Japanese Bank Refuses to Serve Company That Has Word ‘Islamic’ on its Name

A bank in Japan refused to open an account for a public organization that has the word “Islamic” on its name, suspecting that the company might have ties to the Islamic State.

Japanese Bank Numazu Shinkin refused to open an account for a public organization that has the word “Islamic” on its name, Kyodo News reported.

The company’s director, Rikijiro Saito, received a rejection from the bank, citing fears over its name. The organization, translated from Japanese as “Friendship Society of Japan and Islamic Countries”, provides information about Islam, as well as political and social situation in the Middle East.

“Their rejection of my request is based on nothing but prejudice that anything Islamic is to be feared,” said Saito, who in the past graduated from the University of Cairo and taught Arabic courses at Japanese colleges, Japanese Daily Asahi Shimbun AJW reported.

Saito said that the bank’s refusal shows lack of awareness of Islam in Japan. Amidst the rise of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, many people simply connect anything Islamic with the terrorist organization, especially after the high-profile recent killings of two Japanese hostages by the militants.

Indeed, when asked to comment of the bank’s rejection of Saito’s application, the bank’s risk manager said: “We had no choice but to be cautious partly because of the negative image associated with Muslims.”