Written by Dwinda-san
As the growing number of Muslim students in the campus, Mie University is now preparing to serve halal menu in PASEO, a campus restaurant which is part of university co-op. Answering the high demand of halal food from Muslim students, the university will provide a halal lunch menu every Wednesday of the week start from April 15th, 2015. The menu will be varied every week. A declaration to start serving halal menu in the campus was announced on March 24th , 2015, and attended by Muslim Student Association of Mie University and representative lecturers from Padjadjaran University and Sriwijaya University, Indonesia. In this event, Muslim students coming from Indonesia, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh were enjoying the food tasting of the Japanese food made by PASEO with halal ingredients, such as sukiyaki, sushi, and tempura. Not only the meat, but the seasoning including shoyu and vinegar are also in halal label. The cookware in the kitchen is separated between the cookware for halal and non-halal food. As a limited halal washoku (Japanese food) around campus, this activity garnered positive responses from the students. The leader of Muslim Students Association of Mie University, Candra Wirawan, stated that this good intention from university will be a bridge between Mie University and Muslim students of Mie University. “We hope that this good start will create a good relationship between Muslim student community and Japanese people,” he said. Most of the Muslim students interviewed in this event also hoped that the weekly halal menu will lead for provision of halal corner in university’s canteen for the next step.
Prayer Room
Since 2013, the prayer room for Muslim students is already provided by Mie University on the fourth floor of the Bioresources Faculty building. This room is initiated by The Indonesian Student Association and has been approved by the university. The room is renewed on February 2015 and equipped with warm carpet and prayer mats.
Mie University is now having Muslim students from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and France. The facilities for Muslim is provided to support the Muslim students during their study in Mie.
