Korea's Religious Places - 4.5 Islam

Seoul Central Masjid (Seoul)

Of the three Abrahamic traditions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, only Christianity has succeeded on a large scale in Korea. Judaism has been practiced on the American military bases, but now is also practiced in a synagogue in Seoul, with such observances as Passover and other Jewish rites.

At the outset, in an effort to find a home for Islam in Korea, when the mosque was built in the mid-1970s, Korea found that one of its prominent lineage groups, the Indong Jang lineage, had a genealogical document that stated that the founding ancestor of the clan was an immigrant from China during the Yuan Dynasty era, and he was listed as having been a Muslim. The Jang family, long since having lost any practice of Islam, was invited to revive its family heritage and come to the mosque to worship there. As loyal Koreans, they obeyed the call and attended the mosque, but the participation, as one can imagine, was awkward and imprecise. Now, with over one million guest workers in Korea, many of whom are from Muslim countries, the mosque provides a real service. In addition to worship, the mosque provides assistance to guest workers in cases involving labor disputes and worksite injury compensation and treatment. There are Korean social workers who work with the mosque officials to help the foreign workers, particularly those who may be in disputes with their employers.

Since the Seoul Masjid was built, fourteen more mosques have been established all over the country.