IS JAPANESE SOCIETY REALLY ISLAMISING? (ISLAM’S PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE IN JAPANESE SOCIETY)

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 294 - 316, 21.10.2023

İsa Abidoğlu

Abstract

In modern Japan, besides Shintoism and Buddhism, there are many new religions with millions of adherents that cannot be ignored. However, among these new religions, Islam is undoubtedly the most striking one with its institutional identity and its transcendence of local dynamics. Islam’s relationship with Japan is quite new compared to its relations with other countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. As a matter of fact, many studies date the encounter of Japanese society with Islam to the last quarter of the 19th century. It is possible to say that there are important reference points in this encounter in order to understand religion-society interaction in general. Therefore, the aim of this article is to examine the relationship of Japanese society with Islam from a historical perspective, to penetrate the psycho-social background of the tendency to Islamisation in Japan and to decipher the factors affecting the formation and development of Islamic culture in Japan. In addition, it is aimed to provide an overview of the historical background and current situation of Muslims living in Japan and to overcome the lack of resources in this field. Firstly, the article will discuss the historical course of the appearance of Islam in Japanese society and the cultural relations between Japanese and Muslim peoples. Secondly, articles on attitudes and images of Islam in Japanese society in general are analysed. Finally, discussions in the context of religion-society interaction will be included by referring to sections of studies on the changes and transformations observed in the segment of Japanese people who accept Islam as a religion. It should also be noted that the field data declared in this article are studies conducted before 2020.

Keywords

Religion-society interaction, Japanese Culture, Shintoism, Islam in Japan.

GERÇEKTEN JAPONYA MÜSLÜMANLAŞIYOR MU? (JAPON TOPLUMUNDA İSLAM’IN DÜNÜ, BUGÜNÜ VE YARINI)

Abstract

Modern Japonya’da Şintoizm ve Budizm’in yanı sıra, milyonlarca taraftarı olan ve göz ardı edilmesi mümkün olmayan birçok yeni din vardır. Fakat bu yeni dinlerin içinde kurumsal kimliği ve yerel dinamikleri aşan yönüyle en dikkat çekeni şüphesiz İslam dinidir. İslam’ın Japonya ile olan ilişkisi Asya, Afrika ve Avrupa’daki diğer ülkelerle olan ilişkilerine kıyasla oldukça yenidir. Nitekim birçok çalışma Japon toplumunun İslam’la karşılaşmasını 19. Yüzyılın son çeyreğine tarihlendirir. Söz konusu karşılaşmada genel olarak din-toplum etkileşimini anlamak adına önemli referans noktaları olduğunu söylemek mümkündür. Dolayısıyla bu makalenin amacı, Japon toplumunun İslam’la olan ilişkisini tarihsel perspektiften ele alarak, Japonya’da Müslümanlaşma temayülünün psiko-sosyal arka planına nüfuz etmek ve İslami kültürün Japonya’da oluşum ve gelişimini etkileyen faktörlerini deşifre etmektir. Makalede ilk olarak İslam’ın Japon toplumunda görülmesinin tarihi seyri ve Japonlarla Müslüman halklar arasındaki kültürel ilişkiler ele alınmıştır. İkinci konu olarak Japon toplumunda genel olarak İslam dinine yönelik tutum ve imajlara değinen makaleler üzerine incelemeler yapılmıştır. Sonda ise Japon halkından İslam’ı kabul edenlerde gözlemlenen değişim ve dönüşümleri konu alan çalışmalardan kesitlere değinmek suretiyle din-toplum etkileşimi bağlamında tartışmalara yer verilecektir. Ayrıca belirtmek gerekir ki bu makalede beyan edilen saha verileri 2020 yılı öncesi yapılan çalışmalar.

Keywords

Din-toplum etkileşimi, Japon Kültürü, Şintoizm, Japonya’da İslam, Japonya’da Dini hayat

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