Today I have a special guest who is far away from Japan Here is Sensei Sugimoto and his wife Purwati Here, Sensei Sugimoto tells how his spiritual journey made him choose to know Islam more deeply. Even though he grew up and grew up in Japanese culture. Until finally, he experienced an experience about God that made him have a call to convey the message of the Qur'an in Japan. This is our neighbor's story.
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Hello Sensei, konnichiwa. Konnichiwa. And also, Bu.
Purwati, his wife. So, how are you? Alhamdulillah, I'm good.
Amazing. Thank you so much for making the time. My pleasure. Sensei Sugimoto and Bu Pur, happen to live in Japan, right? Right.
Not in Indonesia, right? And I will speak English with Sensei Sugimoto, and you can check the subtitle later, just click it, there's a CC button, click it, and there will be a subtitle later, where we... Maybe you can read the speech of Sensei Sugimoto in the subtitle.
Okay, so this is, to put it bluntly, they say Sensei Sugimoto but actually it's Ustad Sugimoto, if it's in Arabic. Yes, that's right. But if it's in Japan, because Ustad is in Arabic, it's called Sensei. This is interesting. But in Indonesia, it's called Ustad or Sensei?
Sensei. Sugimoto Sensei. People call me Sensei. Still Sensei? Yes.
Not an Ustad, for example in Indonesia. No. For example, what about you, Ustazah? I'm basically a Guru Ngaji, so I'm called Bu'pur.
Bu'pur? Okay. Just Bu'pur. Okay, okay.
Sorry, what's the difference between Guru Ngaji and Ustazah? Well, maybe if... Usually, Ustazah means Guru, right?
In Arabic. But usually, I prefer to be called Bu'pur. Because for me, Ustazah is like someone who has a high level of knowledge. But actually, Ustazah is a teacher. A teacher?
A teacher. But sometimes I like to be called Ustazah. Like, I'm not at the level of Ustazah. So, just call me Bu Pur. Okay, Bu Pur.
And we will talk about it. You know the reason why I invite... What you guys here is really to get to know you better, I want to know you better and of course in Japan they have a movement called Torino Muslim.
Tonarino Muslim. Tonarino Muslim. Hi. Tonarino Muslim.
Hi. My neighbor is Muslim. Muslim, yes.
So this is Tonarino Daniel, your neighbor. Yes, yes. So, that's why we are neighbors, maybe we can be together.
We can talk, we can chat. I just want to get to know you better. And of course, we want to talk about our favorite subject, God. So Sugimoto sensei, first, how did you become a Muslim? So I'm originally from Seki City, Gifu Prefecture.
I was just born and raised up. a normal just Japanese family. Japanese family, usually it's Buddhism or Taoism? Yeah, generally Shintoist. Shinto.
Yeah, or Buddhist. Yeah, our family is Buddhist. Okay. Yes, but just name, you know. Right.
That is a normal like. So, however, when I was university student, that time 19 years old, I met a Muslim student from Bangladesh. Yeah, that was.
So for me, first time to see in Japan, a Muslim. Then we made friendship. Then he invited me to visit his hometown in Bangladesh.
Just one week. So I'm interested in different culture. So I just visited just for one week. Then, but you know, it was 1996. So I got very like big culture shock.
When I just arrived, you know, there are so many like a lot of Muslim people. Poor people there, Banya come. But they're a good culture shock also.
So they have very good hospitality, their friendliness, and their family value is very strong. I mean, their family bond is very strong. Which is almost lost in Japan, especially recently.
Like population in Japan is decreasing because young generation don't want to marry. Don't want to have children, right? But in Bangladesh, you know, they have very strong family tie and then they have many children also.
Natural, innate nature. It's the budaya aja. It's normality for you to have so many children. Then because they are Muslim, so maybe I was thinking why they maintain this culture. So because they're Muslim, maybe they're based on Islamic value.
So after come back to Japan, I found the Quran. In Japanese language. Oh, you found one? Yeah, 1996, there was no internet that time. Oh, wow, yeah.
So I want to find information, Islam. So I have to go to library or the bookstore. So I found the Quran. This Quran is a new translation.
I myself and Dr. Mizutani, another translator, translated. Okay. But the previous translation.
So I just found and I just start reading. So it's so different, so unique. I was not interested in any other religious books before But this book is something so different I also read so many books My major is social science So politics and economics and management and psychology And all, you know, anthropology, sociology Different, different books I read But this is something very different Why different?
It's the very beginning of this chapter Yeah In the very second chapter of the very beginning, it says that which means this is a book without any doubt or any suspicion, mistake. So which human being on earth can claim this? The very beginning of the book. Because the scientists, especially those who are more and more great scientists, cannot say like that.
Because maybe later on, Maybe new theory will be found. Yeah. So maybe your theory, that person's theory will be replaced.
So no one dare to say that, oh, this is a book without any doubt, no mistakes or error. So this is something very different. The beginning. Yeah. So that is the beginning of the attraction.
So I start reading. I just found two new concepts for me. Okay. That is the concept of Ahira.
Ahira is a life after death. Yeah. And then concept of Tauhid.
Tauhid, the oneness of God. The oneness of God. God, yeah.
Tauhid in Arabic. So these new concepts are totally new. So in Japan, people normally they believe in reincarnation?
Yeah, Buddhists. Buddhism, they believe reincarnation. And many gods. Yes, that's right.
So quite opposite, right? Yeah, that's why. Because this is a new concept. Yeah, it's good. Yeah, good.
So the number one is Akira. Akira is the life after death. So including myself, and I think most of the Japanese people, they don't believe life after death, which means this life is the end.
So nothing is waiting outside. Well, but this Quran is repeated again and again. Okay, this life is not the end. The life to come.
Yeah, so what is there? So even the Christians also believe there is heaven and hell. Correct. Right? So in Arabic, it says, Okay, so then how is it possible to believe it?
Because we cannot see this is a gaib, we call gaib is unseen, right? So unseen means we cannot disprove also, right? So that's why probability of existence is 50-50.
That's logically I was thinking. Okay, so 50% it means exist. Okay, 50% not exist. So 50% existence is quite high.
High ratio for me that I'm thinking. Which means not only heaven but hellfire also there. So if I don't prepare, if this word of God is true, then it's dangerous.
So at that time, Sensei Sugimoto just thought, just in case heaven is real. Yes. Just in case. Just in case heaven is real. Then I'll take the safe way.
Just like that. Because I cannot really prove it, right? Yeah.
So reject, cannot reject also. Yeah. So what to do if this word of God is true?
So let's say now, on the other hand, there is heaven. Heaven means endless paradise, endless bliss, happiness. So it's also a very good concept. Yeah. Okay.
So how to enter paradise? How to avoid hell? So that's the next question.
So Quran is clearly mentioned in chapter 4, verse 13, which mentioned the tirka hududullah. وَمَنْ يُتِئِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِرْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِيَ الْأَنْهَارِ خَارِدِنَا فِيهَا Which means that this is a limit set by Allah. Those who obey Allah and obey the Messenger of Allah, Allah will put them into the paradise under which rivers flow. And they will live there forever. So it means the methodology to enter paradise to obey Allah, obey his Messenger.
So this is something clear, mentioned. So the next question is, who is Allah? Because we don't have the concept of Allah in the Japanese history. We don't have this concept.
So just I start reading, and all the time this Quran is reminding, name of Allah. And then, there is no worthy of worship but Allah. And then remembering Allah, and be conscious of Allah. Like zikr, lait, takul, so many words are there. To remind people to remember Allah.
Well... Simply, Allah is just oneness of God. Just one God, simply. But as you mentioned, Japanese people believe many gods, right?
So that's the problem. So when we say that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, Japanese people feel like, oh, you're very exclusive, you're intolerant, you're very narrow-minded. How come you only select only one God?
We accept many gods, right? But later, after I realized that, after reading the Quran, the concept of God is completely different from the Japanese context. When we say the one God and many gods, this same word we use, God, right? But indicating totally different. Why is that?
Yeah, so the first, when you say one God, means, let's say, Allah is fine. The creator, the creator, okay? But when we say many gods, What is gods? So I researched.
My major was anthropology, ethnology. So I checked all the previous research done by Japanese ethnologists or anthropologists. They researched Shintoism.
Shinto is the one which believe many gods. So now after research, I found that these gods actually indicate the spirits, the jin. In Arabic, it's called spiritual energy.
Okay. Yeah. So Japanese people believe in something very strong spiritual energy. Okay.
This could be a form of snakes, dragons, for example, fox, dogs, monkeys. So when we say Jinja, Jinja means shrine, Shinto shrine. We can find so many of these artifacts of these animals.
And these are all the Symbols of actually the jinns is a manifestation of the spirits. Actually, the root is the spirit. That is called the jin in Arabic.
Okay, so if jin, if the many gods indicate jinns, then actually Muslims also believe the existence of jinns, existence of spiritual beings. So which also mentioned chapter 72 is the surat al-jin. The chapter is the jin. The title of the book, the chapter.
is the spirits. Okay, so it's no problem to have many jinns, many gods. But only difference is Muslims do not worship the jinn. But only worship the creator. The creator of jinn.
Creator of human being, creator of the angels. Right. Okay, so now understand the difference. Okay, so if we say that there is no other worship but Allah.
Okay, so... Only Allah is a creator. Any other thing is creation. So we don't worship the creation. Why?
Because creation has limitations. And it will die. Or maybe broken.
or decrease or increase, very unstable. So when we worship something unstable, we become very unstable. That's why Allah ordered us not to worship creation.
You become very unstable. So you worship something stable, completely stable, never broken or disappear or die, like that. So I realized, oh, this is a concept of very, very...
basic concept of Allah, that is something understandable. But for the Japanese people, because the Quran is not yet reached in Japanese society. So when we see some supernatural phenomenon, like power, people observe, or people do not cannot distinguish this is the Allah's power or the power of jinns. Because the jinns, the supernatural, like spiritual being also, they have some strong power. Which we cannot see.
And Allah's power also we cannot see sometimes. Power itself. So that's why they cannot distinguish all.
So they're mixed. But when we read the Quran, we can distinguish. Allah is a creator.
And the other thing, the creation, including the spirits. So because of that, I mean, it's so different. It's a two...
Extreme opposite of concept, right? One has many gods. One has one god, the creator. The creator who create all these gods. One has reincarnation.
The other one is heaven and hell, the afterlife. How old were you when you found that out? That one is 19 years old. 19 years old. 19 years.
So that means the whole 19 years old of your belief system. It's all suddenly becomes a lie? Yeah.
You know? I mean, well, for me, like religion is not part of my life until 19. Yeah. It's like just totally indifferent. I'm not interested in religion. So every year you don't go to Shinto temple?
No, no, no. Just cultural. Cultural. Yeah. For example, in the Buddhist temple, like one year, they give some mochi.
Mochi is a rice cake. Yeah. They distribute.
So we run small, you know, catch the mochi. Just play just around. There are no spiritual lessons, moral teachings. Right. Nothing, just culture.
Ah, okay, okay. So, I mean, like, I've been to Japan. I've been to one of the temples as well.
You have the, you know, people actually sound the bell or, you know, with the washing. Many rituals, yes. Many rituals and everything.
But you don't do that? No, no, no. Well, the thing is that when I realized this difference, the many gods and then the one god, it's not really, I mean, the clashing, contradicting. Yeah. Because these many gods indicate many genes.
So Muslims also believe existence of many genes. While there is one god, the creator, so actually the Shintoism and Islam actually coexist. Oh, interesting. Can coexist, yeah.
But the difference is only one thing. The people, Muslims, don't believe, I mean, do not worship. Worship means if you have any request, want to overcome any issues, we don't request to jinns.
We request to the creator. Only this difference. But in Japanese people, when they go to the shrine, they give some coins and some offering food, and they deal with the jinns. Jinns has two jinns.
I mean, the one is good jinns and bad jinns. Bad jinns are called shaitan, satan. So it will give bad influence to the human being. So from a long time ago, the Shinto priests, they have a very special ability to see the jinns, to see the spirits, and they can communicate.
Even there is a woman priest who can just, what do you call it, like possessed by the jinns, can speak the word of spirits. Yeah. So they have that kind of spiritual skills, ability. And then they have some skill to expel the bad influence or bad genes or the bad spirit. So they have certain rituals.
Still people are practicing or believing. So giving food and giving money to deal with these bad spirits to expel the bad influence. So it's a kind of dealing place that Shinto shrine is like we're asking the bad genes.
Or please do not give us any bad impact to us, you know, just... Keep us away. Yeah. Yeah, right?
Yeah. So it's a kind of dealing place. On the other hand, there are good jinns, like dragons, even China. They believe dragon is like a fortune animal. Yeah.
So it's come to Japan also. Yeah. But this is a kind of, I mean, for us Muslims, this is a kind of superstition.
However, if they are jin, jin also can give some good impact. They have some power also So they give food and coins So they're expecting some good fortune Transactional Yeah, happens to them So that is a practice of Shintoism So that's why even we can have some You know, the natural description Description of nature Which we can also prove This book is not simply something Only spiritual thing Even scientifically we can investigate. That is the uniqueness of the Quran.
Of course I have many questions, but I ask Muslim friends, they answer me. After one year, I realized that there are no more questions at that time. Well, I don't have any problems.
So what to do next? When I married him, I learned a lot about the experience. He even translated the Qur'an in a very sincere way. Because this is an important news. It's not to invite them to Islam, but to give them a chance.
At least, this news should reach them.