Negotiating Belonging: Japanese Muslim Experience

Authors : Elif Büşra Kocalan

Pages : 49-72

Doi:10.37697/eskiyeni.1790923

View : 121 | Download : 308

Publication Date : 2025-12-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study examines the lived experiences of Japanese Muslims, a minority within a minority, who occupy the unique position of being cultural insiders in Japan while adhering to a religion often perceived as foreign. Drawing on over two years of fieldwork in Tokyo (2016–2017 and 2019–2020), including participant observation and 62 semi-structured interviews with Japanese converts to Islam (32 women and 30 men, aged 19–81), the research explores how these individuals navigate the intersection of faith and national identity in everyday life. Employing a qualitative methodology that combines phenomenology and grounded theory, the study prioritizes participants’ subjective meanings while inductively developing concepts specific to the Japanese context. Findings reveal that Japanese Muslims face challenges that are subtle rather than overt. These include negotiating daily Islamic practices such as prayer, halal food, and modest dress in a society where visible religiosity is uncommon; dealing with misrecognition, often being perceived as foreigners despite their Japaneseness; and suppressing religious identity in workplaces that value uniformity and discourage personal differences. At the same time, participants reported tensions within the immigrant Muslim community, where adaptive strategies shaped by Japanese social norms were sometimes misinterpreted as weak faith. A further layer of difficulty is the burden of representation: as some of the few Muslims that Japanese people encounter, converts often feel compelled to embody idealized versions of Islam, a responsibility that brings both opportunities for interfaith understanding and significant psychological strain. The study contributes to the sociology of religion by highlighting how Japanese converts construct hybrid identities that are simultaneously fully Japanese and fully Muslim. Their experiences illustrate that conversion is not a one-time event but an ongoing negotiation of belonging, recognition, and adaptation in a context of cultural conformity.
Keywords : Din Sosyolojisi, Din Değiştirme, Dini Kimlik, Japon Müslümanlar, Japon İslamı

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