When Islam was presented as a violent religion, I knew that it is a religion with a long history, a universal religion and has many followers all over the world.
*We are with Ms. Fatemeh Hoshino from Japan. He has been a Muslim for 19 years. Ms. Hoshino, please introduce yourself:
I am Fateme Etsuko Hoshino from Japan. I was born in a Shinto Buddhist family in Japan. In fact, in Japan, I got to know Islam through internet and research. Alhamdulillah, I got to know the Quran and Ahl al-Bayt after that, and I was guided to this path. It has been about 14 years since I immigrated to Iran and I have been living in Qom for several years. I studied in Japan in the field of international relations up to the bachelor’s level. in Iran I am also studying in a seminary and I am involved in preaching activities.
* Ms. Hoshino, before becoming a Muslim, what challenges did you face that made you move towards Islam?
I had philosophical questions since I was 9 years old. The same famous questions that say where are we, where have we been and where will we go?I felt like a traveler and the traveler should know the destination; Because otherwise, the trip will be in vain, and I first went to the same religions that were in Japan, that is, Buddhism and Shinto, but I did not find an answer. Of course, I had an uncle who studied in America and became a Christian there, and now he is a Bible teacher in Japan as well as a priest, and because he tried to make me a Christian, I also got to know Christianity.
But in the Christian religion, I did not find a convincing and logical answer. Then I entered the university and because I didn’t know the purpose of life and that’s why I felt that I was getting worn out every day. I mean, the culture and lifestyle was designed in such a way that the appearance of everything was important. Only the appearance of life and human appearance was considered.
It was in those days when they talked a lot about Islam on TV, albeit negatively. So that they showed Islam as a violent religion and constantly insinuated that Muslims are terrorists and dangerous. And this was while I knew that Islam is a world religion with a long history and has many followers all over the world. If this religion is really bad and negative, why has it continued until now?!
I decided to become a Muslim.
Because of the questions that formed in my mind, I started to study out of curiosity and I realized that the truth of Islam is not at all what the media says and it was very interesting to me. I studied constantly, of course, most of the studies were in English. It was rare to find material about Islam in Japanese, and I read books and articles online; Because the sources were not available in printed form. Then I got acquainted with the Qur’an and I found the Qur’an to be a book in which I found the answer to everything, and I wanted to find the meaning of my life right away. In the end, I found the answer in the Qur’an with a short verse: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me” and this is where I decided to become a Muslim.
Therefore, I was first converted to Islam by the Sunni Islamic Center; But about ten months later, I was on a trip to South Korea, and there I met a student who was from Malaysia, and he spoke very negatively about Shia and did not consider Shia to be Muslims, but even introduced them as infidels and polytheists. I was again curious about what the Shiites themselves have to say.
*Does that mean you were not familiar with the Shia religion in Japan before that?
No, not at all, in Japan I did not have direct contact with a Muslim person. I always did the research myself in the virtual space and I also wrote questions in the virtual space that several people always answered me.
* Ms. Hoshino, you are a Muslim woman and at the same time Japanese, and the fact that you also live in Iran, is it possible that you have a dual identity due to cultural challenges? Or in other words, how to communicate between Iranian and Japanese culture?
My Muslim identity is much more important than my Japanese identity. Alhamdulillah, I have many friends from different countries and our common language and culture is Islam and nothing else. Of course, the culture of the country where we grew up is influential. But our criterion should be our religion. If we are firm on this principle, we will not have problems.
Fortunately, I saw many positive points in Iran. In Japan and Buddhist culture, women do not have a high position and there is absolute patriarchy. But, after the Second World War, western culture entered Japan. and of course, this led to the emergence of new oppression, which is influenced by western culture, along with the old oppression of women.
For example, a woman’s alimony in Japan is such that the common culture and custom in the society obliges the man to pay alimony for his wife and children; But non-payment of alimony does not guarantee legal enforcement
Or in relation to the financial independence of the woman, sometimes it is possible that due to the bankruptcy of the couple, the man and the woman are separated due to the preservation of the woman’s property; Because otherwise, the husband’s debt will be paid from the wife’s property.
Fortunately, I got to know different languages. The only language that calls a couple husband and wife, not husband and wife, is Persian. It is a sentence, a word. But it shows how much the speakers of this language respect women. The important issue is that there is no patriarchy or feminism in Islam. The only thing that exists is theocracy.
*Don’t you think Islam is against women’s rights?
By the way, Islam strongly supports women’s rights. Many non-Muslims think that because in Islam women’s dowry is less than men’s dowry, then Islam does not value women’s lives. If the value of human life is never calculated with money. By the way, Islam strongly supports women’s rights. Many non-Muslims think that because in Islam women’s dowry is less than men’s dowry, then Islam does not value women’s lives. If the value of human life is never calculated with money.
The philosophy of the difference in money between men and women is actually due to the support of women. Because the financial support of a family depends on the man. It is the woman and the family of the deceased who receive the dowry. In fact, this is a kind of support for women and families, and it does not mean that the A man is more valuable
Or, for example, about the issue of hijab. As I mentioned before, I had this problem when I was a teenager, that every day I felt like I was being consumed. I spend money all the time and I’m all about fashion and stuff. I thought that if I don’t follow the trend of fashion and clothing, I’m not accepted and this caused my inner problem.
For example, in the beginning, I did not know what hijab was, and it is only because God commands a Muslim that you must pray, fast in the month of Ramadan, and because you are a woman, you must wear hijab, so I observed hijab. But I was not familiar with its function. Over time, I realized what this hijab does for us. That is, how much it gives respect and dignity to women, and with this cover we can be active in the society without being harmed and maintain our own respect, and this is actually one of the signs that Islam supports women’s rights and actually does respects women.
*As a Muslim woman, what is your understanding of the concept of resistance?
According to Islam, men and women are different in physical and in spiritual matters, men and women are the same in the eyes of Allah, and for this reason, men and women are not different from each other. In Islam, women have an important place as teachers and educators of people.
There is a proverb that says that women are the real historians. That is, because women educate both women and men, they play a very important role in society
In the resistance, women can be at the front and behind the front, and that’s why the enemies try to lead women astray first. Because if women deviate from the right path, men will definitely be led astray. Because women play the role of educators in society.
*According to the recent events and the Gaza war, what are Japanese women’s views on Palestinian women?
In general, people are now much more aware than in the past. In fact, I got acquainted with Islam during the September 11 incident, which was a very big conspiracy against Islam and Muslims, and I was guided in this direction.
There is a trend going on right now and the enemy is trying his best to destroy Islam. But actually people are becoming more awake. People have the ability to distinguish right from wrong and understand the truth of Islam more.
* In your opinion, what is the difference between Western and Eastern media regarding Palestinian women?
Unfortunately, the media in Japan and the majority of non-Islamic countries in the East are covered by Western media. The same content that is broadcasted in the program of western countries, are exactly rebroadcasted in other countries. That is, exactly the translation of the same western media, which are often creating a negative image of Islam and constantly denigrate it.
But in the media of countries like Iran, the quality and content of the media is very different. For example, in the past few years, when there was more news about ISIS, the name of Iran was never mentioned in the western media, including the Japanese media. That is, they pretended that everyone was working for the Syrian people by the Americans and that they could call the Americans the saviors of the Palestinian people.
*In your opinion, what is the most important message that the resistance women in Lebanon and Palestine give to the world?
The role that women can play well is the role of Hazrat Zeinab. She and the prisoners of Karbala played a media role during the Ashura incident, and this media role can even include education.
*Ms. Hoshino, can you explain about the book you wrote?
Yes, in fact, I was the subject of the book. A few years ago, my book of memoirs called “Birth in Tokyo” was published, and now I think, Alhamdulillah, it has reached the 22nd or 23rd edition and has been very well received. The name of the book is “Born in Tokyo” while I was born in another prefecture of Japan. But when I was a student in Tokyo and converted to Islam there and was born as a Muslim, that’s why the name of the book is “Birth in Tokyo“.
It actually starts from my student memories, when I was always looking for the latest fashion and the latest makeup and parades and concerts. This book starts with my student memories and goes through my childhood memories and explains the process of guidance and ends with my memories of the first Arbaeen pilgrimage. I participated in the Arbaeen trip for the first time in 2014 and was very impressed.
*What made you decide to write a book?
Honestly, I was not very willing; But many friends suggested to me that this story of yours is very useful and saving for those who are under the influence of western media and cultural invasion. Because I came from exactly the place where many people may wish to immigrate to. I have experienced the western lifestyle and I say that the western lifestyle is nothing more than a mirage. In the end I reached a dead end. I was in pain and fell down, and thank God I was able to get up and find the path of guidance Some people believe that we should experience it ourselves. If the human mind requires to use the experiences of others. According to the famous saying, if we want to understand the pain of breaking a bone, it is definitely not necessary to break our own bone.
We are very grateful to Ms. Fateme Etsuko Hoshino for participating in this conversation.
Reporter: Faeze Aghamohammadi