Sapporo Masjid Project 1
Table of Contents Introduction.. 3 HIS Organization...5 Some Achievements of HIS Organization 7 Sapporo Masjid Project... 10 2
Introduction Hokkaido Islamic Society (HIS) is a registered religious corporation in Japan under the Nonprofit Religious Corporation Law (SHUKYO HOJIN) and located in Sapporo city, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The Muslims of Sapporo started the organization of HIS in 1992 with the first constitutional articles established in August 1992 and amended in 1993, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2016. Sapporo is the fourth largest city in Japan with population of 1.9 million people and the capital of the northern Japanese Island Hokkaido (Figure 1). Sapporo is the city of Hokkaido University which is ranked as one of the best 7 Universities over more than 700 Japanese Universities. Figure 1: Location of Sapporo City and Hokkaido Prefecture in Japan. 3
Hokkaido University is an attraction spot for international students, including many Muslim students. This has played a significant role in the increasing size of the Muslim community in Sapporo, which comprises of students in addition to the resident Muslims of Sapporo. The recent growth of the Muslim community in Sapporo increased the need for a well organized society for Muslims to protect their and their families beliefs in a non Muslim country. This was a key motivational factor for HIS to implement better organization to effectively serve the Muslim community. After more than one year of preparations, on 06 th of August, 2016, Muslims of Sapporo assembled and approved their new constitutional articles containing rules and system that can fulfill the needs of the growing number of Muslims in Sapporo. It is our intention that it will form the foundation of a larger Islamic Center in the capital of the northern Japanese Island of Hokkaido to serve Islam and benefit the Muslims in Sapporo city and all other cities in Hokkaido Prefecture. 4
HIS Organization The HIS organization is based on choosing 2 representatives from each registered Muslim community in HIS to form the Management Committee (MC). Until now (May, 2017), HIS has 7 registered Muslim Communities; Africa, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Pakistan. The community representatives will then choose the Executive Committee (EC) within them. The EC consists of Chairman, Vice Chairman, General Secretary and Treasurer. The Management Committee will then form the driving power of the whole HIS activities which is called HIS Activity Groups. HIS Activity Groups are divided based on the specific tasks of each group into 5 main activity groups: Admin Group, Dawa Group, Publication Group, Cleaning Group and Jumaa Group. Admin Group: The Admin Group shall be responsible for: 1) Arranging activities for strengthening the brotherhood of Muslim communities in Sapporo and Japan 2) To cooperate and coordinate our efforts with other Muslim groups and organizations functioning inside or outside Japan. 3) To organize social gatherings for the Muslims e.g. Eid gatherings or any event in which the HIS members can interact and have exchange of opinion and knowledge. 4) Organize any event for the entertainment of the community in every two months, for example (soccer / futsal / sports tournament, skiing, cooking nights etc.) 5) Take care of imam or any other employee of the HIS. 6) Managing Masjid office. 5
Dawa Group: The Dawa Group shall be responsible for: 1) Arranging Islamic and cultural activities to introduce, educate and promote the understanding of Islam to Muslims. 2) Introducing Islam to Non-Muslim in Hokkaido. 3) Inviting scholar on Islam and organize educational/cultural programs to familiarize Muslim brothers to each other from different countries. 4) Managing masjid library. The Publication Group: The Publication Group shall be responsible for: 1) Maintaining and updating the official HIS website. 2) Creating official mailing lists for the Masjid groups. 3) Creating general mailing lists for all the HIS members. 4) Preparing and publishing an official brochure of the HIS and general brochures of the Islam (multi languages). 5) Publishing newsletters that covers the HIS events and activities. 6) Publicity of HIS events. 7) Sharing resources that will benefit Muslims e.g., Islamic literature. Cleaning Group The Cleaning Group shall be responsible for: 1) Cleaning the Masjid and its premises. 2) Managing the parking of cars and bicycles outside the Masjid Jumaa Group: The Jumaa Group shall be responsible for: 1) Organizing Jumaa Prayer 2) Arranging the Pedestrian Walk Way and preventing it from being blocked from brothers gathering after Jumaa 3) Cooperate with Cleaning Group in preventing any wrong parking in front of the Masjid. 4) Responsible for any issue related to Jumaa Prayer. 6
Some Achievements of HIS 1- Employment of a fixed Imam for HIS The first task for the new Management Committee was to find a qualified fixed Imam to educate the Muslims of Sapporo in addition to presenting Islam in a good and moderate way to the local Japanese community. In February 2017, HIS welcomed Imam Mohammed Ismail from Egypt who was hired as fixed Imam for HIS for 2 years. 2- Islamic Knowledge Programs After welcoming the new fixed Imam, HIS Dawa group started Educational Programs for the Muslims of Sapporo. These programs include daily Islamic lessons after Ishaa Prayer, weekly Quran memorization classes and seasonal Islamic Programs (Before Ramadan, Zakah, Hajj etc.) 3- Arabic Classes for Japanese non-muslims In addition to the Educational Programs which are aimed at Muslims, HIS started Arabic classes from April 2017 for Japanese non-muslims to familiarize Japanese people with Muslims and Islamic cultures. 4- Regular Brotherhood Gatherings with Kids Quran Competitions HIS has taken an important step to unite and strengthen the Muslim community in Sapporo through regular social gatherings in which all seven HIS communities gather and have dinner together in addition to having some Islamic lectures and activities. One of the most important activities is to motivate Muslim children to memorize the Quran by holding competitions between them in memorizing Quran with small toys as prizes for winners and all participants. Based on the feedback of many families, kids became more interested in Quran memorization with some small toys after these competitions. Figure 2: Group photo of one brotherhood gatherings. 7
5- Halal Food Night After long discussions about how can HIS introduce Islamic culture to the Japanese society, HIS MC came up with the idea of introducing Islam with an interesting and attractive way to the Japanese society. Recently, the concept of Halal Food confused many Japanese people and raised many questions in their minds based on what makes Halal food different from other food. HIS found their interest about Halal food a good chance to introduce the basic concepts of Islam to Japanese people. HIS decided to organize a large event in which a short presentation about the concept of Halal concept and basic Islamic beliefs were introduced followed by serving International Halal Dinner prepared by the 7 HIS Communities. The Japanese participation in the event was more than expected, in which more than 350 participants joined and enjoyed both the presentation and Halal dinner. The Halal Food Night stimulated great interest from the media in Japan media side including Japan s national public broadcasting organization NHK and other local newspapers. After the success of the event in both 2015 and 2017, HIS decided to make it a fixed annual event. Figure 3: 2 nd Halal Food Night, April 2017. 8
6- The Visit of Hokkaido University Religious Studies Department In March 2017, HIS Dawa Group seized the opportunity to open new channels with the Japanese society through organizing a meeting with some professors and graduate students of the Religious Studies Department at Hokkaido University. HIS Dawa Group gave a lecture about the five Islamic pillars and other Islamic beliefs and teachings. This meeting inspired HIS to open other channels with governmental and educational organizations at different levels. 7- The Visits of other Islamic Organization (e.g. Muslim Care Japan) As a good step in strengthening the relations between HIS and other Islamic organizations all over Japan, in March 2017, HIS welcomed representatives from Muslim Care Japan. Muslim Care Japan is a Malaysian non-profit organization centered in Tokyo and their aim is to propagate charity activities all over the world with special concern to Japan. Muslim Care Japan is focusing on the following fields: 1. Homeless Project 2. Volunteer recruitment to any emergency area in Japan and other countries 3. Consultancy in Building Masjids in Japan 4. Consultancy in Bait Muslim (Muslim Family) 5. Murabbi Corner (Consultancy regarding life problems, fiqh and etc with qualified Ustadh) 6. Zakat Consultant, Collection, and Distribution 7. Da wah in Japanese Language 8. Halal advertisements 9. Spreading muslim friendly environment project throughout Japan HIS and Muslim Care Japan have exchanged their experiences after listening to each other s presentations followed by fruitful discussions between all members. Figure 4: Group photo of HIS and Muslim Care Japan representatives 9
Sapporo Masjid Project The Muslim population in Sapporo is currently exceeding 400 members and the number is increasing. The maximum capacity of the current Musalla is only 150 people, in addition to lacking the suitable space for the educational, social and dawa activities of HIS. (Check achievements of HIS Organization) Based on the vital location of HIS in the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture, a well constructed Islamic Center is needed to fulfill the 2 main aims of HIS: 1- Building a strong, united, and well-educated Muslim community in Sapporo. 2- Introducing Islam to the Japanese society in Sapporo and all over Hokkaido Prefecture. In order to achieve these two goals, the Sapporo Masjid Project is planned as follows: Total area: 300m 2 No. of levels: 4 levels Estimated Cost: 60 million ($540,000) Campaign duration: 2 months (From 1 st of Ramadan, 1438 (27 th of May, 2017)) Figure 5: Front view diagrammatic structure 10
Detailed Project information is as follows: 1) First Level: The first level shall consist of: 1- Male prayer room (main musalla) 2- Male WC and ablution 3- Imam room Figure 6: First level diagrammatic structure 11
2) Second level: The second level shall consist of: 1- Female prayer room 2- Female WC and ablution 3- Kids activity room Figure 7: Second level diagrammatic structure 12
3) Third level: The third level shall consist of: 1- Multi Purpose Hall 2- Male and Female WC 3- Class room Figure 8: Third level diagrammatic structure 13
4) Fourth level: The fourh level shall consist of: 1- Library 2- Management Offices 3- Secretariat 4- Storage room Figure 9: Fourth level diagrammatic structure 14
For donations from inside Japan: HIS Bank Account Information: Bank: Japan Post Bank Account Name: Hokkaido Islamic Society ( 宗教法人北海道イスラミ ックソサエティ-) Account Number: 19070 51018421 For donations from outside Japan: Beneficiary Bank: BIC (SWIFT code): Bank Head Office Address: Account Name: Japan Post Bank JPPSJPJ1 3-2, Kasumigaseki 1 chome, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo 100-8798, Japan Hokkaido Islamic Society( 宗教法人北海道イスラミックソサエティ-) Account Number: 19070 51018421 Recipient Address: Sapporo-shi, Kita-ku, Kita 14-jo, Nishi 3- Chome, 1-10, Hokkaido 001-0014, Japan. Telephone Number: +81 90 2871 6440 Intermediary Bank (USD): Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas NY BIC (SWIFT code): BKTRUS33 Chips UID (for USD): 427593 Intermediary Bank (EUR): BIC (SWIFT code): Deutsche Bank AG Frankfurt DEUTDEFF 15
Contact Details: HIS website: HIS email: www.sapporomasjid.com sapporomasjid@gmail.com HIS Vice Chairman: HIS Treasurer: Muhammad Towfik Alam Tel: +81 80 3268 3635 Muhammed Shehata Tel: +81 90 2871 6440 For international inquiries: Arabic: +81 90 2871 6440 Bangla: +81 90 6213 9083 English: +81 80 4047 3235 French: +81 80 1877 5658 Indonesian: +81 80 3293 3369 Japanese: +81 80 6088 2583 Malay: +81 80 8625 5705 Urdu: +81 90 1665 1588 Uzbek: +81 80 6094 0214 16
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