- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,115
- 19,025
Japan's current unease over immigration and Islam contrasts with a rather different history. From the Meiji period through Japan's imperial expansion, Japanese officials and political activists sometimes actively courted Muslims, seeing Islam less as a threat than as a possible link to communities across Asia. Much of this interest was strategic rather than driven by religious tolerance. Even so, it reveals a more complicated relationship with Islam than today's debate might suggest.
Read the article here:
Read the article here:
Emerging anti-immigration sentiment in Japan obscures a surprising history of strategic engagement with Islam
A false rumor started in the early 20th century that the Japanese emperor would convert to Islam. It helped Japan build alliances with Muslims across Asia.