Halal matchmaking services guideline for Muslim marriage in Japan

Abstract

Maintaining a halal lifestyle is required by Islam. To avoid engaging in any haram (prohibited) behaviors, such as free dating, cohabitation, or premarital sex, Muslims must employ halal (lawful) means when looking for a halal spouse. Halal dating services, including halal speed dating and halal internet dating, have lately emerged in a number of Muslim and non-Muslim nations. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of Muslim immigrants in Japan who require halal matchmaking services for Muslim marriage, both offline and online. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop guidelines for halal matchmaking services that guarantee religious protection while meeting the needs of Muslim couples looking to be married in Japan. The study used a qualitative approach, analyzing data through thematic and content analysis. The Chiba Islamic Cultural Center’s social media accounts were used to find possible attendees for a halal matching event. Muslims in Japan who were divorced or single and could speak Japanese well were specifically chosen to participate in in-depth interviews. Following the halal matchmaking, semi-structured in-depth interviews with each participant were used to gather feedback. In less than one month, 111 individuals created personal profiles. One hundred and nine (98.1%) of the responses were valid. They traveled from 20 prefectures across Japan. It demonstrated Japan's real need for halal matchmaking services. A total of 35 individuals responded to the initial interviews. Twenty attendees of the matching were asked to participate in in-depth interviews for feedback. According to the study, Muslim couples looking to get married in Japan required halal matchmaking services to get past three major obstacles: the low number of Muslims using Japanese matchmaking services, the time and money-consuming nature of the process, and the anxiety associated with marriage because individualistic marriages lack the trust and assurance that communal arranged marriages do. Nearly all attendees expressed satisfaction with their actual matchmaking experience, and by hearing about their experiences, the study identified new requirements for pre-marriage counseling and education as well as group Q&A sessions with prepared marriage related questions. There are a few research limitations and suggestions for further study. One of these is that not enough samples were gathered from all of Japan’s prefectures for this study, which made it challenging to perform a comprehensive analysis. To address this, it is advised to work with nearby masjids and Islamic centers throughout Japan to gather larger samples. Another drawback was that the findings did not show the steps involved in getting married beyond the first planned encounter. It is advised to interview married Muslims in-depth to learn more about the reasoning behind their decision to marry in Japan.