JIT, a registered religious organization in Japan, has been helping and serving the Islamic community in Japan for few decades. In addition, JIT also seeks to establish harmony and a sense of mutual understanding with the local non-muslim community.

JIT range from seminars, lecture series, annual Tarbiyyah camp, Quran/Hadith classes, weekend boys’ classes, ladies/girls’ classes, Arabic classes from time to time. JIT is also involved in ‘Japanese homeless feeding event’, Welfare fund (domestic and overseas such as Afghanistan, Syria, Burma, etc), halal certification, marriage ceremony and certification, family counseling, funeral and burial assistance, and refugee assistance program.

Message from the chairman.

Assalamualaykum
It is with great pride and honor that I present to you the Japan Islamic Trust (JIT) report 2021. When I came to Japan, the second time, the muslim population in Japan was much more than compared to when I first arrived in Japan in 1963. The desire to construct mosques was at all time high. I saw people donating their entire salaries for the cause of construction of mosques. Not just the Otsuka mosque, but every region in Japan, where there were muslims, they had taken initiatives to construct mosques. As a result, over the years, there have been more than 100 mosques built in Japan, catering to various needs of the muslims as well as serving as a gateway to Islam for the Japanese society in general.

Despite the fact that mosques were being built and were being occupied by religious devotees, regularly. The islamic education and upbringing of the younger muslims was lacking. There was not a single Islamic school in Japan. In 2004, we started the first Islamic kindergarten, imparting fundamental islamic values to youngsters at a very early stage. As years went by, we felt the need to enhance the islamic learning environment. Alhamdulillah, in 2017, we started the International Islamia School Otsuka, an elementary school (as a non-profit organization) in a rented building. Over the past 4 years, the school has grown in size and number.

As I said before, muslims are willingly supporting mosques, but similar motivation and interest in the establishment of Islamic schools is lacking. My desire is that all the mosques in Japan, must be accompanied by education facilities, such as those provided by a school or the likes. The education system in Japan is top-notch, but religious education, in particular Islamic education, is not taught as part of government policies. Since the population of muslims is increasing in Japan, the establishment of such places where young muslims can have access to education along with islamic values is urgently required. Therefore, I encourage the muslims living in Japan to take initiative and bring those facilities to their children so that they retain their muslim identity and play active roles in the society as they grow up.

I promise you that we, Japan Islamic Trust, will continue our efforts in fulfilling the religious and worldly needs of muslims, here in Japan and abroad.