BTA PUSHES FOR CREATION OF HIGHER ISLAMIC STUDIES IN BARMM

COTABATO CITY: The Government of the Day is pushing for the creation of Bangsamoro Regional Institutes for Higher Islamic Studies to uplift Madaris education in the region. During the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) session on November 21 held at Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in this city, the BTA Bill 31 or an “Act creating the Bangsamoro Regional Institutes for Higher Islamic Studies, repealing Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act 164, otherwise known as the “Regional Madrasah Graduate Education Act of 2003,” was advanced in the parliament. Representing the Government of the Day, Member of Parliament Mohagher Iqbal said this bill will help improve educational perspective, strategies, and structure that will surely produce graduates who are competitive locally and globally by having a solid understanding of Islam and the modern world. “It is the time for the Government of the Day to promote and institutionalize an educational institution capable of providing quality education at par with secular education, which would be representative of our religion as Muslims,” Iqbal, who also heads the education ministry in the region, stressed. Under Section 8, Article 9 of Republic Act 11054, also known as the “Bangsamoro Organic Law,” the Bangsamoro government has the authority over education, skills training, and culture and languages, as well as the competence to establish, maintain and supervise Madaris education in the Bangsamoro autonomous region. Iqbal further expressed that in reality, the Bangsamoro Asatids and Ulama are not properly regarded as professionals because “they do not squarely fit in the socially-constructed box of standards that we created to be called professionals.”“While others are seeking doctorates and degrees that they can use to advance in their careers, these Asatids and Ulama devote their lives to studying our religion, surviving with a low income and without expecting worldly returns. Little do we know that this is far better compared to our mediocre ambitions in this dunya (temporal world),” he said. The proposed bill will help promote training in Islamic education and conduct research on the development of textbooks and other reading materials for Madaris institutions at all levels. The Madaris education, according to the lawmaker, has a relevant impact on the spiritual development of the Bangsamoro people, and it produces good citizens who live by moral principles and Islamic values, ensuring that in the end, the teachings of Islam are applied in all aspects.