Muslim leaders call for unity, peace
COTABATO CITY – Muslim leaders have called for unity with more patience and resilience among their constituents amid the government’s renewed drive in bringing lasting peace and growth in conflict-mired Mindanao communities through the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Governors Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao made their respective appeals in statements issued few hours before the regional Darul Ifta (Islamic House of Opinion) announced Thursday night the sighting in Tawi-Tawi of the new moon signaling the end of Ramadhan and the conduct Friday morning of Eid’l Fitr congregational prayers.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had declared Friday, June 15, as a regular holiday nationwide for Muslim Filipinos to have time in holding rituals for Eid’l Fitr, one of two important feasts in Islam. The other is Eid’l Adha, which marks the end of the yearly hajj (pilgrimage) to Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
More than four million of Muslim Filipinos are concentrated in ARMM, an autonomous region covering Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.
Under the BBL, ARMM will be replaced by a new autonomous entity called Bangsamoro.
The proposed BBL was recently approved by both Houses of Congress, and is set for refinement in a bicameral conference before it is submitted for signature by the President in time for his July 23 State-of-the-Nation Address.
In his Eid’l Fitr message, Hataman said: “We rise today in jubilation and gratitude to Allah, who gave us the strength to overcome (trials), and remain righteous as we did. By His boundless benevolence, we (must) find solidarity… in greater purpose and resolve.”
“I join the Bangsamoro, the people of ARMM, and the rest of the Filipino nation in celebrating Eid’l Fitr. We extend our greetings to all peoples of goodwill as the blessed month of Ramadan comes to a close,” he said.
“Our (Ramadhan) fast embodies the many choices we are faced with in this world: We are taught, at every moment, to submit to the will of Allah; to side with what is kind, just, and good; to cleanse ourselves of negativity; and finally, to emerge from every challenge with peace in our hearts and greater clarity of purpose,” Hataman added.
Amid conflicting reactions on the recent BBL passage, Hataman urged his constituents to “move forward, truly united, as the Bangsamoro narrative unfolds.”
Mangudadatu, for his part, appealed to his more than one million constituents to “remain resilient in our quest for a community worthy of peaceful and productive cexistence amid incessant man-made and natural trials.”
“Let’s sustain throughout our lifetime the teachings of Islam we learn in Ramadhan. Ideal virtues like patience, piety, conciliatory, utmost concern for fellow mankind, and strong faith in God, among many others, should always guide us until our last breath,” said Mangudadatu, who just completed umrah (minor hajj late last week.
In his latest solemn umrah prayers in the holy lands of Saudi Arabia, Mangudadatu said, he and his children prayed fervently for “enlightenment of all Muslims to abide by the true essence of Islam and avoid radical beliefs that often redound to violent actions.”
Hataman and Mangudadatu said they would host Eid’l Fitr congregational prayers and thanksgivings at the ARMM compound here and in Buluan, Maguindanao, respectively.