Japanese city denies public park for Eid al-Adha prayer

BASRA, Iraq — Ichikawa, a city near Tokyo, has refused to allow a mosque to hold its long-running Eid al-Adha prayer in a public park, according to Kyodo News. The Chiba Prefecture municipality rejected the application to hold the holiday prayer in a park in a quiet neighborhood in May, a decision that followed online criticism of images from a prayer and sermon held in the same park last autumn. The city initially sought to cancel the entire Eid program but later reached a compromise with the organizers, permitting the event to proceed as a social gathering with the prayer itself excluded. The prayer and associated program had been held twice a year in the area for roughly 30 years, according to the mosque's representative, Abdullah Miyazawa, a 56-year-old Pakistani-origin community figure. About 200 people attended the Eid al-Fitr prayer held in the same park in March. Local media reported that the Ichikawa city council received calls both supporting and opposing the park's use following the decision, reflecting broader complaints in recent years directed at mosques in Japan over allegations of defamation and insults.