Charity Party with NIC and Angelus Theater

June 16, 2023June 16, 2023Leave a comment

On May 28th, 2023, a theater company Angelus and the NPO NIC (Network for intercultural Communicating) joined teams to create an event that celebrated diversity and cultural exchange, while also extending a helping hand to those in need, especially for Afghanistan and Syrian refugees.

The venue was located in Studio Sai, Kanazawa city. People from different backgrounds and communities came together to enjoy the magic of the theater. The event was divided into two sections, started with a cooking party. Some Chinese friends introduced their traditional foods, together with stories. Indonesian friends also prepared a chicken soup, called “Soto Ayam”.

As the aromatic scents of the culinary creations filled the air, the performance was also got ready to show. There are five performances, including recitation of Bangladesh poems, traditional Indonesian Dance, Yutaro Nishimura performance, Indonesian traditional music, and Japan Band カブミリア. The stage became a platform for creativity, talent and intercultural dialogue. This collaboration event could served as a reminder of the value of cultural diversity and promoting intercultural understanding.

Mr. Sahidul Islam, a Bangladesh brother, recited some of his poems collection.

Sister Gigi performed a beautiful traditional dance, “Jaipong Dance”.

Indonesian music performance using “Angklung”, a traditional music instrument made from bamboo.

Talking About Islam in Kanazawa Hokuriku English Speaker

December 3, 2018December 3, 2018Leave a comment

お越し頂きありがとうございました. Thanks to everyone who attended the “Kanazawa plus Hokuriku English Speakers” 100 yen English Chat and Friendship event on Friday, November 2nd. Thanks especially to Dian, from the “Ishikawa Muslim Society” (and her husband and two children) who kindly gave a presentation about Islam (see PDF file below). About 35 people attended (including 9 international attendees from Austria (x1), Germany (x1), Indonesia (x5), Ireland (x1), the UK (x1), and the USA (x1). The next English Chat and Friendship event will take place next week on Friday, December 7th (see the event information below). Everyone is welcome to attend. New people and international attendees (including tourists) are especially welcome (also see comments area) (コメント欄もご覧下さい).

Above text is a public post by Mr. Senan Fox in the mentioned SNS group. He also put all the slide pictures in the comments area. I feel so happy, and inshaAllah I would make more prayers for them. It was our first seminar talking about Islam. Mr. Senan Fox, the organizer, contacted us through email and asked us to come as a guest speaker. In the beginning I thought that the member of this group are mostly foreigners, but just few days before the event, he informed about the participants will be mostly Japanese. Realizing this fact, I made major changes to the materials I have prepared before. Instead of explaining about Islam in Japan, I decided to emphasize more on the basic of Islamic teaching, the tawheed. Hope to meet them again and even more people in the near future events.

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[Taking pictures with all participants. Picture taken by Mr. Senan Fox]

[Warm discussion about Islam related topic]

[Presenter view, they were listening the translator explanations]

Japanese Collect Donation for Sulawesi in International Festival Kanazawa

October 18, 2018November 13, 2018Leave a comment

On September 28, a large earthquake struck the Minahasa Peninsula, Indonesia. It was a shallow type of earthquake with 7.4 magnitude. Following the shock, there was a tsunami alert for the nearby location. It was reported that these combined disaster led to the death at least 2,100 people.

Sulawesi, and most area of Indonesia, lies within the complex zone of Ring of Fire, where many earthquake and volcanic eruptions occur. The same condition actually also apply to all Japan area, but Japan has already improved their emergency system so much comparing to Indonesia.

Strong feeling to help this situation, many social organizations from all around the globe has sent some help through providing temporary shelter, various foods and supplements, clean water, hygiene, and medical volunteers. Indonesian people who live abroad, also raising fund through several non-profit organizations or communities. For an instance, in Japan area, we can send donation to the local Indonesian student community, or directly to our relatives in Indonesia.

In Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, there is also an organization which also collecting donation to Sulawesi earthquake, called Ishikawa Indonesia Friendship Association. This club differs from other Indonesian club, because its member consist of Japanese people who have a kind of association with Indonesia, even it is only small. For example, if you have been visited Indonesia for working, vacation, or any purposes, or if you like Indonesia, like Indonesian food, or culture, or you have a family related to Indonesia (spouse or any relatives). Further information about this club you may find here. This club opened a booth in Kanazawa International Friendship Festival in the early autumn (October 13~14, 2018). This festival was organized by Kanazawa International Exchange Foundation (KIEF) which was established in 1989.

[Multinational culture booths in the International Friendship Festival Kanazawa]

They also performed a very beautiful dance wearing traditional clothes from Bali, expressing how they are really love Indonesian culture. In this festival, we also met Mr. Seiji Matsui, a Japanese Muslim and his lovely wife sister Hikmah (Indonesian nationality) opened a food stall. Their stall was very crowded because they were serving a super delicious skewered lamb and chicken meat.