Islam Finds Way into Korean Society

Stepping outside a lecture room at Kyung Hee University amid a flock of Korean students, a Jordanian student heads toward a Muslim prayer room in his campus.

Mohammad’s daily ritual in the prayer room demonstrates Korea’s efforts to understand the once-alienated religion.

“These days, Koreans do not discriminate against me on the basis of me being a Muslim,” he said, adding that this was not always the case.

“When I came here in 2010, Koreans gave the cold shoulder to Muslims.”

There is now an ongoing effort to better understand Islam both as a culture and religion, explained Imam Lee Ju-hwa of the Seoul Central Mosque.

“Each year, there has been a dialogue among multiple religions here. We discuss ways to co-exist and cooperate with each other,” he said.

As part of an effort to promote the religion, the Islamic community here holds free Arabic classes along with seminars and lectures about the Islamic culture.

Kim Sang-kyu, an executive of the Markaz Arabic Centre, said there is a growing interest in the Arabic language among Koreans.

“Three years ago, two students came to study Arabic. Now, more than 100 students visit here and learn Arabic a month,” he said.

“Korean students learning Arabic get a chance to understand the Islamic culture by communicating with Muslim teachers.”

Visitors to the Seoul mosque on Friday would also encounter hundreds of people flocking beneath the towering minarets.

The Muslim population is still relatively small at 135,000. But a street full of restaurants and shops marked “halal” around the Seoul mosque suggests that the Muslim culture in Korea has developed past its fledgling stage.