Korean Muslims: A minority among minorities

Korean Muslims: A minority among minorities

The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Indonesians and Koreans living in this country are likely to know
more about Korean movies than the existence here of a Korean
Muslim community.

"There are very few Korean Muslims in Indonesia," said Ahn
Ali, 43, a member of the Korean Muslim Federation in Indonesia.

Among some 30,000 Koreans living in this country, only 50 are
Muslims, including those who converted to because they married
Indonesian women.

Such a small number was probably due to the lack of knowledge
Koreans had about Islamic teaching and culture, Ahn said.

"Even in Korea there are only 35,000 Muslims out of the
country's 40 million population."

The spread of Islam in Korea dated back to the 1950s, when the
Korean War broke out. Two Turkish soldiers, Zubercoch and Abdul
Rahman, who were stationed in Korea at that time, built a hut --
later called the Masjid Tent -- where they gathered locals and
preached Islamic values.

The development of Islam in Korea was later supported with the
establishment of the Korean Islamic Foundation in 1967. Its
Indonesian branch, known as the Korean Muslim Federation, later
opened in 1982 as many Koreans were coming to work in this
country.

Despite the surging number of Korean workers in Indonesia, the
number of Korean Muslims did not experience a similar growth.

Being minorities in their own community has not held them back
from eagerly participating in the spreading of Islamic teachings.
In fact, many of them came to Indonesia in the first place to
study Islam under scholarships offered by the Indonesian Ministry
of Religious Affairs.

"I graduated from IAIN (State Islamic Institute) Jakarta in
1985, majoring in da'wah (proselytizing)," Ahn said.

These days, the man who runs the Korea-Indonesia Information
Center is also a part-time lecturer in cultural studies and
entrepreneurship at the As-syafi'iyah Islamic Institute in
Bekasi.

Not having many fellow Korean Muslims to interact with, the
foreign Islamic preacher speaks more at local religious
gatherings.

"I am often invited to Indonesian events that are held on
Islamic holidays such as Maulid Nabi (the birth of prophet
Muhammad)," he said. "There is nothing special going on at such
times among the (non-Muslim) Korean community."

Korean Muslims in Indonesia get together once each year for an
annual meeting.

"We do not yet have more frequent regular meetings such as
pengajian or religious gatherings, so we go to local mosques and
join local gatherings instead," said Mohammad Hochul Kil, one of
the founders of the federation.

Kil, also a former student of the State Islamic Institute,
admitted that as Korean Muslims they were a minority among
minorities.

"Learning from our experiences here, we do not see people as
Korean or Indonesian or Muslims," Kil said. "We are all
brothers."(003)