REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ATSUGI -- Muslims both Indonesian citizens (WNI) and Japanese citizens perform various activities in the Ar-Rahmah mushala. This mushala is a former sushi restaurant in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
“Alhamdulillah, this is the third year we are doing Ramadan activities in this mushala. It used to be a sushi restaurant,” owner and manager of mushala Ar-Rahmah Rieska Oktavia told Antara in Atsugi, Sunday (24/3/2024).
Rieska and his partner, Nurhanifah jointly purchased the building. The building now consists of a mushala, a residence, as well as a shop selling various Indonesian products as well as halal food ingredients.
He did piecemeal renovations to transform the restaurant's interior into a mushala equipped with ablutions, even bathrooms for overnight worshippers.
In this year's Ramadan activities, the program at the mushala consists of daily joint iftar, Family Day on Saturday which is an activity for parents and children, express boarding for two days and one night, reception of zakat, infak and alms, itikaf, and Eid prayer.
“Insya Allah, there will be an Eid al-Fitr program called 'Ied Ceria'. It will be a friendly gathering, and we usually serve Indonesian dishes complete with ketupat (rice cakes in woven coconut leaf casings).”
Rieska said that there are always worshippers coming to the mushola every day. Even Japanese Muslims participate in Friday and Taraweeh prayers. In the future, she wants to attract more Japanese people to the mushola by creating programs that are more appealing to them.
“In the past, I was personally hesitant to invite foreigners because I was worried that our service wouldn't be good enough. But slowly, Alhamdulillah (praise God), I tried to be braver,” she said.
Currently, the Ar-Rahmah mushola has been cooperating with Nihon Madani, which helps with activities such as translating study materials into Japanese to reach more Japanese people.
Regarding the challenges faced, she admits that there have always been people who help, both by participating in activities and with operational costs.
“Alhamdulillah, I myself feel that Allah provides enough sustenance. For example, when I wanted to install air conditioning, a friend came from America who was vacationing here. He donated some money. I hadn't opened the envelope yet, and when I did, the amount was exactly what was needed,” she said.
Rieska hopes that in the future more people will know about the Ar-Rahmah mushola and participate in making it flourish or help with various activities.
“Our hope is that if this place is used by many people who prostrate to Allah and receive benefits and goodness, hopefully it can become a symbol for our dakwah (Islamic propagation) in Japan,” she said.
One of the worshippers, Wahdaniah, participates in various activities at the Ar-Rahmah mushola, from religious studies to communal breaking of fast and prayers in congregation. She is a nurse who works in Gunma Prefecture, which is about 166 kilometers from the mushola.
“The reason I come all the way from Gunma is because I feel like I've found a new family here,” she said.
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