#She wore a hijab and prayed afterwards | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

actualmuslimwomen · 4 years ago

Text

CHAPTER 2

PROFILES OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN JAPAN

2.1. Profiles of Muslim Housewives

2.1.1. Nana

Nana is a married Muslim woman with two children and she has been living in Shizuoka for ten years. She came to Shizuoka, Japan in 2007 and attended Kokusai Kotoba Gakuin Japanese Language School in Shizuoka City for two years. After graduating from the Language School, she continued studying at the University of Shizuoka and took the Graduate Program. At first, she was hesitant to pursue this study, because it was all out of her plans. But, back on the day when she wrote self-introduction in a form for the Japanese Language School, an intention to continue to Master Degree Program was clearly written. When she was still in the Japanese Language School, her hoshonin (guardian) noticed this and encouraged her to continue to take the Master Degree Program. "Wasn't your mokuteki (objective) to go for daigakuin (Graduate Program)?" That was what her hoshonin said. Since this was originally not her pure intention, she half-heartedly took the entry examination. But, at that moment, she had a partner, who is also her current husband, who helped her a lot in going through the exam until she passed the exam.

Having the decision on continuing the Graduate Program has also made her go through a lot of events. There were positive events, and also unfavorable events such as during her Graduate Program's study, when she had a quite hard treatment from her professor. From the day she attended the Acceptance Ceremony, she was already given cold words from her professor. Even when she tried to apply for a scholarship program, which needed a recommendation from a professor, her professor refused to give the recommendation at first. But, with such an event to occur, it actually made the people in her surroundings stand up for her and help her. Some fellow International student colleagues bravely opposed the professor and demanded to give her a proper recommendation, which eventually she obtained along with the scholarship. This was one of the positive events that happened during the graduate school days. Another positive event happened when she got pregnant in the first year of the study. Actually, before starting the first term on her Graduate Program, she went back to Indonesia to get married, and within one year after the marriage, she got pregnant. For that reason, Nana decided to take a temporary absence until she gave birth. During her absence, some of her shakaijin (working-adult) colleagues helped her continue the study and research by giving reference materials. This action from her colleagues was done so that, if she returned in the next term, she could catch up with the rest of the study.

After the pregnancy and giving birth, there was another important event that she experienced. That event was about deciding to wear hijab, which was actually a breakthrough for Nana. Being a born-Muslim did not make her wear hijab automatically when she had arrived at her puberty. Although her mother never forced her to wear hijab, she always inquired her about wearing one as a reminder because it is basically a duty for a Muslim woman. "When are you going to wear one?" asked her mother. And it was actually living in Japan that made her decide to wear hijab. One of the reasons for her to wear hijab was that she had a Japanese friend who converted to Islam and she wore hijab proudly. "She's a mualaf (a person who converts to Islam) and she wears veil. Well covered. Compared to me who's a Muslim since I was born, I'm uncovered," Nana felt ashamed that she was not as faithful to her religion despite of the fact that she was born as a Muslim. The second reason was that, after Nana had her first child, she noticed the appearance of her friends. Nana had been attending pengajian (Islamic Recitation Group) and realized that her friends in the pengajian were all already wearing hijab. She was the only one who wore the hijab only during the pengajian. After seeing her friends having no problems with hijab, such as breastfeeding their babies while wearing hijab, Nana made a decision that she must wear one, too. She wanted to be as comfortable as her friends in breastfeeding her baby while wearing hijab. When Nana tried to wear hijab, her five months old daughter at that time recognized her and smiled at her. This made her even more determined in wearing hijab. His husband did not even oppose her in the decision, but instead he asked if Nana was completely determined or not, "You're going to wear veil? Are you sure?" Nana only answered 'Insyaallah' while praying that she was never to be moved to uncover her hijab.

After having her first child, Nana realized some changes in her life. The first is the relationship with her new family after wearing hijab, which will be explained afterwards. The second one is concerning more on the Halal food. She stated that in the early years living in Japan, she has been eating non-halal products a lot, such as chicken at fast food restaurants, as long as they were not pork. "I even went eating at KFC," she laughed. But since she was married, especially after having a child, Nana became more concerned about halal food and tried to be more careful in selecting halal products. Besides, acquiring halal meat nowadays is very easy. There are some methods to acquire these halal meat or products, for example, by buying at the Gyomu Supa (supermarket for business retail). There are also Muslim friends who provide halal meat through pre-order method, and also halal stores provide delivery services throughout Japan. Other than concerning about the daily-consumed halal products, Nana is also concerned a little about cosmetics. She is usually not very strict in choosing cosmetics, as long as they are suitable for her sensitive skin. But, for aging skin care that contains collagen, she will always make sure of the ingredients first for the collagen before buying. But recently she uses Momohime, halal cosmetics and orders them through an online shop. "The products are expensive but great. Today I just asked them to send some products again." Further, regarding medicines and vitamins, Nana admits that she is a moderate vitamin consumer and is not too choosy, because if it is for health, any options are permissible. "Ki ni shinai (I don't care). Shou ga nai (it can't be helped). Anyhow, it's for kenkou (health), because as long as it is for health it doesn't matter." This was the same with the case when she gave birth to her child. During the intensive check ups, she always saw a female doctor, but just when she gave birth, the only available doctor at that time was a male doctor, hence the procedure followed the same way.

The situation Nana faced was that she had no other choice but seeing a male doctor or staff, which was considered as an emergency event. Even though she says she has no problems with encountering male staff, actually she feels awkward and shy. For example, when she goes out to buy women's sanitary napkins, if the cashier is a male, she would comment, "Why, male?" She is hesitant at first, but she reassures herself and proceeds with the payment. In her mind, it is only one of the staff's jobs and the thing that she buys is women's need, so it is not necessary to be embarrassed. Other than awkwardness that she feels, Nana is also impressed with how the Japanese puts the sanitary napkins in a different covered plastic bag, "Aite no kimochi (other party's feeling), chanto wakatte kureru (kindly understanding). That's good." But there is one situation that she feels uncomfortable with, and that is about the no boundaries in making relationships between male and female in Japan. Especially, in every corner in Japan, there will always be an area with people who wander around the city to find a one-night stand partner. In Shizuoka City, there is such an area and Nana admits that, when she was in Nihonggo Gakkou, she used to pass by the area with her friends. But, after she was married, it never happened, especially when taking the kids out. Another concern that is related with the opposite sex is about going to beauty salon. Nana realizes that, if she wears hijab, she will not have the freedom to go to beauty salon as she used to. Nana often went to beauty salon before she wore hijab, but since now she wears hijab, she will have to have her hair cut in Indonesia or she needs to find a beauty salon that does not have a male staff. She went searching for beauty salons with such condition and she found one near Higashi Shizuoka Station, an exclusive salon called Noah with only one female staff and reservation was required. "So, she doesn't have any assistants and there were no other okyaku san (guest) when I came. So I guess that's how the system was made, it was safe," she says, reviewing about the salon.

Indeed, having children definitely has changed Nana's life a lot. At the first time she decided to wear hijab, she knew that it would have an impact on her daughter too. "Daughters are to follow her parents," she says. After her wearing hijab, her eldest daughter began to follow her wearing hijab, too. The child even decided which to wear as her own dress. "I want to be oshare (dressed-up nicely)! Mama, how do you think, niau (does it match)?" Even in summer, when Nana was concerned about the possibility that her daughter might suffer necchushou (heatstroke), she advised her to wear short pants to school, but her daughter insisted on not wearing them, saying "Nande (why)! I want to wear that one! That dress!" Nana never forced her daughter to wear hijab and it was her daughter's own will to wear like her mother. That was why Nana explained to the school her daughter attended that she would sometimes wear hijab and might look different from other kids, and also that her daughter would not eat kyuushoku (school's meal) because of containing pork and ask for a room for prayer. Wearing hijab is actually an obligation for adult women, but Nana explains that this may be called renshuu (practice) for her daughter and the school allows it. "It's totally okay. Go ahead, if you please." Other than concerns about her daughter's different appearance, Nana was also concerned about the ijime (bully) case that might happen to her daughter. But so far there happened nothing to her daughter at school, and there was nothing more than asking why her daughter brought her own bentou (bento/lunch box) to school and she would politely answer her classmate, "Because your meal contains buta niku (pork), I don't eat it."

For Nana, her children and her family are the most important in her life. She remembers the fact that, when she used to be active in the organizational activity in the Shizuoka Muslim Association as one of the lecturers in their Kids Program, though it was an important duty for the Muslim children, her children and family came first. "But then, my condition was dropping down by doing all of those activities. I got tired easily, plus I have kids too, right? I knew that we were lacking of lecturers, but family's first, so I asked permission to quit." Nana admits that she was quite involved in the Islamic activities with the people from the Shizuoka Muslim Association, but now she reduces all of those because of her own activities. Nana is currently working as a part-time worker in a plastic factory, where she has been allocated to a job in kensa (inspection) division. She works four days a week, which means she has three free days for her family and other activities. Outside of working, she also participates in pan kyoushitsu (bread-making class) with some other Indonesian Muslim women. Having those two sorts of activities and taking care of children and husband at the same time is quite exhausting. Especially when Nana's condition is dropping, everything will be a disaster in an instant. "I'd easily fall tired and catch fever... especially since I have to prepare bentou for kids, too in the morning, so I need to take care of myself and avoid being sick," she says. This shows that family is really important for Nana. Whenever they have the chance to spend time together, they would sometimes take a walk around the city. Once, an unfortunate event occurred to Nana and her family while taking a walk in the city. It was in a crossing near the Granship, when a Japanese elderly woman approached her. "She has such a strange appearance, wears thick glasses and weird hair style, riding a bicycle and then stopped." Normal Japanese people would greet and ask simple questions such as 'where do you come from?' or something, but this woman suddenly murmured, and several times she uttered 'ISIS' towards Nana and her family. Of course, Nana and her family ignored this person and left immediately. In fact, for ten years living in Japan, this experience might be the first of having inappropriate treatment from the Japanese. In Nana's current company, she has never been questioned about her appearance or judged about her faith. She is even allowed to wear hijab in the company. As the only employee who wears hijab, she is also allowed to perform prayer in a place although small, which the company provided her. Her company also often holds nomikai (drinking party) and if Nana decides to join the nomikai, the company will instantly reserve a restaurant with kaisen (seafood) menu. "Anyway, if I put maru (circle mark), the staff in charge of mise (restaurant) will understand what is permissible for me."

So far, Nana feels that the people around her quite understand about her being a Muslim and she thinks that she can socialize quite well with them, too. For example, she currently lives in a danchi (multi-unit apartments) and she is often chatting with her next door's neighbor and her neighbor also often gives some food to her family. This also proves that living side by side with the Japanese is not a big problem for Nana and her family. Well, not only living side by side with the Japanese, but also socializing with other Muslims from other countries, too. Around three years ago, a female acquaintance from Bangladesh passed away here in Shizuoka. "When we went to see off the passed away, we were really surprised. There were no women but only men who prayed for the body. I just realized that we have different bunka (culture), like in Arab, where women aren't to go out, only men will pray." Nana says about her seeing off the passed away with some of her female Muslim Indonesian friends for the first time. In Indonesia, there is a tradition where everyone would gather to see off the passed away, but for the Bangladesh people, it was only the men who were allowed to see off the passed away. So, it was quite a new experience for Nana.

2.1.2. Sita

Sita is a Muslim from Indonesia who has already been living in Japan for eleven years. She is a married woman with a six-year old son. Her current activities are around being a housewife at home and a part-time worker. Sita was married in 2010 and since then she had been wearing hijab. The decision of wearing hijab came from her own idea because she noticed that it was about the time she wore hijab. "Well, nobody knows when hidayah (blessing) comes down upon us," she says. Other than that, every woman from her family was already wearing hijab, so it was a supplementary reason to wear one. Her husband was joyful to hear her decision and he said, "Good, then I have less sin to bear." But, even though this was a good thing, of course, Sita was also worried about having jobs. When she was not wearing hijab yet, she used to work at konbini (convenience stores) and mise (restaurants), but now it is no longer a work that she can do. She actually loved jobs related to sekkyaku (serving customers directly) type, but with her new appearance it might not be possible anymore, so she applied for her current job at a supermarket. At first the interview went smooth, but in the process of concrete talking about hiring her as an employee, it took a longer time than usual. "Before I wore hijab, it was always quick. Two or three days after the interview, they would immediately call me, but this time it took time and I wondered if they were hiring me or not," explained Sita. But it was worth waiting, because after more than a week, Sita was called and told that she was hired. Although she was hired, the people at her workplace were also surprised at her appearance. She said that people would normally think her hijab was removable so that she could wear the supermarket's uniform at her workplace, but in fact it is irremovable. Nevertheless, she was hired anyway and was put in the kitchen division to make sushi.

As previously mentioned, Sita loves the sekkyaku type jobs, because she wants to practice her Japanese and because she likes to talk. When she was hired at this supermarket, she had no idea whether she could have her ideal job or not, but it turned out to be the perfect one. It has been five years since Sita started to work at this supermarket and she remains covering her head while at work, and she talks a lot with other employees. "I wear this turtle-neck manset (long-sleeves inner t-shirt) at work so that my neck is covered. I'm wearing a cap, so my hair won't show," says Sita. And it is actually a warm workplace, because everyone talks to each other at work and they are often having a short break to eat snacks together. They are all talking like a family and even sometimes talk about Islam and Sita's choice of appearance. From these chats, the employees and Sita could get to know more of each other. Therefore in events like Ramadan, Sita does not have any difficulties in performing her duty. As a matter of fact, when there is this snack time during a break, one of other employees kindly wraps up the snacks for Sita to bring home and then she can eat them at home when she is breaking the fast.

Even though Sita is working, her main duty is taking care of her child and husband. That is why she takes a half-day work so that she can have the rest of the day to care her family. Since her son is still in the kindergarten, Sita must take him to the school by herself and pick him up. She will also need to take his son to a les (extracurricular lesson), too, once a week. At his son's school, not only her son is often called gaijin (foreigner), but also Sita is often surrounded by other kids and commented about her hijab, and she will respond wisely saying, "It is cute, isn't it?" Because Sita knows that, if she answers whether she is a Muslim or it's called hijab, the children will ask more and more because children at their age are at the most crucial stage of having curiosity. That is why Sita only answers lightly with a smile and the children will pass. Indeed, wearing a hijab is uncommon in Japan. Moreover for the people who wear it, it is not that easy to obtain hijab in Japan. For Sita, she always buys her hijab in Indonesia when she returns to Indonesia or has them delivered from Indonesia. Sometimes Sita will also buy long scarves at Uniqlo to mix and match her hijab collection. Getting hijab is not easy, but Sita tries not to think about it too hard, either.

Sita also mentions about her other activities. She sometimes does presentations about Indonesia or does work as tsuyaku (interpreter). But, those are side jobs. Where there is an offer, Sita would do it. Sita also tells that she used to join pengajian (Islamic Recitation Group) with other Muslim women in Shizuoka. But not anymore, because there were times when arguing about who is taking care of food or cleaning the trash is longer than the pengajian itself, and Sita just could not take it anymore. "It's much better if I don't come, or else it will be a ghibah (gossip)," she says. Other reason was that her house was located too far to reach the Musalla, where the pengajian was held. As an option, Sita chose to participate in the same forum through Facebook. If there were events or donations needed, Sita would respond immediately and, if she could do something, she would gladly donate. Even though Sita does not participate too much in the pengajian, she still has good relationship with the other women. Currently, she is participating in a bread-making class with some of her Muslim women fellows from the pengajian. Actually, this bread-making activity is like a hobby for her. She even considers that one day she can sell halal breads with her friends, because halal breads are still very limited nowadays.

Talking about halal products, this is, of course, a big concern for Sita, especially since she has a child who is going to school and is going to be provided with school meals during lunchtime. Sita told her child's teacher to allow her to bring different food for her son, because their family did not consume pork or alcohol or anything related. The teacher allowed it and in lunchtime, the teacher would transfer the food from the tappa (plastic ware) to the school's plate so that every kid would eat from the same plate. Sita's son was said that he never realized that his different meal was actually her mother's cooking. In the daily life, Sita buys halal meat or halal products from her friend in Yaizu who will deliver the ordered goods directly to her house, but she also sometimes buys through online shop whenever her friend's stock is not available. So, there are alternatives. Even buying fish or vegetables, Sita can just go to the nearest supermarket, and she does not need to buy from the halal shop either. Although some stuff is still limited, actually halal products are abundant in Japan. Sita says that she always check on Facebook about halal items, "The page is called Serijaya. You can see so many lists of halal products there." So, it is quite easy to think about choosing halal products.

Basically, a Muslim will not eat pork, drink alcohol, and consume anything that is rooted from pork and alcohol. Although chicken and beef are allowed, if they are not slaughtered in the Islamic way, they cannot be consumed as well. Even a capsule of medicine is considered to be questionable for consumption. This capsule may be made from pork's part and then turned into a gelatin, which is then used as the part of the capsule. This kind of medicine is inconsumable and need to be avoided. The Japanese might be curious as to why Muslims cannot consume pork or alcohol. Regarding this, Sita is often asked the following questions. "Still confused to answer properly in details. I usually only answer because it's God's command and I'm only performing my duty to fulfill it," she explains. Other Muslim's duties include performing prayer, fasting and wearing hijab for the women. Each and every duty has its own rules. For Muslim women, once they wear hijab, they must not show their hair and other body parts and have physical contact with the opposite sex who is not a blood-relative. Other than husband, son, father, grandfather and uncle, a woman cannot show her body to them. After wearing hijab, Sita does not go to beauty salon anymore to have hair treatment. Before she wore hijab, she used to go to have her hair cut at beauty salon, but now she does not go there anymore. One of the reasons is to fully perform her duty as a Muslim woman who wears hijab.

Although it was previously mentioned about the fact that women are unable to have physical contact with non-blood relatives, it is a must but not inflexible. Sita tells about her experience with doctors in Japan, especially when she gave birth in Japan. She often went to see doctors whenever she felt unwell, and at these times she could choose female doctors. When she was pregnant, she went to see female doctors during the consultation session. During giving birth, however, when an immediate act of caesarean section was necessary, her doctors and surgeons were mostly males. At that time, in such an emergency, there was nothing to be done and, according to the Islamic teaching, it was forgiven. "I didn't know anything about this kind of surgery and I wasn't prepared. I was even shocked to know that I had to wear nothing for this surgery, but shou ga nai (it can't be helped), for the sake of my child's birth," Sita explained.

2.1.3. Eni

At the beginning of the interview, Eni introduced herself primarily as a housewife who had a side job. She prefers that kind of expression. Currently Eni is an employee of a company that runs in a travel field. Her current company, CSA Travel, is originally a fudousanya (real estate agent) company, which is responsible for renting houses for residence purpose. The new travel division is meant for a completely different purpose, which is to provide lodging for tourists in the area of Mochimune, Shizuoka, especially for Muslim tourists because there is a mosque going to be built in Mochimune. Eni admits that she is still completely new with this job because, so far, she has been doing many freelance jobs only. Previously Eni spent more time in hopping from one company to another to do her job, which was a freelance interpreter for kenshuusei (trainee), but now Eni is settled. She began to work in this company because it was introduced by SIBA (Shizuoka International Business Association) and she just applied to the company to undergo an interview and then she got the job. The current company's shacho (president director) is also very considerate towards Islamic values. When Eni had a job interview with this company, she asked if she could have ten minutes' break to do prayer during her work and then the shacho allowed her to use any empty rooms in the company for her prayer. Besides, nowadays halal products are becoming more popular and one of shacho's interests is to attract more Muslim tourists to come to Mochimune. Other than the lodgings, shacho also works with the local ice cream shop to sell an ice cream with Shizuoka's characteristic products shirasu (young sardines) and wasabi (horse radish) yet edible for Muslims and other tourists.

Eni also tells about some of her other experiences in applying for part-time jobs in the past. She used to apply for arubaito (part-time job) in a supermarket around 9 years ago and was hired. Eni was wearing hijab at that time and during the interview there was no discussion about the hijab at all. But on the day when she was supposed to start working, her tenchou (manager) mentioned about her hijab, because he thought that it would not be a matter whether Eni wore the hijab or not. She was asked to unveil her headscarf and wear the sankaku nuno (some kind of bandana), but then she explained that she couldn't unveil it. Luckily, the people from the supermarket supported her to continue working even though her appearance would be different from others. "If that's the case, next time you must wear a black headscarf, don't wear the patterned one. Over your headscarf, you can wear the sankaku nuno," said one of the employees. From then on, Eni started to work in the hall area mainly arranging the products on the shelves and sticking discount stickers on products, which means Eni will attend customers sometimes. "I work from five to nine in the evening and that's souzai (side dish/delicatessen) time, the time for sticking nebiki (price reduction), waribiki (discount) stickers, that's part of my job," she says. For one year working in the supermarket, Eni admits that she is quite content with the experience. She could interact with the customers, although some of them would be quite surprised when they see Eni's different appearance. But there were some customers who were kind to her, giving her a merchandise only for thanking Eni for doing such a great job everyday sticking the discount stickers. There was also a Japanese couple, who intentionally stopped by the supermarket only for greeting Eni without buying anything. These were precious experiences for Eni.

But there were not always good things to happen, and Eni also had unpleasant experiences. For example, when she applied for other arubaito, several times she was declined because of her hijab. Eni says that she loves jobs that relate her with the customers. That way she can keep practicing her Japanese language skill. So, whenever she applies, she always passes the interview, but the moment she mentions about hijab, the pass stamp is no longer valid. "It's okay for you to wear hijab, but please take it off during working." According to Eni, around four years ago there were not so much information on halal products and on Islam, so it was kind of a surprise to see someone with hijab. That was why many places she tried to apply to all said no to her application. She applied to konbini (convenience store) and restaurants, but all of them did not employ her. She applied as kitchen staff at a restaurant with the hope of being able to wear long-sleeved uniform or something like that, but was not employed yet. The restaurant she applied to was a small one, which usually let the kitchen staff also do work in the hall, therefore wearing hijab was not encouraged because it would make the customer uncomfortable. But then, Eni kept trying until she got a position as a kitchen staff in a souzaiya shop (delicatessen shop) for toasting breads. When she is working, she will wear a cap that will cover her whole hair and head, a mask and long-sleeved uniform. In this bread store, Eni worked from five in the morning until ten for five days in a week and for six years long. The store itself is located in Shizuoka Station, formerly named Cafe Denmark, currently named Little Mermaid.

Next, Eni tells about her experience on hijab. Eni has been wearing hijab since she was in Junior High School, because in Indonesia she had been to Islamic School since Elementary School. The habit of wearing hijab was continued to High School, even though it was not an Islamic School. She has already been accustomed so that she has continued wearing one until now. But Eni also tells that she once felt downhearted for wearing hijab. On the second year since she was in Japan, she unveiled her hijab for a year. She says, "Because I don't think I perform prayer properly, and then at work too, I deal with pork or anything that is haram, so inside me I feel like I don't deserve (to wear hijab)." After uncovering her hijab, Eni thought that she would feel more relieved from the burden she felt, but she was wrong. In fact, the burden was felt twice bigger. It was when she was still in the Japanese Language School, that the sensei and friends around her supported and encouraged her. "They were not giving the type of ouen (support) like 'Come on, wear hijab again,' no, only tried to involve me with more activities," she admits. After a year of unstable emotion, Eni decided to return to Indonesia after graduating.

Two years after having been back in Indonesia, Eni actually returned to Japan again, being this time as a brand new Eni. During her stay back at home, Eni took an extension of Undergraduate Program in a university in Indonesia for two years. During that time, she did not wear hijab yet, but when she graduated from the university, she got married and afterwards she wore hijab again. It was the marriage that made her feel reborn again as a Muslim. "I guess because there were the two of us now, I kind of feel lighter, easier," she admits. Afterwards, Eni continued her life in Japan with her husband normally. As a matter of fact, Eni really loves to interact with people, and meeting people and sharing knowledge are really her interest and because of that, Eni participates in a lot of social activities. When Eni returned to Japan again, she took a kamoku rishuusei (Special Register Student) class in Tokoha University and studied there for one year. Besides of studying, of course, Eni also did arubaito and participated in a lot of voluntary works. She says, "Well, because of not having children, just like I said, work from five to ten, then I have a lot of free time, because I'm under my husband's visa, which is limited, right? Only twenty-eight hours a week. So, I spend my free time, such as volunteering at Elementary Schools." At Elementary Schools Eni would come during the shakai kamoku (Social Subject) class and explain about basic Islam and school children in Indonesia. As Eni went to the schools, she was really glad that the children's reaction to her wearing hijab was not that negative. This was probably because children were pure, and they would comment anything just purely without judging. "I was often called ninja!" she says while laughing. Other than this, Eni also joined the volunteer group for Daidougei (Street Art Performance) or opened a class at Aicel (Shizuoka City Women's Community Center) for the Japanese people who were interested in learning about Indonesian traditional food and culture. There, Eni would be the main speaker.

In the daily life, Eni admits that there has been nothing bothering her, meaning that she can socialize and blend with the Japanese well and she thinks she has never been treated inappropriately since she came to live in Japan. As a matter of fact, Eni lives her life just like other normal women. Eni likes to go shopping and cooking. Basically she is doing the things she likes. Eni really likes to make handmade items, such as wallet, book cover, and many others. She can spend hours staying in a store with handcraft materials. "In summer, there's a pool in Ooya, right? If people love to go swimming, I love to go to these handmade stores. It's refreshing for me," she says. Other than crafting items, Eni also loves to cook. It is one of her biggest hobbies that is now also applied at her work, serving the guests at the lodging for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For cooking, Eni is selective in the ingredients. Of course, she will choose halal meat, which she can buy online, and avoid ingredients like mirin (sweet rice wine) because it contains alcohol. But when she eats out, although she can avoid pork or any menu with meat, sometimes there is food that might still contain mirin. At that time, she would just eat it because it is difficult to avoid everything. "If the choumiryou (seasonings) contains mirin or something, it's difficult. Some says, if it is heated, the alcohol is tobasu (ridded). So, the alcohol percentage is decreased, hobo nai (roughly none), my friends said," Eni explains. Other products that Eni is concerned about are medicine. She will always tell that, if she is to be given medicines, she needs medicines that do not contain pork. Fortunately, there is not much of such medicine, according to the doctor she consults with. And usually women will also have concerns about her toiletry needs, but Eni is in fact not like other women. She does not even have milk cleansing for her face, since, when she bought it once, it turned out that it contained pork after she confirmed the fact at the manufacturer's customer service. But the point is not that she wants to avoid non-halal products. It is her lifestyle actually. Her husband while laughing even comments, "Are you a woman or not?" because she only shares toothpaste, soap, shampoo and husband's facial foam with her husband.

Living in Japan, Eni sometimes gets feedback from the people in her surroundings. For example, when Eni is fasting during the Ramadan, people will consider about her and ask if she is okay fasting without drinking at all. When she is speaking in a culture class, she will be asked various questions about Islam. There, Eni would try her best to explain to them about basic Islam, what are not supposed to do and what are pardoned in Islam. In Islam, there is a teaching that those who are non-mahram (unmarriageable kin) are not allowed to have physical contact with each other, but there are times when it is pardoned because of certain situations. "For example, I have to sotomawari (do outside work) with my douryou (coworker), male partner, ride the car, it's fine," she says. The point is, if we women set a 'border', naturally we will have the same reaction from men, as long as we do not have wrong intentions. In such a case as going to see a doctor, if possible, we should get female doctors, but in an emergency, it is pardoned to have a male doctor to check on us. So, basically that is how Islam is and Eni always tries her best in explaining about these to the Japanese. And, in Islam, women's privacy is extremely important, as shown in such a case as going to beauty salon as an example. As previously mentioned, there are things that are not supposed to do in Islam. Showing body parts to the opposite sex except mahram for Muslim women who especially wear hijab is forbidden. That is why some Muslim women who wish to get groomed sometimes find it hard to have privacy in going to beauty salon. Luckily, Eni has a friend in Shizuoka City, who lives not far from her apartment, owns a beauty salon for women or at least serve for women by reservation. The friend is a Japanese and this is very helpful for Muslim women if sometimes they need to refresh themselves by having hair treatment. "But yeah, the lady is a bit old, so the style too is kind of old. But, not bad for a refreshing, I could have hair treatment," Eni says.

Lastly, Eni tells about her current living environment. Basically, she lives in apaato (apartment) with Japanese people mostly in the surroundings, but there are also other people from other countries living in the apartment too, such as Philippines, Nepal and Indonesia as the majority. This is because she already befriends the Oya-san (owner), and is often asked for help to promote the apartment whenever there are vacant rooms and Eni always promotes the apaato to her Indonesian friends. For Eni, it is important to keep in touch with her Indonesian friends, too, because God knows what will happen among them. Eni usually gathers with her Indonesian friends at pengajian (Islamic Recitation Group) and shares Islamic knowledge and activities. Also when it comes to important events such as attending a friend's baby's funeral here in Shizuoka, she and her friends would work together trying to see if there is anything they can do to help. But the most important for her is to spend time with her husband. Because now both are working, there is not much time for them to leisure together. That is why, whenever there is free time, Eni would prefer to spend time only with her husband.

2.1.4. Miho

As a Japanese who converted to Islam, Miho tells a lot of interesting experiences and stories about her life. Miho starts with her story about her journey in becoming a Muslim. It was when she was in the U.S. as a foreign student for three years. At the beginning, she was interested in Islam because of her Muslim woman friend. She thought that her friend was such a role model for her and that was why she decided to learn about Islam. She then joined a Muslim community and studied Islam with them and then was encouraged to wear hijab. She says, "So, I had an ideal figure (of a Muslim woman), I want to be like them, I want to be a Muslim by wearing hijab." Within this community, Miho found strength in being a Muslim and felt confident to be one. And then, Miho became a Muslim at the age of twenty-four. Not long after she became a Muslim, Miho met her soul mate, who is her current husband now. She got engaged with the man before she made a return to Japan.

Returning to Japan, Miho brought a big surprise for her own family because she converted to Islam and especially was already wearing hijab. Miho indicates that her mother was the one who opposed her the most in being a Muslim, moreover wearing hijab. After Miho returned to Japan, she lived in Tokyo and worked there and sometimes in the weekend she would visit her parents in Shizuoka. When she was at work or alone at home, Miho would wear hijab in her daily life. But, when she visited her parents, she would take the hijab off, because her parents did not like it. She says that this was to respect her parents' opinion and she does not want to push her faith to her family at that time. Although, while she was working in Tokyo, she was allowed to wear a uniform that was different from other employees or use an empty conference room for performing prayer or even wear hijab, she did not wear hijab when she entered the company. Miho was faced with internal conflict because of her parents' astonishment. On one hand, she wanted to keep her faith as a Muslim because that was what she believed in, and on the other hand, her parents were worried about what people would say if they knew she was her parents' daughter. That was acceptable because Miho indeed had an unusual appearance because of converting, even when she was in Tokyo, she was considered to have a unique appearance with her hijab and a big nose pierce. "Wearing hijab is not the only item to make you Muslim, you know, it's something else, it's your faith, it's your insight," she confesses. And then, a year after having worked and lived in Tokyo, Miho returned to the U.S. and got married and lived in the U.S. for a while. Getting married and being back in the U.S., back to her old community's environment, made Miho's life easier. She admits that, when she returned to the U.S., she was calmed and gained strength in having more faith. After living for a while in the U.S. and having her first child, Miho returned to Japan with her new family. Well, of course, if she returned to Japan, it meant she had to live with her parents temporarily before she was settled and it meant she had to face the conflict with her parents again about her faith, but this time she was more prepared.

Parents' love was everything, regardless of whatever her child's condition might be. After Miho brought her new family to her parents, she got an approval from them gradually. In the household, the parents might still feel awkward with Islamic rules about food, clothes, not to mention performing prayers, but step by step Miho's parents were being cooperative. At the beginning, Miho's parents felt so sad to see their grandchild could not eat just any food, not even snacks because sometimes they would contain pork essence. When she and her family were doing fasting, her parents were not. There were so many differences for which they had to catch up with each other. Afterwards, Miho's parents became more accustomed to Islamic teachings and now are becoming more selective and cautious especially in choosing food for the family. "Alhamdulillah, my mother began gradually to understand, to respect our faith, so we don't have those issues anymore," says Miho.

One barrier after another, Miho's conditions are now in the perfect phase. Although her family having overcome their conflict about her faith, Miho still has to face the surrounding Japanese society itself. Being a Muslim, which is a rare view in Shizuoka, and raising her children of half Japanese and half Moroccan blood is not an easy task, but no matter what a challenge there might be, that must be accepted. Miho and her husband started to concern about their children's future, about the environment they will grow in and keeping their faith at the same time. Miho decided to gather every Muslim she could find in Shizuoka City and started a mission in enlarging the Muslim community in Shizuoka City. If this community proves a success, Miho and her husband will be blessed with two things. The first is to have a good Muslim environment for her children and other Muslim families in Shizuoka and the second is to promote the Muslims to the Japanese society. Miho and her husband were finally able to gather the Muslims and established the Shizuoka Muslim Association in 2010. The community became an organization and there were so many activities inside, such as studying the Quran for the women program, Kids program, and then also the communal studying for the rest of the organization's members. For three years, the activities were held in different places, such as renting rooms or in members' houses in rotation, until they were settled in one place. "Alhamdulillah in 2013 we were able to rent a place for Musalla. With a solid address, we can have solid funding for the masjid and organizational activities," Miho explains. It seems that Miho really strives for a great cause and she is extremely serious in doing this.

The organization is a precious thing for Miho. Just as she herself is a Muslim, it has privacy and it needs to be respected and when privacy is violated, anyone naturally will make an effort to protect it. So, there were hate letters addressed to the Shizuoka Muslim Association, which were intimidating and filled with racism. For Miho, even though it was not personally addressed to her, she was hurt because it meant that people were very 'subjective' toward Islam and Muslims in Japan, including her. It was very disappointing, but at the same time it made Miho and her other fellow Muslims to tighten their bond even more. This was, by far, the most hurtful attitude toward Muslims since she moved back to Shizuoka in 2006. As a matter of fact, Miho experienced many interesting things as a Muslim. One of her funny experiences was when she was approached by another Japanese and asked which country she came from, receiving a comment that her Japanese was considered perfect. Of course, this was a hilarious moment and Miho slowly explained that she was a Japanese and she was a Muslim. "Nihongo jouzu desu ne (Your Japanese is perfect)! Dochira no kuni kara desu ka (Where do you come from)?" She explained about the reaction from the Japanese to her. It seems that Miho has the urge to tell everyone that she is a normal person just like everyone else, and only she is now with a faith that she believes in. Miho has a job, has a family, treats her family well, has concerns, and communicates, just as a normal person would do.

Miho explains that as a woman, she is like any other women and buys monthly woman's needs such as cosmetics, toiletries, sanitary napkins or even vitamins. Miho also shops for clothes in stores like Uniqlo and also do groceries in supermarkets or drugstores like Welcia or Valor or Gyomu Supa (supermarket for business retail) like a usual housewife. But, the difference between Miho and other women or housewives is about buying halal products. As a Muslim, it is very important to prevent oneself from consuming prohibited items in Islam, such as pork, alcohol and everything else that contains substances from pork and alcohol. That is why Miho is selective in the items she uses or consumes everyday, especially the ones that are also consumed with her family. For cosmetics and toiletries though, Miho chooses organic products to avoid gelatin or collagen-based products. For vitamins and medicines, she avoids those that contain gelatin, or if the medicines are prescribed, she would just accept it the way it is. She also mentions that she goes to beauty salon once in a while, not very often because she does not really have the time and she thinks that prioritizing her family is better than spending time for herself. This is also very interesting. Miho wears hijab and, once she does, she cannot show her unveiled look to the opposite sex unless they are family or husband or children. So, when Miho goes to the beauty salon, since most salons in Japan always have male and female staffs, she always ask for a special place in the corner and only female staff should take care of her. But after several times having been to such a beauty salon, Miho found a fellow Muslim woman who owns a beauty salon and would do the service for her privately.

This subject about attitude towards the opposite sex is really important for Miho, especially to educate her children. In this modern era, it is very common in Japan that both women and men are very easy to have physical contact as if there were no more boundaries between them. Miho teaches her children not to imitate these behaviors, saying that, even if they are common in television, that does not mean it can be justified. "Although it's everywhere, it's inappropriate. Because, really, you get brainwashed by those things, when you see it often everywhere and popular, you think you start feeling that's okay, that's the scary part," Miho says. The point is, she wants her children to be protected from things that are prohibited in Islam and they are prohibited for sensible reasons. Miho herself had an experience where a stranger, a man, approached her and touched her hijab and shoulder while standing so closely to her. For Miho, this was a very offensive attitude towards her. She does not want this kind of event to occur to her children, and that is why she teaches her children the basic knowledge about this. Luckily, her children are responsive to this matter and one day they even protested to their mother about a photo where Miho stood closer to the other male than her husband accidentally. "In that picture, when my kids saw it, 'Mum! Why are you so close to this man other than your husband? It's not good!" Miho told about her children's reaction. As a matter of fact, Miho is quite strict with this matter and tells that women in Japan actually have options to avoid these unnecessary physical contacts. Miho claims that she gave birth to her children with a midwife, not a doctor in a hospital. She says that she wants to have a full treatment from female staffs from the beginning of her pregnancy until laboring and post-laboring. In her opinion, this choice that she took was very important because, in the end, it was the staffs that adjusted their schedule for the patient, and not otherwise. "But, when you go to the hospital, you know, the nurses always work by the shift, it's always done by the group, everything always have to go by their timing not your timing," Miho explains. But, even though Miho is very strict about this issue, she says that it does not matter for her to go to see a male doctor for her nose, although she would still prefer female doctor to male doctor.

Miho is also concerned about other things in her children's life, such as socializing with other kids and the products that they consume outside instead of the ones that are prepared at home. One of her children joins a soccer club and sometimes the school will hold a soccer camp and of course in the middle of the camp there would be a meal break. Sometimes Miho would accompany her child and she would communicate with the teachers and other parents about her family's situation, namely the religious norms of not eating pork or pork-related food. Luckily, the teachers and the other parents respect this and they even ask Miho to explain to them what are allowed and not allowed. "They're like very modest in trying to learn," Miho says, "So, Alhamdulillah those kinds of talk I experience a couple times, I feel like, uh, those are necessary and sometimes challenging but, when you try to be sincere and polite and modest, things are just going to be well, you know, they understand." Another concern for Miho about her children is regarding how the children will later socialize with the larger society, because they all grow each every year. Miho hears from another Muslim family living with a child going to the junior high school in Shizuoka, that kids about that age would start to learn attacking or bullying other kids and call the poor child 'Islam terrorist' and things like that. So, for Miho, it is a very big concern about her child who is going to go to the junior high school next year.

Born as the second child of four in the family, Miho feels blessed that currently her parents and brothers and sisters are supporting her as a Muslim woman. She has been a Muslim for eighteen years and that is a blessing, although she feels that she still has so many lacks of things. Since the beginning she decided to wear hijab, she was determined to show to her children a good Muslim household she has. First, to educate the children wearing hijab properly is a must for a woman when she is on coming of age, and it is also important to teach the children to live side by side with other people peacefully without pushing Islam as a faith to other people. It is also Miho's principle to help each other, especially among the fellow Muslim brothers or sisters whenever they need help. For example, when there were several fellow Muslim people who passed away in Shizuoka, Miho and other members of the Shizuoka Muslim Association would support the family left by giving a proper burial service. One of the passed away was a woman and Miho helped performing ghusl (washing the body of the dead) before the body was buried in the cemetery in Shimizu. All of these are also part of Islamic teachings and Miho believes that there are more to learn, not only internally among the Muslims living in Shizuoka, but also in making good relationships with the non-Muslim neighbors and the local residents.

2.1.5. Juri

Juri is a Japanese woman who has been married to a Palestinian Muslim. Before she was married to her current husband, she was already becoming a Muslim. She says that she likes listening to the sound of Holy Quran's verses being recited and that was one of the reasons she was interested in being a Muslim. She says, "The sound of it being recited is comfortable and peaceful." After Juri became Muslim, she married her husband not long afterwards. At their early stage of marriage, Juri did not wear hijab yet. She wanted to wear hijab just like other sisters in the mosque where she used to study about Islam, but she never had the confidence in wearing one yet. But, after she had her first son, who turned one year old, she was determined to wear the hijab on that day. "So, it's like a memory for myself and for my son's birthday, it's like connected," she says about choosing the date for her reminder on wearing hijab.

Juri and her husband used to live in Auckland, New Zealand for fifteen years, before they decided to move to Japan for a long term in 2016. One of the biggest reasons she and her family came to Japan was to take care of Juri's ninety-six year old grandmother. So, in Juri's household now, there are six family members, including Juri, her husband, her three children and the grandmother. With this kind of condition in the household, Juri automatically became a full-time housewife who supported her husband, children and grandmother. In her daily life, Juri mostly spends time preparing meals for her children and husband, and when everyone goes to school or work, she will take care of her grandmother, such as changing her diapers or taking her to see the doctor on her wheelchair. Basically, Juri is just an ordinary housewife, but she feels rather special herself because she is a Muslim now.

When Juri decided to become a Muslim, she told her family about it. Her father and brother were supportive toward her decision. Juri's father even told his daughter that he respected what his daughter believed and that she must have confidence in doing what she believed. Indeed, before Juri became a Muslim, she was a Buddhist but she never really practiced the Buddhist teachings. She even went to church several times, but she did not feel anything special by going to that place. After she learned about Islam and the Holy Quran, however, Juri realized that this was the right choice for her and her heart said so. When Juri decided to wear hijab, her father and brother were going to visit her in New Zealand, so Juri informed her father of her condition of wearing hijab before she went to meet him and pick him up at the airport. Her confirmation was for her father not being surprised, but her father's reaction was, "Yeah, okay, okay. No problem." It was a sign of support from Juri's father, but her mother was different. Juri's mother was against her decision in becoming a Muslim, moreover wearing a hijab. "She always speaks negatively and I don't want to hear about it. I've heard it before and I don't need to hear it anymore," says Juri. Even Juri's husband calls her a racist. It seems that Juri's mother is overthinking about her neighbor's opinions rather than accepting the condition of her daughter's family. Nevertheless, Juri still respects her mother and she never cuts her relationship with her mother.

Juri's concerns do not stop here, because there are more worrying things to face in living in Japan, such as children's education. Juri wants her children to have the proper education, academically and religiously. As a start, before moving to Japan, Juri contacted kyouiku iinkai (Board of Education) to research about which school is best for her kids. She researched if the school has many international kids or not, because she did not want her kids to feel being left out. Juri explained to the Assistant Principal whom she talked to before her kids entered the school, that her children would not be able to eat the school meal if the meal contains pork, alcohol and related ingredients, therefore, she would bring their own meal for her children. Juri deliberately did not mention about her being a Muslim, but from such a request, the Assistant Principal recognized it as due to a religious reason. Fortunately, it was allowed and even the children were allowed to use the library if they ever want to perform prayer. As we all know, Juri's children were all born in New Zealand and that made English as their first language. The next thing that concerned Juri was the language problem for the kids at school. One day, one of her boys complained to her, about the male students at his school who often talked nastily and also about their physical contact. Much concerned, Juri talked to the teacher about this matter, but of course, the teacher could not always monitor her son all the time. Meanwhile, Juri's son complained again to his mother, this time because his mother told everything to the teacher. "Why Mama told everything to Teacher? Don't interfere!" the son told his mother. It is natural for Juri to worry, because she knows that her child has a little bit language problems so that he cannot express himself well. Difficulty in communication is part of Juri's greatest concern.

The next thing that concerns Juri is about the religious education for her children. Unlike in New Zealand, where it was easy to get religious education even for adults because there were mosques, Islamic communities and Islamic activities every Friday or Sunday Schools, in Shizuoka it was totally different. Juri's husband is involved in the Shizuoka Muslim Association, but in the Association there is no longer Kids Program, so Juri's children cannot have lessons outside their house. "Sometimes kids need to learn outside from other people, not only from their parents, because kids get bored easily. Outside, they can study with other kids and not easy to forget," Juri says about her opinion. This situation makes Juri wish there should be more communities that help Muslim children actively learn about Islam. Juri is also reminded of her situation back in New Zealand, where everything was less strict and easily accepting something new, unlike in Japan. New Zealand is like Canada, a country with many cultures and languages and thus makes people respect each other's culture and way of thinking. In Japan, when there is a new culture coming, it is not easily accepted and the Japanese people are too afraid to implement the idea. As an example, two weeks ago Juri went to the City Hall with some Muslim ladies and they talked about school lunch with some people from the Board of Education, kyuushoku senta (School Meal Organization) and other people. One Japanese male told them that in Japan it was difficult to start something new if they do not have the basics or start from zero, because Japanese people do not want to take risks.

Another thing that is different from New Zealand is about getting permission. In New Zealand, Juri's children went to school with multicultural children of different races and religions and they were getting along well with each other. The school automatically provided the children's needs, such as prayer space at taiikukan (School's Gymnasium) whenever the children wanted to pray, and the children were free to do fasting during the Ramadan and there were even Islamic lessons once a week for the Muslim children. But, in Japan, if parents do not come to the school to tell the teacher about these religious matters, the children would probably be prohibited from doing anything without previous consent. That is why, two to three weeks before the Ramadan starts, Juri visits the school to tell the teacher about her children going to do fasting. Fortunately, this was allowed and even both of her sons managed to complete a whole month fasting. "It was very hot this year and last year as well, but this year my eldest one did it for one month completely. Second son, did it completely for one month this year for the first time. Even though he had a little bit headache or tummy pain, he wanted to do it, Alhamdulillah," says Juri.

Juri, who seems not to come out of the house too often, actually is sharing her husband's and children's pain in the society, especially that of her children. Juri's children are half Japanese and half Palestinian, but they have a Japanese look and they sometimes wonder if they are Japanese or gaijin (foreigner). Her children are often called gaijin either by fellow students or adults. Juri says that her daughter is the most sensitive about this. "Gaijin dakara wakaranai yo ne (you don't understand because you're foreigner), shou ga nai ne (can't be helped)," says Juri about one of the comments for her daughter. This is very sad and unacceptable but it is the fact. When Juri and her family decided to move to Japan, many people in her surroundings told her that they were moving to one of the best countries in the world. As a matter of fact, they were all wrong, because reality is not as beautiful as imagination. "People don't know what they are talking about, because here, it's us who face the reality," says Juri. Indeed, after living in Japan, her children seem to have less childhood than when they were in New Zealand. "In New Zealand, school holiday means no homework, here, too much homework. They used to play a lot with other kids, here, they don't see other kids that much," explains Juri. But, Juri wisely tells her children that everything that occurs to them in life during living in Japan will make them stronger in personality, because, if the children have felt the worse, their mental will be built better. Another comment from Juri, "We have good time here, but struggling as well."

Although Juri mainly tells about problems around her children, she also tells some of her experiences, too in Japan. As a woman, Juri might buy sanitary napkins for each monthly period. Here are the problems, namely, the male cashier and his son. When Juri sees a male cashier, she will wait until a female cashier is available, because she does not feel comfortable with a male cashier serving her. But, when it is an emergency, she will have no other choice. The second problem is her son being around her when she is buying sanitary napkins. He will ask questions loudly and keep asking until he is satisfied. For Juri, it is quite embarrassing, because the child is asking about woman's privacy and Juri thinks it is not yet the time for a twelve year old child to know. So, in that case, Juri will wait until her son is not looking at her any longer and she would pay for the napkins. "If I don't do that, he will not stop asking me about it," says Juri. And then, regarding woman care, Juri explains that she is not interested in buying makeups or stuffs, and she does not even go to a beauty salon. Well, that is because, in Japan, it is hard to find a beauty salon that is dedicated for women only and it is impossible to have her hair to be seen by the opposite sex. In New Zealand, Juri sometimes called over some Japanese ladies to her house to cut her hair, but in Japan she has not found any woman who can cut for her personally.

Juri also tells about how people in her surroundings react when they see her. When she was in New Zealand, it was a common thing that, if people approach her, they would ask about her appearance or her faith. Meanwhile in Japan, it never occurs. Instead, people talk secretly and comment about her appearance, such as 'Who is she? Is she a Japanese? Why is her Japanese so good?' This is by far the most inappropriate thing that ever happened to Juri. But Juri tries to take the positive side, because at least she has never been physically abused by anyone. When Juri spends her time playing table tennis with her family at chuo kaikan (Central Assembly Hall), they are usually with other Japanese people, but no one ever bothers her family. "Everyone was being normal," she says.

1 note · View note