A Willing Conversion

At an Italian restaurant near Ekoda Station in Tokyo, Bangladeshi Jahangir Mujahed and his wife Chihiro are preparing to open for business. The couple met on the job at a different Italian eatery, managed by Jahangir, where Chihiro, then a university student, worked part-time. Despite their age difference—Jahangir is 22 years older—the pair fell in love. They married seven years ago.

Chihiro and Jahangir at the Italian restaurant they run together.

Chihiro claims she had no qualms about converting to Islam. “Many of the values it teaches are same that Japanese children hear growing up,” she says, “like respecting your parents and not lying. Converting was easy for me and has never been a barrier to my life in Japan.”

Jahangir says his wife has helped him become a better Muslim. He admits that after decades of living in Japan he had become lax about many Islamic rules regarding diet and lifestyle, explaining that he was trying to get by in a foreign land. “I wasn’t going to get along with people very well if I had to keep saying I couldn’t do this or eat that,” he exclaims. “I did what I needed to do to fit in to Japanese society.” What were once exceptions, though, eventually become regular habits. After meeting Chihiro, he vowed to reform. “I owe everything to her. She is a godsend.”

Chihiro divides her time between the restaurant and looking after the couple’s two small children. Her busy schedule means she is unable to pray some days and is usually unable to attend prayer gatherings on Fridays. “I would of course feel better as a Muslim if I prayed regularly,” she confesses. “But as my husband once told me, God in his greatness isn’t concerned about such trivial things. For me, it’s more important to do the best I can.”

Jahangir and Chihiro say they spend a lot of time talking.

Blending In

The couple admits that as members of a religious minority, they have some concerns about people’s views and how their children will be treated down the road. To avoid potential misunderstandings, the pair says they do not go out of their way to make their beliefs widely known, including not even posting in Japanese that the restaurant offers halal options. They do not see it as being secretive, though. “There is no reason to broadcast the fact that we are Muslim,” states Jahangir. “Islam teaches that if you put your best face forward, people will accept you for who you are.”

The couple opened their Italian restaurant, Pran Pone, in 2012.

Chihiro concurs with her husband: “With the children, issues like school lunch menus will inevitably arise. As parents, though, we believe it is better not to push our standards but rather to live in harmony with others as Islam teaches. Every household has its own rules, and we hope our daughters’ friends will naturally come to respect what is different about our family.”