|
World
Mission Home
From
the Editor
Where
to find WMM
Subscription
Rates
World
Mission Archives
Contact
World
Mission
FORUM
Back to Contents
|
Manila - Migration of Muslims spurs Inter-religious Dialogue
WM/www.ucanews.com
In the Philippines, there are 1.6 million Muslims in the capital region alone. In this "Catholic" city, an inter-faith movement is trying to spur an inter-religious dialogue. The goal is to fight intolerance and promote cooperation and unity in Muslim-Christian communities.
Aina Tahir, a street peddler, excused herself from her customers to perform afternoon prayers. The 30-year-old mother of four went to a well near the public market in Tandang Sora, Quezon City, pumped out water and washed her face, hands, arms, ankles and feet. This is a Muslim cleansing ritual done before prayers. After praying, she resumed selling cosmetics, hair ornaments and household items.
Tahir explained hunger compelled her family to move to Manila from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur Province, some 820 kilometers southeast of Manila. In Marawi, they subsisted on bananas, as well as cassava and other root crops, between rice and corn harvests.
At the same market, Asgar Makabangkit, also 30, was selling music and video compact discs. He came to Manila from Iligan City, Lanao del Norte Province, about 25 kilometers north of Marawi. He said that working at the Tandang Sora market enables him to send money home to his parents. According to his Islamic faith, he sets aside some of his earnings for "zakat," or "works of charity."
Fellow vendor Omar Pacasum, 18, however, came for a different reason. He left Marawi City to get away from fighting between government troops and rebels seeking to establish an Islamic state in Mindanao, the southern Philippine region.
Quezon City borders Manila to the northeast
Five percent of Muslims
Tahir, Makabangkit and Pacasum are among many Muslims who have migrated from Mindanao to the country's capital region in the last 30 years in search of a better livelihood and security. According to the government's Office on Muslim Affairs, 1.6 million Muslims live in the capital region, most of them ethnic Maranao traders from Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.
The presence of so many Muslims in the capital may surprise people who consider the Philippines a "Catholic" country. Based on the latest estimates, the capital region has a population of 10-13 million people, with Muslims accounting for 12-16 percent. The 2000 census determined Muslims to make up 5 percent of the nation's population.
In this context, an inter-faith initiative -- Peacemakers' Circle Foundation -- is trying to promote inter-religious dialogue in and around the capital. It is producing a video documentary, "In the Light of the Crescent Moon," a story of Christians journeying with Muslims along the path of peace in Metro Manila that features migrants with stories similar to those of Tahir, Makabangkit and Pacasum.
Maria Teresa Africa, the Foundation's executive director, said the documentary aims to "promote awareness of the plight and challenges facing Muslims in various grassroots communities and inspire the public to work for a Muslim-Christian dialogue."
To promote unity
The 30-minute video will present the history and roots of the war in Mindanao, the beginnings of Muslim migration, a profile and report on the situation of Muslims in Metro Manila and a case study of one Muslim-Christian inter-faith community in the capital.
The goal is to present a balanced picture of Muslim-Christian relations in the capital region and to "generate support for the Peacemakers' advocacy," Africa said. The non-stock, non-profit Foundation, founded in 1998, is composed of members from various religious traditions in the Philippines who are working to promote cooperation and unity in Muslim-Christian communities.
On Nov. 29, the production team shot their last video footage for the documentary. Peacemakers' project coordinator Lee Collano, who directed the video, says the Foundation plans to launch the video in January. It hopes that Catholic schools, seminaries and religious congregations, as well as private universities, Church-based organizations, Muslim communities, and public and private workplaces will arrange screenings.
The documentary features four of the biggest Muslim communities in the capital region – the Quiapo commercial district in Manila, Fairview in Quezon City, Taguig, and Barangay (community) 188 in Kalookan City's Tala District. The documentary also features various marketplaces around the region where Muslim vendors sell their wares.
Against intolerance
The growing number of Muslims in Metro Manila "should not be singled out as bad guys," says Collano, a former Franciscan seminarian who has been working with Muslim communities for 13 years. During the filming, Muslim leaders and vendors reportedly complained that they have been branded with labels such as "terrorista" (terrorist) or "Abu Sayyaf," the notorious kidnap-for-ransom group in western Mindanao that has taken local and foreign hostages.
Peacemakers' Circle Foundation hopes the video will show that "it is not impossible for Muslims and Christians to live together in grassroots communities," Collano said. He related that his group has filmed Muslims and Christians from Tala chatting inside each other's homes, helping each other with jobs and finances. They also conduct joint seminars on managing fear and conflict, he said, and Muslim and Christian children play and go to school together.
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was established in the 1970s to fight for a separate Islamic state. (Muslims in Mindanao use the name Moro to refer to their community.) The MNLF signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 but forces loyal to former chairman Nur Misuari continue to clash with government troops. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which broke away from the MNLF, is currently engaged in peace negotiations with the Philippine Government.
<WM
Copyright © 2003-2006
World Mission Magazine |
|
