Discovering Japan's Hidden Islamic Culture and the Spiritual Meaning of Ninja

in Japan. It's a very new thing in the whole history for too many immigrants to come into Japan and it's just, you know, we're not accustomed to it. So, I wish if you know, foreigners also have more rahma, you know, like cuz we're not used to, we don't know how to react to immigrants. So, you know, if we can both have that compassion each other, we will see uh Japan one day becoming a Muslim country perhaps. I don't know. I think it's already like they are already you know as many foreigners they come to Japan and they just completely say the same thing.

Muslims they're you know Japanese they're acting like a Muslim or some president I think it was Cece um he said that um Japanese are the walking Quran you know. Wow. The walking Quran. Wow. That's very telling. That's very telling that meaning of ninja. Oh yeah. like yeah ninja it's quite the word ninja in Japanese means sber patience yes n meansamato, how are you Akil? Alhamdulillah. Really happy and I just had the best kebab around here I guess. Oh mah it's good. We just had lunch and then happy that you liked it.

I love it so much. Mashallah. Well look I am very pleased. very happy to have um someone who came all along from Japan to London and I got the chance to um speak to mashallah. We have a lot to speak to today and I'm super curious to know more about Japan um the uh culture in Japan and um similarities between Islam culture and the Japanese culture because I heard a lot about the Japanese culture mah about the discipline about the deep connection with um the spirituality and then the nature and the divine things but I don't know much about it and as Allahhanaa you know, told us to know each other. Um, and we created you different nations or nations. So, you know each other and this is a great opportunity I

guess uh to sit down in this podcast and to ask you questions and then you will teach me more about the Japanese culture. Uh, but first of all, I would like to know about you. So, tell us about yourself please. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for this um big um introduction and I'm not sure whether I can you know articulate myself as I'm just a one Japanese Muslim. I'm born and raised in Japan and once again I'm Akil Kureshi and my name in Japanese they would pronounce Kureshi Akiru. Yeah it's it's obviously Arabic name but yeah I'm born and raised in Japan and I'm currently a teacher in a public

Japanese high school teaching it right now. Yeah. And um I'm doing also my masters right now under the lineage of Toji Isutsu and my um theme my topic is about the lived experience of Muslims in Japan. Yes. Mah this is very interesting. The other thing I know that u your family and yourself you've been involved in the dawa work in Japan I believe. Can you tell us more about that please? Okay. Yes. Um yes about my parents. So firstly my father is from Pakistan. He was originally born in India but because of the war he moved to Pakistan and obviously he moved to Pakistan because um of the war and he lost all his money

and you know his properties. So he had to come to Japan to um make the money basically and he met my mother in Tokyo just asking for a masid where is a masid and then my mother replied in Hindu uru or yeah and my father was surprised so you know my father found my mother as the you know this woman must be it's in Japan but she's talking in Hindu or Udu you know and his language. Yeah. So they got together and um my father he's just always um serious about the dean and my mother was she's um Japanese born in Kanagawa and she's was um raised not raised but she's basically Christian she was a Christian and her family were not Christian they were Shinto or Buddhists but yeah she was a Christian

and she was always you know just giving my father a lot of advices basically and in Tokyo there was a lot of Muslims back then in 1990s. So my mother just told him to move to Nagua and he moved to Nagua for his business but it was no mustard basically and he was always going by his car for three hours four hours to different perfeures. So my mother just said let's just make the mustard here and then my father was what can we do that you know like yeah and he basically started to work for it and my mother also helps him and alhamdulillah in 1997 my parents and my mother and the community in Nagagoya it's where it is the central part of Japan it's between Osaka and Tokyo yeah and he and my mother and the community built

the masid there and since Then until now they are um basically doing the work behind the masids. Mashallah that sounds very beautiful. Mashallah. So they didn't find a masid there. Let's make one. Let's not just stay there and complain but let's go to action. Yeah. And talking about action. This is something very important in Japanese culture, isn't it? Exactly. Go to do the action. But we're going to get into that later inshallah. Okay. But first of all, I would like to know about um now um Islam and Japan.

Like we've been hearing and seeing some statistics that many people are converting and reverted to Islam in Japan. Um is that true? And tell us your perspective um as a Japanese person living in Japan. Okay. Thank you. So about the increasing Muslims in Japan, that is true about the statistics, but I would not I'm not sure. I think no one's sure because you know they just convert and usually they're not present in the masid because me myself and also these Japanese Muslims we it's hard for us to find a place to com feel comfort in a masid where it's just basically for example Turkish or Pakistani or Bangladesh people and when we go there you know no one greets us we feel lonely

and we don't know the we can't understand the which is usually in Udu or you know different languages So we don't have our places. So you know we can't see each other in the masid. So I think yeah about the conversion they might be increasing but the truth might be that we don't know and it might be more or it might be less but what we're sure is that we have lot of immigrants that is recently more increasing from Indonesia basically and it's really incredible and um I feel it interesting like you know the people from Pakistan and Indonesia they're both they both have Islamic heritage but it's they have a different culture Right. And how is that different culture being perceived in Japan? Because I just be

honest here like um many people who went to Japan and maybe people live who lived there for a while. They just say maybe Japanese culture might be a bit difficult. Uh we were not fully welcomed perhaps by the locals there. Um is there any reasons for that? First of all, is that happening? And if it's happening, is there any reasons perhaps we ignore? Maybe they were misinterpreting things and we are just ignoring the reasons why um the locals are trying to distance themselves from foreigners and not fully integrating like fully interacting with them. Thank you. Right. Yeah, that's a good point. And I think the answer is in that ayah you just mentioned in the beginning about to know each other, but

we don't know each other. Basically the Muslims they don't know about the Japanese culture and the Japanese they don't know about the Muslims and that's I think creating a problem right there and for example the immigrants they might say Japanese as they are kufur or you know they're kafir and they didn't distance themselves and they just not all but some I hear some voices that you know Japanese people are just the people of hellfire so don't you know make don't become friends with them basically they say that to children who are in public school and what will what should a children do in a school, right? Everyone is basically non-Muslim and you're the only one there and the

parents say don't become friends there people hellfire like oh wow that's that's very harsh to but in the reality of things you know in Islam we don't know who's going to go to heaven we don't know who's going to end up in the hellfire and may Allah protect us all from the hellfire but we have some signs even in our religion so you might perceive from your own angle that this person is yeah very well practicing but that person Allah Ta knows him better than we do and maybe he will end up in the hellfire because of a very grave sin in the eyes of Allahhana tala that we don't know about and one of the example of that was made very clear for us one of the person one of the people who would be the first to go to hellfire may Allah protect us from it is the person who was

beautifying his voice and reciting Quran with a very beautiful voice but not for the sake of Allah subhanaa tala is just to get people to say oh mashallah to praise him and to say he has a good voice. So that is one example of people who will go to hellfire. But the whole point is we don't know who's going to hellfire. I don't think that we have the right you know as Muslims or from any other religion to know who are we you know who are we to make that verdict who's going to heaven and who's going to hellfire even if you if the appearances are telling and are giving us as signs that this person is may be like going astray or something but the final ver verdict is for Allahh isn't it right And if I think I feel really

sad if we just say, you know, they're people of hellfire and they distance and that means that they don't learn from each other while I also believe that there's a lot in the Japanese culture that people can learn and of course the Japanese also can learn from the foreigners too. But and as for the Japanese, they Yeah, it's sad. They don't know about Islam. Yes, it is. But do you think there is that openness to learn about Islam? Exactly. There definitely is. And yeah, it's really interesting how Japanese people are really um what's the word for majime? Majime like you know very serious. They're they're very they

work very hard basically. So when they have for example they have a classmate who is a Muslim they read a lot of books you know and or if there's a Muslim in a workplace people around them try to read a lot but I would say just ask them but they're you know sh um shame how do you say don't be shy to ask them yeah but you know they're shy and they don't ask just read but what they read is basically from the western media things okay yeah it's not you know that's a very interesting point that I wanted also to uh to tackle is the u Japanese like people in general they are very keen in not harming anyone not uh you know letting their ego out and then being very careful of how to protect people from their evil and then

just don't harm anyone don't harm the nature don't harm anyone and maybe because they are shy and they are very keen to do it they go read a book lots of books to know about the person's culture and not to ask them directly for the sake of saying okay maybe he will he will feel uncomfortable right uh is it that is it the case am I starting understanding you know the Japanese culture now I think yeah I totally agree with that assumption yes yeah good yeah they don't want to harm they really don't want to harm and well we don't know how you know we might harm there's always a possibility that we might harm people and that's why they're always, you know, into their spaces and when it's it might be sometimes

unhealthy actually. But yeah, but they're always very careful even in the train in the public space and always caring about others. Amazing. And I think I can call that tawa also. Yes. Which we really should learn from taqua and also Yeah. But let's come back to the um foreigners point. So foreigners and Japanese they don't understand each other. What might be the not the trigger point but something that the foreigners do and the Japanese people they don't find pleasant and that's why they're trying to distance themselves from. Yeah, that's a good point because um as a conclusion it's just the behavior

basically the behav if the behavior is wrong the manner is wrong we you know the society would basically corrupt right we have this peaceful harmony there and if there's someone doing something different the harmony would you know disappear right so for example if you're in a train and you got a phone call and you just answer that we like to answer phone calls in Japan. But it's not written anywhere. It's not it's you can't find that rule anywhere. It's just we learn it through the culture. It's like, you know, installing the application or software inside our brain. So I think it should re it is really hard for the foreigners

and Japanese should tell them the rules. But yeah, it's not written anywhere. That's the thing. That's why foreigners struggle and Japanese, you know, they are shy to say. So you know, so like both can't communicate basically. Okay. It's a kind of clash. Yeah, it is a clash. Yeah, cultural clashing there. Okay. So, by experience when I first went to Germany and France as well. So on the train I noticed some many signs saying be quiet, don't talk on your phone, don't be loud. And then when you once you get on the train um you just like the train is super quiet and like multiple of my travels uh the most enjoyable travels I've done were in France and Germany because it was very quiet and I'm I'm a person who want to

enjoy through quietness. That's how I am. Maybe I'm half Japanese. I don't know. But um it was helpful for me as well to see okay people here are quiet so I'm just going to respect the rules here. It's uh totally fine with it. And maybe that's something that maybe Japanese they need to work on and to uh to show their culture more to the foreigners especially now that I'm hearing that more immigrants are going to Japan now. Isn't it right? But the thing is in Japan it's a very new thing in the whole history for too many immigrants to come into Japan and it's just you know we're not accustomed to it. So I wish if you know foreigners also have more rahma you know like because we're not used to we don't

know how to react to immigrants. So you know if we can both have that compassion each other. Absolutely. maybe through conversations you know interfaith conversations I think that would help a lot right isn't it um now um you have Pakistani Japanese background right uh and that made you um what you are Akil Kureshi right which side more in you Japanese or Pakistani okay um I would say probably Japanese cuz I'm you know just born and raised there. I never live lived in Pakistan. Yeah. But yeah, I'm in a environment where my father is Pakistani and I also have my grandma daddy who is mix Indian but yeah she loves to live in Japan. So every um winter and every summer she goes back but for you know the good seasons for

autumn and spring she comes to Japan and we talk in Odo you know. So we have this kind of environment also but yeah I feel more into the Japanese environment. Mah very good. Um now if so mah you u you've been practicing for look since your childhood or you uh you've been made aware or studied more about Islam uh when you grow up. Yeah, everyone has their own story but for me as I said as I had this two backgrounds Pakistan and Japan and I always actually struggled about like if I act mus like a Muslim I will not look like a Japanese I will not behave like a Japanese or if I act like a Pakistani or a Muslim you know that

was always a clash or so like it was like should I be Japanese or should I be Muslim or Pakistani and there was always a conflict there so I wasn't, you know, a confident Muslim that much and I used to hide my I have three brothers and my alo my brothers also used to hide that they're Muslim and their school because you know what would happen if they say I'm a Muslim. We don't know what's going to happen. I think nothing's going to happen. But we're all always just afraid of the consequence that might happen. But isn't there a difference between I mean Islam and the culture because when we say Pakistani culture or any other

country culture is a thing and Islam is a is a total different thing but not necessarily you know the culture of the country will coincide 100% with the uh with the religion isn't it? So where is the fine line there? What made you be afraid of hiding your Islam at a younger age? What was the problem? What did you see from the Japanese behavior that made you worry about knowing that you are Muslim back then? I think it was um it was not it was rather it was not about I think the Japanese community. I think it was rather about me not understanding the Islam properly and we had no resource to even understand Islam in Japanese. There's there's a bunch of

it in English but not in Japanese. It's still less currently. So I didn't know about Islam. I just knew about Pakistani Islam basically. So it's not you know Islam as you mentioned is international but for my is I knew Islam was only Pakistani and so if I tried to be a Muslim that means I have to you know dress like a Pakistani and that itself you know that would make me stand out like you know be weird basically. Yeah. So I think it's just about I didn't know about Islam and I tried to I tried it. So I think it was possible to become a Japanese Muslim but I tried to become Pakistani Muslim basically. That's why it was hard for me.

Right. You thought if I'm going to be a Muslim so I have to be a Pakistani Muslim. Yes. I only knew that. Yeah. Right. And then what happened? Yeah. So I this happens to many of my friends and I know similar cases a lot but I basically started to hate Islam and I create I had this big hate towards Muslims and Islam itself because when I you know look at the Japanese community basically they're always clean when we eat we clean the dishes when we use the room we clean the room we don't we in Japan we say tatto The leaving bird never leave their remnants, leave any trash, anything at that place. So when you leave a place, we always make it clean

or make it better than before. Basically, it's likean, right? We're making it better. But you know, if you go to a masid, many rubbish, right? Right. And it's smelly, right? Like how would I, you know, respect a Muslim? And if you go just, you know, my school, elementary school was very near to the masid. And I was really, really worried if my classmates would think I'm the same people among the Muslims because Muslims are just walking outside in the night time after isha. Although it's time, you know, people might be sleeping, but they're speaking loudly and they might be spitting out the date

seeds. You see a lot of dead seed around the masid and you know it's just corruption basically. I see. Yeah. They're corrupting the earth the country. Yeah. So I couldn't feel confident. I don't want to be among them. I want to be among the people not because they're, you know, only Japanese, but they're better basically, you know. Oh my god. Yeah, this is something that um you know we don't focus too much on because when we're talking about Japan, we are really like talking about people who practice you know even if they have different applations and name for Allah if they

call him Allah subhana t like a power or ultimate power or higher power but they have this someone is watching me I have to behave the best I And I have to respect the space. I have to respect the all the humans and then I have to clean after myself. I have I don't so I have to not offend people and be very careful when I treat which is exactly what subhanah was sent for in Arabic. I was sent in you uh and within you to complete the best of manners and he taught us how to do that. So when you mention for example uh the mosque or cleaning after um ourselves it's it's a basic half of the iman right absolutely it's a basic thing in Islam but unfortunately Islam and Muslims are different things some Muslims they just go to mosque pray five

times a day you know but they don't take care of that tahara very much so the other thing mentioned if you eat garlic and onion or onion don't don't come closer to our mosque. So people don't care they just eat everything and maybe twice three four times a day and they just still come to the mosque. This is yes this is something in the Islam but people don't pay attention and then you will see the so let's let's say that the countries are different cultures are different um some people are more tolerant than others because maybe they're less strict you know but when you go to Japan as I mentioned when you have and high standard ofan I can understand now why people like kind of like a distancing themselves

which is a fit now subhan Allah Because Islam is not like that. It's the fault of Muslims and unfortunately in some Muslims who didn't have the full understanding of the manners and the importance of manners. Uh they just make themselves as fitna for people who may be looking forward to understand more about Muslim and Islams but was were pushed because of the lack of manners there. Right. And the saddest thing is when they say, you know, our mission is to grow Islam in Japan. And when perhaps they had some Japanese converted to Islam and when they when this Japanese come to a masid, you know, they'll feel shocked, you know, like

Japanese society is clean, everyone's nice. If you go to the masid, it's that like and they stop coming to the masid, stop, you know, engaging with Islam. Like, yeah, it's just nonsense there. Yeah, this is a big message for all of us actually as Muslims to be very careful about all our manners and to review all of these things that can possibly offend other communities. And I really feel happy about Islam and I think that this um Islam as you mentioned that as a prophet perfect did and he mentioned many of the things and it's also on in the Quran about for example you know like how they're walking and all the things there and it's written in

words and I think that's really important while as I mentioned before about the foreigners in Japan they don't know how to you know um get integrated in the society they don't know what is bad and what is good so they're just confused or they don't they're think they're harming the society well not knowing it right so I think Islam is really something important there and that's what I that made me brought to Islam because it's all written there so like you know the more Muslim I become I start noticing that oh the more Muslim I become the more Japanese I subhan Allah like yeah mashallah so you just noticed that it's it's like there is huge similarities between Islam and uh Japanese culture and Manderism.

Exactly. I see. Amazing. Will we see uh Japan one day becoming a Muslim country perhaps? I don't know. I think it's already like they are already you know as many foreigners they come to Japan and they just completely say the same thing. Muslims there, you know, Japanese, they're acting like a Muslim or some president. I think it was Cece. Um he said that um Japanese are the walking Quran, you know. Wow. The walking. Wow. That's very telling. That's very telling that. Mashallah. Okay. So, tell me um how you know to get to the point to be a mass for a whole society to have that instilled in you. Uh when do you start to is it the mother? Is it the school?

Is it that what is it that makes the child from its early ages um adopt that concept of respect being polite gratitude and right yeah that is also my wonder and I'm in the culture so I should know it but I don't know I was just automatically insold with that I think we don't learn these things as I mentioned it's never inscripted we say it's fibun It's not on words unlike the Quran you know it's we just have to we always say which means read atmosphere or read you know how people might be feeling always be aware of how people are feeling read the air read the um atmosphere and if you are not reacting not behaving good they say uh he's can't read the atmosphere so we always have to read you know and

to read that I think we need the special program installed in our brain or our like yeah what's the secret that you didn't tell me the secret though I need to know because that you know what because that will help the mothers and the parents even from other cultures to adopt this concept whom for among the parents don't want their children to be disciplined but one thing I know from my experience is that like when I started reading Quran although I didn't like Islam but I started reading Quran And there was these you know um things like you know for example lower your gaze or walk nicely don't walk arrogantly or you know uh if there is some people arguing just you know make that piece around there

like all these things the manner mannerism it's written there but for me it was hard to put in practice cuz you know you actually have to see it when you see it you can actually know oh that's how I can behave forget Yeah. So I think it's just something that is um transferred or it's like a heritage manner, right? So people just saw their parents, their grandparents doing something good and they just pass it on. Okay. And for that I think we really have to it's an unfortunate thing and I'm still wondering so if you can give me advice that would be really nice. But in Japan now Islamic schools are increasing but it's not like UK only

eight schools eight or nine. That's a good number. Yeah. It's still starting but I feel afraid you know like cuz I went to every school and I interviewed all the principles and I went to the masids there near the Islamic schools and some you know people who are in the masid they were claiming to me that you know the people who the Muslims youth who go to a Japanese public school they line up properly when they receive a food and there's this Islamic school kids they don't they cut the lines they push people and just get the food and the parents were like okay I'll not let my kids you know never ever let my kids Islamic school and but like what is Islamic you know right pushing people and cutting the lines and you know just behave that egoistic

mindset there I mean I'm not saying that's Islam I know and we're we're sure that's not Islam but unfortunately you know I mean like in Japan we have the manners there so I think I don't know which can you become a better Muslim going to a public school or Islamic school and it just yeah there's a big doubt inside I don't know answer but I see wow that's that's important I hope inshallah to see like I've never been to Japan but I totally understand the point so and I see that it's um a harmony the whole society is in harmony and the discipline so the child will just observe everyone is behaving in a way and he doesn't need to be rebuked booked or anything because everyone is doing everyone is making gratitude. So he will grasp that automatically right

without sometimes needing anyone to tell him that you need to behave that way. That's very inspiring. I wish like all Muslims will you know um learn from that spirit of which is the higher step of Islam. So we have Islam and then iman and then and I think you Japanese mashallah you already there in inanlam comes there and then gave you the whole reality of things and how to worship Allahhana tala and completed the manners you're on the top there I see so I hope so and that itself also raises a question that like for example my iikido master or I'm a longtime practitioner of Sado and Akido. I've done sat tea ceremony for 11 years, my half of my life, but um like these masters when I talk with them, they're

always connected to something greater than human. And of course, they don't say Allah, but they're connected to this one being there and always, you know, feeling their presence. I don't know like we just don't know the Arabic words there, but they might in the eyes of Allah, they might be, you know, already Muslim like Yeah. M yeah you don't know but um let us just know a bit about the religions in um in Japan. So you have Buddhism and you have Shinto is Shinto. What are these two religions and how people believe and think in these two different religions? Okay. Yeah. Um in the in today it's quite mixed but yeah so in Japan if you're living in Japan you would see a temple and you would see a shrine and

temple would be for Buddhists and shrine would be for Shinto and usually we it's like you know in for example if you if your parents or your relatives um pass away we do the what do you call that janazine English, how do you say Janza? Naza, funeral, funeral and a Buddhist temple for example or you might do your marriage ceremony and the shrine and know like we just have these places and people just go there and pray and interesting thing about those tradition is that for shrine as I mentioned before but you know shrine if you go to a shrine there's no statues there's no you know asam the idols yeah idols there right And so what do they worship?

Yeah, it makes you wonder if I want you know everyone to go there, but there's just this big room you can see through there and people just stand in front of that room and they can you know they just um put their hands together and pray and just connecting to something that they can't see basically. So they're worshiping something they can't see. And that's you know how and it starts like and it might not be a different it might not be the salah that we're performing but you know literally salah is connection right connection so they are connecting to something higher than human right unseen and they're standing there so they're doing you know and they're giving the money I don't know why but it's hard but they have to

give money to for the their wishes to be um fulfilled Yes. Yeah. According to their belief, they also do some kind of woodoo or is that the Yeah, that's really interesting. Yeah. Um this also made me amazed. But you know, if you go to a temple, you have to um there's this clean water that is flowing. It's not water that is staying there. It's flowing as you know, that's the rule of woodoo, I think. And it's flowing. And you take that water and you put you wash your hands, you wash your mouth, and then you face a god. And like that's quite interesting, isn't it? Because you don't face, you don't make prayers unless you're clean. So they make themselves clean.

What they what the um sensei these people say is that, you know, we're in our world worldly affairs. Basically, we're always, you know, distracted. So we when we go to these um temples or shrine, there's this thing called I don't know how to explain that in English, but it's like a gate basically You know, it's it's a place that from that part you're in a different place, okay? And from that part, you're separated from the worldly affairs, from the duny and you clean yourself and you're off from the duny and you faced so is very close to the concept of Islam. Exactly. connecting with Allahhana making purifying yourself saying Allah abbar that means you're going to go into salat now so you forget about everything in the worldly right that's

it's yeah it's very I see the similarities there that's true mashallah this is yeah mashallah uh very interesting to know but I also know that you um you mentioned that you're doing your masters now is that according to um Toshihiko is it um work um yes but um my um research is currently about the lived experience of especially the Muslim Arabic learners but um my professor is under the lineage. So my professor's professor's professor is Isizu Sashiko and Isizu Sashiko is who many of you know but he first translated Arabic Quran to Japanese. Oh wow. and he used you know he could um use 30 languages and you know with his linguistic skill and his philosophical um intelligence he it's I think one of the best translation that's it's still

read although it was um translated in the 1940s or 60s I guess but we still read that it's really nice it's really very nice many Japanese like taken that book and reading out of curiosity I mean yeah he's the one who introduced Islam without the connection to the western media. So the western media they you know create this Islam something scary or you know strict but he brought in Islam that is totally different from that and he used Islamic concepts and terminology to basically connect all the oriental philosophy because you know Japan used to be separated from all countries around them and languages and country they separate each of us and it's as if we're in a people although we're the same people.

So Isizutu he wanted to you know find the similarities between all the oriental philosophy and he structured using Arabic terminologies which was really interesting and that thing I really admire because in Japan we are losing a lot of beauty that you might or you know western people might praise. That's because we can't name that beauty. If you can't name that beauty you can't leave that. True. We can't because that's not we can't be aware of that. Yes. Concept when we have that concept we can be aware. So basically he used Arabic concept and I also want to I think we Japanese Muslims we have to or foreign Muslims have to um name the things in

Japan the beauty using the terminology of Islam because you know as you mentioned that Islam has um perfected that and we have all the you know concepts within our tradition. Yeah. So until now are you saying that all these beautiful things and concepts of Japan culture is not written anywhere. So if I want to go there and just to learn about everything you guys do and you instill in yourself since childhood I can't find any written book no guidance at all. um there are like the first Japanese philosopher is was in during the wartime 20th century that's quite you know late but um we don't have the words to you know describe the

Japanese philosophy so that was the first guy that was very late 19 during the war time and that's why we Japanese we always use Chinese philosophy the Chinese philosophical terms the kanji letters to describe what seems Japanese you know okay yeah but still that's we always say which means um these teaching can't be taught without a master without sensei you always need a sensei it's only um from heart to heart it's transferred oh I see yeah I see what you mean okay that's why probably they didn't put it into words because they believed in the concept that they say you need a sense say you need someone to teach you and you need that human connection.

Exactly. And they even say which is exactly opposite of Islam but um which means if you write it in words that would be already different thing okay cuz you know we humans we always um get distracted by these words although it's the meaning might be small or might be too wide you know it's just words you know. Yeah, it can be interpreted in different ways. Exactly. In hundred Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Very interesting. Okay. Now, so now since you're living there, so do you still see the deep connection with nature, is it still there something existing in Japan?

Yes, it is. And I believe that's what um makes Japanese very Islamic because you know as Allah says in the Quran to the you know the creation of the earth and the sky and everything he mentions that many times right yeah and he calls that ayah right ayah and Quran the verses is also ayah and I think Muslim they interpret contemplates on the verses which means ayah and try to become Muslim but while Japanese they contemplate a lot in the nature i.e Aya and they say a lot about these nature like you know for example the pine tree that's evergreen tree and they say oh it's evergreen it's never you know it never dies out there must be something special and they feel something inside themsel or inside in the unseen world that there must be

something that always stays there you know although the world everything is changing but there's something that's always there you Wow. They sense these through the nature. They sense these basically from my interpretation. But yeah. You know in Islam we have that most of us we don't know. We're not aware about it. It's called the contemplation in the Allah's creation and then to think about it contemplate reflect and also feel the connection subhan Allah with the nature with every aspect of the nature with the trees with the skies and then all the ayat you know of Allah's might in this universe

which are you know countless we can't count them you know if you look to every single corner you will see the power and the might of Allah subhananaa and I think it's it will give you a good boost of iman of belief if you do that I think I think that's what happen that is what is happening basically in Japan even they're not Muslim like but they are practicing it they're practicing it subhan Allah yes what is fascinating Yeah, it pulls me into like tears, you know, like these they have these Zen Zango, we call it Zeno, the Zen Buddhism, they make it to these kanji letters of how the Japanese mindset works. For example, one is I really cried with this, but which means um the thing you

really want or the truth that you're seeking, it's not far out there that you have to, you know, seek for. It's it's always in front of you. M it's very bright and it's very clear as if it's just you know um always there naked he the word used the word naked it's just you know there it's not covered very apparent right very apparent and very close subhan Allah yeah the most important thing you want is there always there but it's just your consciousness is it there or not your awareness is not is there or not are you connected to see it yes beautiful m and another one is so sorry for contining No, no, of course. I really like this. I'd say um there's there this there's this word that is um when the kanji is like, you know, there's

this very fast river flowing. Can you imagine a very fast river that is flowing and there's one man that is standing and looking at the river in the nighttime and he founds a moon reflected on the river and that's written in the kanji and he's saying that oh you know everything's flowing in our life time is flowing everything's changing in our life but there's something there you know always there as the moon is reflected it's not moving although the water is yeah it is you know it's very deep inside and it is it makes us really and it creates us um to this mindset that you know we're deeply inside the nature the of Allah and we're also part of the right yeah we're the creation together and we get

into connected and the ayah there and we if a Muslim there would connect that to Islamic you know the Quran ayah that would be more I think you know deeper and that's why it makes me you know excited I mean honestly you Now listening to you now, I feel that we need um Japanese teachers and professors all over the world, you know, to just transmit these beautiful aspects of the culture, you know, because uh sometimes you get um uh you know, drifted away by the worldly life, work, money, all the distraction. Uh and then you start to lose yourself in all of these things and you lose connection and you just forget yourself. forget to be connected or to be well connected. Even as a Muslim, even as a Muslim, you sometimes pray but

you don't feel connected. You read Quran but you don't feel connected. You just read in the words even if you have the best voice of the world and you recite the Quran and everything but you don't feel connected. There is something there that needs to be you know not flourished but um watered right to flourish and to stay alive. And I believe Japanese tradition can do something to that because we have you know these all these nature and nature when we like anyone if you just go inside the mountains you'll feel that hur there right like you just feel so calm you know the greenery there that itself is what you know Japan is so yeah I really like my many of my Muslim

friends we are always talking about like you know bringing in these um Muslims who are raised in different countries bringing them into Japan and just you know for example Let them go onto the bus or onto the train. That itself, that experience, only that experience would make them contemplate, oh wait, this isan like you know you have to always care about each other in the train in the in that small bus and you know give seats to the elderies and respect each other all the things 100% 100% you know for me I see things this way so you know the what Allahh says you When I read that, I just don't just read it and then that's it. But I read it and try to work upon it. And what I do is I always want to take

the verses from the Quran because I believe they are extremely powerful and I try to uh you know how to say practice them in my life to see the beauty of them more in my life you know. So what I do especially for this area when I meet people from other uh cultures or countries I try to ask them questions exactly like the way I'm asking you now to learn and to just to try to find out is there anything I can learn and I can implement in my life is there anything that's better than any way that it's better than the way I'm doing things you know that I can adopt fix h improve and then I go on like that's very beautiful that's what I do and that way you feel that u the verse of the Quran change your life

you are not the same person as yesterday every day you are not the same person as uh last year you're changing constantly for the better why because you are just practicing you are just understanding deeply and putting the verses in your life. Uh I don't know if people like see it that way and I honestly see like reading Quran is just for the sake of reading. It's just to it's just a it's also a beautiful way to change you as a person change your conscious consciousness how say consciousness no consciousness like to say and that's really beautiful that's like also what the Japanese say they say dojo which means just by your heart any place can become a dojo. Do you know dojo?

No. What is that? Dojo is a place where um you do martial arts or you do you hire yourself you do jihad nuffs a place we call that dojo literally it'll be do means way jo means place so the place where you complete your um path of your way of life that's dojo and we don't have to go to these dojoos like karate dojo or you know but just by your heart any place any moment can become a dojo. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I think. Yeah, you're doing that's Yeah. That's very beautiful. When I saw a documentary like about Shaolin Temple in China, it was very famous one. I was like, "Okay, I'm going to go there. I'm going to stay That's going to be amazing.

I'm just going to learn everything. That's going to be amazing." Yeah, I mean, yeah, this is I think this is the way we should some of the ways we should be just learn from ourselves and be open and be willing to be better every single day. I think that's why you know Allah really makes us always repeat alhamdulillah right all the worlds he's the rub of that not only you know exactly yeah exactly don't don't think that because you're Arab you are the best no don't don't think because you're European or the best no we are created very different so that surely we have something special about us and then it's for you to uh explore it and learn from it.

Right? This is the life on this earth. Subhan Allah. Beautiful. Mashallah. Beautiful. Well, um we don't have much time, but I'm really enjoying our conversation. I have for you a five round questions. So, these are very short questions and you don't have to think too much about it. Just give me an answer. I hope you know. Um very easy, simple, not very complicated questions. My first question is uh matcha or mango lassi. I wanted to say matcha but I love mango lassi too but yeah I brought matcha too like matcha is always my thing matcha.

Um of course matcha is and matcha is very healthy as well isn't it? Yes. Exactly. Yeah. And I knew about matcha when I first came here to the UK and I loved it. It's it's green is it's healthy. It's nice. Right. Yeah, that's good. But you like mango lassi better. I love mango lassi. It's just But yeah, it might be unhealthy, but yeah, I love it, too. M. Okay. Um, second question. What's your favorite Arabic word and why? Wow. Okay. Arabic word. One favorite That is quite a difficult question. And do what's your favorite Arabic word? Uh, my Arabic word is Allah.

Allah. I think Allah is international. Could you translate Allah? I can't translate it. Yeah, it's Allah. Uh, after that maybe I'm stuck. Yeah, I think I have now the answer. Thank you. I have the answer right now. Um it's a j of sin me the sal word all the sals like you know Islam Muslim salam or Islam like all these things have the same roots right see me and it just makes me very excited and I recently really think about the concept of Wah which represents Japan everything about Japan and Japanese love the concept of wa and I can I think translate that to Islam if I would use Arabic word for

that because Islam you know the mean if you go to those like Arab and those dictionaries it means like it says that um you don't harm people like you know with your actions or without even seeing it or you can see that there's no harm at all the state of having no harm at all. Right. And that itself is salam. Like when we say salam, we always translate as peace. I don't really like that because it's just like you know plus everything positive. But salam if you go to those dictionaries it's like more zero negativity. And that itself is of course positive. But these concept of zero negativity. And I think that's what or like Japanese mindset is also we don't want to you know have zero harm.

Zero harm. Exactly. Yeah. We don't want to harm anyone. And I think Islam also the teaching itself everything is about not harming anyone or not harming Allah. Yeah. Right. Because if you're a shik that's harming we don't harm Allah but Yeah. We can't. Yeah. We're harming oursel basically but Yeah. So how to not harm yourself or others. That's Islam and that's also what Japanese are really working on. True. I think this I think it's the same for me when you explained it now when I reflected a little bit while you were speaking. I think um the top thing I focus on in my life is salam peace like if I can translate it I don't want to be

harmed and I don't want to harm anyone is just maintain the peace uh yeah that's why maybe I find myself like alone many of the times just to avoid the harm right uh avoid the harm the verbal harm right the emotional harm even the harm that people don't express said verbally, but you can feel it, right? Right. Yeah. Subhan Allah. So, yeah, that's very interesting there. Um, if you could bring one suna food to Japanese tea ceremony, what would it be? I'm just trying right now to bring the tama.

Okay. The dates. I thought you were to go to say that. Yeah, cuz actually if you go to Japan and try the tea ceremony, now we have all these fancy wagashi. again washi gashi means snacks but those w snacks of you know like flour or um jelly that decorate that looks like a tree or a river but back then when the tea ceremony started 400 years ago we didn't have those fancy things it was just like you know dry um what's that kaki poim I forgot the English word but dry fruits basically dry food dry fruits dry fruits yeah dry fruits and that was the okashi That was the snack for a matcha. Okay. Yeah. So, if we bring dates, I think it would match. And some of my tea ceremony friends are also liking it. So, and that might be a good connection,

good start, you know, cuz Islam in Japan is basically about, you know, scary, strict, and I don't know. So, just bringing in the dates, you know, this is one of the part of Islamic culture and that'll be a good bridge, I think. Oh, that's nice. Just about a little bit about the tea ceremony. So what is it for? Is it for guests or is it like just like a party you invite people to you get money because you do it to your ceremony? How does it work? Right. Okay. That's deep question. I'll try to make it concise. Um maybe if you want to know more should everyone should read the book from Okakura tension the book of tea and I would say yeah it is a party basically and about the tea why is it

special it's because I think the kanji tea I really like the kanji tea um it has the sound h like when you drink tea a hot warm tea your exhale your breathing comes out doesn't it like you just drink and like you know that calm moment and it's just you know although we might be um having these what corruption in the earth or we might be fighting each other because tea ceremony started in these era of wartime right when the war world war lords of Japan were fighting each other and they called their enemies to the tea room and they gave the tea basically okay so you know like the next day they might be killing each other but they're there you know and they're sitting together as if it might be their last final day of

their life. Tomorrow they might die or on the way home they might die and they're there. They get the bowl of tea and they sip it and they just say, you know, and that moment itself it's just wow. Subhan Allah. Very beautiful. I think we need to search and learn more about history. Yeah, I really want all the Muslims to experience this because I think the more we know these kind of things um in this era of secularism um I think we can go back more we can learn more about Islam more deeply and we can enrichen the salah of itself more yeah very important all right what's harder to master Arabic grammar or I could do footwork be honest with me on this one Okay.

Okay. Um, Aikido uh, no Arabic grammar. But yeah. But yeah, Aikido footworks is interesting because you don't um, think too much. If you think too much always my sensei says don't go use your western mindset because you know Japanese today we just think western way in the western way. So we always try to analyze things you know. Yeah like okay sensei is moving his right feet there. I have to move my right feet there in that degree in this direction like that. We start analyzing. Yeah. But since they said no don't stop analyzing. In Japan we don't do that. We just look at teacher and that's it. Just do something.

Just do don't try to do something. Don't try to copy you know small things. Don't overthink. Right. As if you given the power more to the soul than the mind. Exly. Exactly. That's the thing. Yeah. We say that's key. We use the word key. We use we try to sense all the every the hur itself there the presence and we absorb it and just put in action. Interesting. Wow. Is a ninja Japanese or Chinese? That's Japanese. Yes. Okay. So, would you say that they mastered all of these techniques and then they used them for something?

Ninja. Okay. Yeah. But vinja the word means the one who does sabar. Oh, really? meaning of ninja. yeah. Like Yeah. Ninja. It's quite correct. The word ninja in Japanese means sabber. Patience. Yes. Nin means sabber. Oh my. This is the first time in my life. Now I know what the meaning of ninja. Oh my god. Because you know like if you might feel you know someone is arguing there. It might they might be cursing you. And if you become angry there and go in although you're hiding you must be hiding. But if you go there that's not good, right? You're not ninja anymore.

You got to hide there. Be patient. Oh my god. Okay. I don't know. It might be my interpretation, but yeah. Wow. Okay. But like it's not only about ninja, but the samurai, we call it bushi or um the famous um nto, he wrote the book in English called bushido, which is about samuris, you know, the bushi, the way their way of life. They are, as you know, they were the most strongest warriors, right, in the world. And the British people, they were just surprised like, you know, they couldn't defeat them in the ado period. And those people they were just they never use words each other. They never use words but they just collaborate automatically.

They just move in the best place and the best moments always there although there's no one commanding. That's why you know Japanese were very strong. How were they communic you know communicating through telepathy or something? We use key ki which is like is it the soul thing? It's something like the soul or the there or the I don't know how to say that in Arabic but we always try to you know go beyond the rational soul not in that place we're always you know just automatically um cooperating and my master always say

that if you leave your ego like I'm stronger you know I want to be stronger I want to show myself much cooler than anyone you know I'm the superman if you do that harmony disappears If you disappear that you lose that because many of my um masters, you know, he just do the same action 1,000 times a day. Just the same action. Take out the sword and put it back. Take out the sword 1,00 times. Okay. The same thing. With that, they remove their ego. Right. And with that, they are just like autopiloted by I don't know, Allah or something. I don't know what. Yeah. That's why.

Okay. I think I just decrypted something. Okay. All right, I'll tell you what it is until you tell me is it wrong or right. So because you're trying so hard to doan which is the top in Islam anyway. Uh and then you're trying to remove ego which is an ugly thing right? You're just you know trying to harm no one and be in harmony with everybody including the nature animals plant everything. just trying to be a good person. As if there you're tapping into a higher level of power which is not accessible to other people who are still stuck in their ego in harming themselves and other people and the earth and everything around them. So you literally tapen in a in another

level of power there which is unknown. you even you know perhaps by science itself right it's the soul and Allahh said if they ask you about the soul say the soul is a thing from Allah subhana tala which is we can't explain it even by science um now in we are in the 21st centuries we can't defeat death we don't know the essence of soul so I think you tap into something extremely important the a high power right am I correct yeah I absolutely agree and about the as you mentioned if we use western terminologies we can't explain that at all we can't it's not scientific at all it's really hard but if you use quantum physic we might but it's just difficult there so yeah it's just I think the hope there is to use Arabic

philosophy or as I is Toshiko wanted to do he's the one he who tried to actually do that because we can't expl explained that through science. But Isizutu he tried to use Arabic terminologies to describe this deeper um consciousness that oriental like Indians and Chinese and Japanese they all do the same thing even that Muslims as according to Isizutu um so we have this deeper thing and with the terminology from Islam as Allah said it's from ambi and that you know sends us this Quran and with that Quran we can you know make a tap seal towards this Japanese culture. Subhan Allah. I really I think that's really important right now because or else we'll just lose the culture and all the youth people the youth in Japan they're like

you know that's meaningless. We can't prove that scientifically. You know, they're also in this um state of what do you call that? Secularity, right? Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Um okay, my last question. Which is closest to your mind uh to your heart now? Um Arabic or uh or KJI. Okay. Arabic and kanji. Um kanji is close to me. It used to be close but Arabic it's just magnificent like you know it's so beautiful and each words are very deep by itself and yeah like kanji itself are also deep but Arabic is way beyond deep is it yeah and that's what also is always talks about how the depths of Arabic and yeah it just makes me amazed

but that's why also Japanese really love the depth of the language as kanji and that's what also Arabic has. That's why I always repeat I'm repeating this but if these two you know nations these two civilization more communicate each other the Muslim and the Japanese they would create a better world. I believe only with the western perspective we will lose something that we Muslims and Japanese have in common. Yeah. And we have built for thousands and thousands of years. Exactly. Well, um, amazing. You know, um, I really enjoyed our conversation, Akil, and, uh, I learned so much from you today and I think today you've been my sensei. So, I have to say, sensei,

me, too. Thank you so much. I really hope that you will join us again and again on Stan Channel inshallah to discuss more uh, and to learn more, you know, from each other culture, inshallah. And then the viewers and the listeners were profit from this conversation. Thank you so much. Do you have anything to say before ending this episode to our viewers? Any maybe Japanese wisdom there? Okay. You can say it in Japanese or and English as well. All right. Okay. It's a concept from Toyota actually because I'm born near the Toyota city and they say the word kaizen. Kaizen which means making something better or seeing something

always search for something that because everything it's not always perfect in this world that's why you find something there and just improve it even it's small just always improve and I think that's what had right why Allah use he didn't say just know he said like right to fix things. True, true. But yeah, Islam to fix things, right? So I think Kaizen is something we really need in this modern era of you know the situation of Islam and this whole world right now and Kaizen and Amihat is I think the key word to you know combat to make the world better. Mallah here again. Thank you so much.