Community corner

All Muslim parents living in non-muslim countries generally share the same concern: how to teach their children to understand and practice Islam.
Indeed, it is not an easy task, especially in the lack of support from the environment (such as lack of Muslim friends, schools, teachers, etc.).
For families living in Japan, the language barrier can be another problem if the children speak only Japanese since not much Islamic literature in Japanese nor Japanese-speaking teachers are available.
However, Japan’s Muslim community continues to grow, especially in our Osaka Ibaraki Masjid area.
To facilitate the urgent need to educate Muslim children about their religion, our Masjid has started Islamic education programs for kids.
Our Masjid’s programs for the kids include the teachings of Arabic readings and some basics about Islam (such as shahada, the pillars of Islam, how to make Wudu’ and perform Salah, etc.). These programs are run by volunteers, mainly students; workers; and their families, under the supervision of our Imam.
Recently, a new program of Kids Programming was launched this June.
This programming class is intended to attract the children to get excited with masjid activities and get to know other Muslim children while learning some basic programming in playful ways. 
Through these programs, we hope to help muslim parents encourage their children to learn and love Islam. Moreover, we hope it will generate friendships among Muslim children of different families, which is very important, especially in a place where Muslim culture and traditions are not common outside of the Masjid.
 May Allah accept our efforts and help us teach our children to become a better generation of Muslims.