Hugh Fitzgerald: Among Schoolchildren, or Islam Outreach in Japan

In Japan, concerned about “anti-Muslim hostility,” some teachers have had the bright idea of having their pupils “learn about Islam” by visiting the main mosque in Tokyo. Of course, they must have thought, what better way to have their students get an “unbiased glimpse of Islam” than to visit a mosque, where Muslims welcome their guests, telling these curious and credulous schoolchildren how wonderful Islam is, and what a peaceful faith it is, and how it teaches the equality of all people, and how it has been so badly misunderstood because of the actions of a few people, especially in the so-called “Islamic” State, whose fighters only “claim” to be Muslim, or are described as having, almost incidentally, “Muslim backgrounds,” and then the mosque members allow those young visitors to watch as they prostrate themselves in prayer. It’s apparently been a stirring lesson for these students, with fears of Islam dispelled as words incomprehensible to them are recited, and zebibahs silently thicken, and then the students go home, satisfied that they have learned all they need to know about much-maligned Islam, and a good time, by Allah, has been had by all.
The dismal tale of this terminal naivete, exhibited by teachers as well as students, is told enthusiastically in the report below; I have included a running commentary, bold within brackets.
“Schools take in Tokyo mosque to get unbiased glimpse of Islam,” by Magdalena Osumi, Japan Times, June 3, 2016:
Continue reading The spread of Islam is already noticeable, even in Japan