhist but surely didn’t believe in idols. I used to go to the temple only on New Year which is a Japanese tradition. Just like that. I wasn’t interested in religion or creed. But the first time I thought about Islam was when I read a book about Islam. I was in the second year in my college. The book was the first thing I ever read about Islam and then I read another book, more specified in Islamic Policy by “Muhammad Asad”. Of course I read the prophet’s (PBUH) biography. These two books deeply influenced me.
About Your Islam:
Before becoming a Muslim and taking this decision, my feeling was complicated. I felt a bit uneasy. I was in between two sides: to live on like all Japanese did or to become a Muslim. I know Japan very well and I find many bad things there, and I know Islam well and I find it good. Then I began to think that Islam is the best religion but didn’t become a Muslim. Thus, I started thinking about Islam more but again: "I am not a Muslim", I would say to myself. I was really in the middle. After coming to Aleppo this time (2010), I seriously thought and searched about the importance of embracing Islam.
Two years ago, the first time I fasted, I learnt many things from fasting like Muslims. However, I was fasting last year but I was a bad faster. I would come to Japan Center here in Aleppo, cook with the students, eat and sleep and that's it. There weren't any benefits from fasting. After I went back to japan I thought: "this is not enough, just fasting!" Islam has five pillars and believing has six, so I thought fasting alone is not sufficient. I thought more seriously and finally a verse from the Quran made me decide to become a Muslim.
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾ لِمَن شَاءَ مِنكُمْ أَن يَسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٢٨﴾ وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّـهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿٢٩﴾ التكوير
{Translation: This [message] is no less than a reminder to all mankind – to every one of you who wills to walk a straight way. But you cannot will it unless God, the Sustainer of all the worlds, wills [to show you that way].}
When I first heard this verse, I felt fear and reverence towards Allah. This was my very first feeling. Before reading this verse I was trying to do good deeds and I believed in God though I was not a Muslim yet. But when I read it, I really felt that I don’t want to be of those whom Allah doesn't want. Finally, this feeling pushed me.
Monotheism:
Monotheism, believing in one God, was hard. I read a book about this written by Dr. Okuda Atsushi through the lectures of Sheikh Abu Alhuda Alhusaini. But when I read it I found it full of philosophy like that of the West and the wording was very professional. I read and thought a lot but couldn't understand. So, Dr. Okuda tried to explain monotheism in a way different from that book. His way is more suitable for the Japanese. After hearing Dr. Okuda's explanation I was convinced of monotheism. I also read a book written in Arabic by Ibn Taymiah "Al-Risalah Al- Tadmuriyyah”. After reading this book, the idea of believing in one God entered my heart and head. Dr. Okuda always used to say: "in Japanese language there isn’t the word "Allah" but there's the word "Kami" which means "deity" or "god". That's why Japanese people don't know what "Allah" is. But even if they don't know, they can feel the existence of "Allah", through experiences like Fasting".
The Decision:
The thing that made me think: "I am a Muslim now" is first feeling really happy and content to feel I am free and that my heart is assured. As I said earlier, I was between two ideas but after saying the Shahada – testimony of saying "there's no god but Allah" – I felt the relief.
For me, thanking Allah is very important. Of course, if I didn't take the decision I wouldn't be able to thank people and Allah.
People's Reactions:
Honestly, I don't know about the reaction of my non-Muslim friends. Some Japanese friends were in Syria at that time, but I didn't have the chance to talk with them about this topic. But I will know when I go back to Japan.
As for my Syrian friends, they were happier than me and I didn't expect this. Also, when I told Ms. Iman – the Arabic language teacher for the Japanese interchange students in Syria – about embracing Islam she was so glad that she was on the verge of tears. I didn't cry myself so I thought: "Oh! Why are you crying, Teacher?"
My friends in college know but those outside university don’t know yet. I don't know for sure how their reaction will be but I think I will tell the close friends first. I think they will be happy for me as they almost expected this.
The behavior of those around me won't change. The Japanese generally are not interested in religion unless one takes a strange “sect” or "cult" like those new religious groups other than Islam or Christianity; then maybe their treatment or behavior might be different.
Expected Problems:
Problems are not all on the same level. Small obstacles are like food (*Halal food). I used to love Japanese beef and chicken meet which is really delicious. Also, the difficulty of praying five times a day. Syria is full of mosques and I didn’t worry where to pray. But in Japan now, there aren’t as many mosques. But, there’s a solution to such a small problem. A more medium-level problem or maybe a bit bigger one is my relation with my father and mother. This is not a ‘problem’ as I would say. It’s just that the things I have to do with my parents increased. First of all, I have to improve my treatment to them to be better than before I became a Muslim. Second, I will try to introduce them to Islam. It feels like ‘tasks’ as I don’t think there are any negative ‘problems’ before me.
To be honest, I worry a bit about marriage. I don’t worry about finding a job as I fear how I am going to raise kids in the future when I get married.
Islam:
Islam granted me the true freedom. As Dr. Okuda always says: “The Muslim doesn’t worship a person or a wise man; not even his parents. He/she only worships Allah; and this is freedom.” This freedom doesn’t hurt the others because when freedom is unreal, it surely will hurt others. This approach is useful to me and the others.
There’s nothing is miss after I embraced Islam at all.
Who was there Along the Way?
First: there’s been a huge but indirect influence from Dr. Okuda and Ms. Saori (in Arabic her name is Thurayya (she’s now a Ph.D. student in Dr. Okuda’s Lab at Keio University). But when I come to think of it, maybe if Dr. Okuda was not there, I wouldn’t have thought much about Islam. There’s also the influence of Japan Center students in Aleppo, but I think this is a secondary influence. The first is indeed knowledge; the Quran and Dr. Okuda’s lectures at the university. I don’t go there and do my research just for the sake of studying. For me studying is for the public interest and God’s content. I read and understand the Islamic approach to things so that I can change things in myself and life according to what I learn.
Power
I read the Quran in Arabic. The Arabic words of it enter my heart deeply especially after I became a Muslim. In Japan I receive the interpretation in both Japanese and Arabic. When I read the Quran or listen to the professor, sometime I understand everything, and other times I just nod. But this Ramadan, after I embraced Islam, the Quran has started to move my heart more than before. Said the Muslim is not different from Said before Islam. But maybe now after becoming a Muslim he has more chances to thank Allah. Before being a Muslim, I tried not to forget my gratitude, but now that I pray and read the Quran, my gratitude has increased.
Muslim and Non-Muslims: A Vision
Before becoming a Muslim myself, I used to find a weakness in some Muslims due to the lack of implementing Islam teachings in their lives. Surely Islam has the solution to all problems, but Muslims don’t apply it well enough. I used to think: “can I tell them this –blaming and criticizing – and I’ve never practiced Islam in my life? Can I? No! I am not a Muslim”. After becoming a Muslim I said: “now I am a Muslim. I can”. So when I find some problems, I can tell, warn and even share and cooperate to solve these problems with each other. This feeling has become stronger now.
To Solve the Problems Muslims have:
First: going to Allah and asking Him, and then asking one’s self and not going to others or watching others.
Muslims and Non-Muslims:
I don’t want for Muslims to differentiate between Muslims and non-Muslims more than needed. Non-Muslims are trying to do good things in life too. Humans are weak, man is weak, Muslims are weak and non-Muslims are weak too. If we understand this, we can’t differentiate by saying: “you’re not a Muslim; you can or can’t do such and such”.
Did a Muslim hurt you with something? What did you do?
Yeah, just a simple thing. “Chang, ching, chong.” (As I look Asian). Saying this to me is ok, but some say it and laugh and point their hands at me. Others just say “welcome, welcome”. It’s like ‘we are happy to have you here’ and this represents their hospitality, but this ‘chang, ching, chong’ thing makes me think how can people laugh at others? As a first reaction, I start thinking “why?” a lot and some bad words in Japanese come to my mind, but then I try to keep my silence and remember the Hadeeth: “if a man quarrels with him or abuses him, he should say twice, I am fasting”.
Muslims and Good Qualities:
I don’t know much about the good qualities of Muslims except those I met in Syria, Morocco and Lebanon. As for the Syrians, I only came in contact with people in Aleppo. They have the quality of generosity in everything. I was often invited to many homes in Aleppo to breakfasts in Ramadan and on many other occasions outside Ramadan. Also the students of Japan Center help me without hesitation. This is not an easy or simple thing in seeking knowledge. This is the power of this city. In Japan, for example, if an Arab student tells a Japanese that he’s searching about so and so and asks to be guided or introduced to someone who could help in the subject, the Japanese most expectedly would reply: “I don’t know”. Of course some would help him and give him a satisfactory answer, but if I ask anyone in Aleppo, I am sure anyone will teach me, or at least introduce me to the appropriate person to help me.
Rights and Duties of Muslims:
This is a large heading, but I think my duty towards Muslims now is to tell them what they want to know about the Japanese culture and Japan, like Islam in Japan, etc. Also, I think I should help the students in Japan Center; especially the M.A students specialized in Japanese Studies. As for their duty towards me, nothing occurs to my mind now.
