Japan Launches a Mobile Mosque to Welcome Muslims During 2020 Olympics

Foods trucks, fruit trucks, nap trucks, music trucks, job trucks and other thingy trucks had been already seen… And here comes Japan with a very ingenious idea, which extends the previous list: a Mosque truck! This traveling mosque will be used to cover all locations of the 2020 Olympic Games, and thus provide a place of worship for the many Muslim visitors.

A Japanese concept of hospitality

The concept was thought by Yasuharu Inoue and unveiled this month outside Tokyo’s Toyota Stadium. While preparations are in full swing in the country, organizers begins to worry about the small number of mosques. Such an issue! Especially since Japan relies a lot on the success of the organization of the biggest sport event in the world. In fact, it hopes display its hospitality and openness through “omotenashi”, the Japanese concept of hospitality.

The 25-ton truck includes sliding walls that double its surface, creating a 48-meter-square space for to 50 people. It even includes facilities for ritual cleansing. The leaders of the project hope to fill a gap in adequate religious infrastructures. They would like to see this Mobile Mosque export around the world, to cover various sporting events but also to meet other needs, such as those of refugee camps.