Mosque wins award for using Japanese guides

The Straits Times, January 7, 2010


AS A major tourist attraction, the Sultan Mosque receives about 100 Japanese tourists a day. But for years, its staff were unable to communicate effectively and tell them about its history and Islam.

Concerned that the tourists would leave without a clear understanding of the religion, mosque officials looked for Japanese Muslims here who could serve as volunteer guides.

With help from the Muslim Converts' Association of Singapore, they found two - Japanese women who converted when they married Muslim Singaporeans.

And since 2007, they have provided free guided tours to Japanese tourists arriving at the mosque and answered their questions about Islam.

For such efforts to reach out to tourists, the Sultan Mosque received a merit award in the community-friendly category last night at the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore's (Muis) biennial Mosque Awards ceremony.

Thirty-five other mosques received awards which recognised their programmes and initiatives to reach out to youth, family and the community.

These included Al-Khair Mosque for its fund-raising efforts for needy students of all religions; Assyakirin Mosque for the parenting and financial workshops it held for housewives; and eight other mosques which organised sports events as a way to bring youth together.

Speaking at the ceremony at the Singapore Islamic Hub, Muis president Alami Musa said the move to help mosques reach out to the community started in 2005 after a convention where leaders discussed how to keep mosques relevant in the changing times: 'Mosque leaders promised to change their mindsets and make our mosques more attractive to everyone, regardless of race or religion.'

The awards were introduced as a way of evaluating and rewarding the efforts of the 69 mosques here.

'Today, many of our mosques have become youth-, family- and community-friendly. Even smaller mosques are making efforts to improve themselves,' said Mr Alami.

The manager of Sultan Mosque, Ustaz Mohamed Khair Rahmat, said it pays to engage the community.

Today, the mosque has 16 volunteer guides who engage tourists in English and Japanese.

One volunteer even travelled to Bahrain for two weeks to learn how best to explain Islam to non-Muslims. He then trained other volunteers here.

Today, tourists to the mosque find the visits more enjoyable, said a volunteer, Madam Ei'shah Aoyama Abdullah, 33.

The Kobe native converted to Islam when she married her husband here in 2003. She is now a housewife.

'Japanese tourists at the mosque are very happy to have a Japanese Muslim as their guide at the mosque. They are able to ask many questions about Islam in Japanese. They like that very much,' she said.