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As the Abu Sayyaf in-surgents were making headlines in 1998, en-

vironmental science sopho-more Iman Ampatuan and her mother were strolling through a shopping mall. As they pushed through the crowd, four-year-old Iman clung to her mother’s hand—a detail she distinctly re-members—when someone sees her mother’s veil and calls out an accusation: terrorist.

Head held high, Iman’s mother gripped her child’s hand tighter and kept walking—as if nothing had ever happened.

First impressions14 years later, Iman still

finds that first impressions are more of a challenge than usual. Many hold stereotypes about Muslims—and these days, the controversy that a distant uncle has attached to her last name can’t be avoided—but it’s some-thing she’s learned to ride along with. She amuses herself, for instance, by sitting at the back of the class and watching her classmates’ heads turn toward her during roll call.

Long before the scandal in 2009, Iman was already a Muslim student in Christian-dominated Metro Manila. For the most part, she seems like any other college youth: sociable, stressed over academics and active in school organizations like Entablado, a Filipino-language theater group. But once the topic of religion is raised, she is faced with ques-tions like "How does it feel to be a Muslim?" and "Isn’t it weird being Muslim?"

Such queries have the tenden-cy to come off the wrong way, but Iman encourages them, saying, “Go lang!” whenever she senses any hesitation. “I actually love that people are curious and ask me questions,” she says. Mean-while, Anna*, a sophomore,

shares that answering the same question again and again gets tiring. “Sometimes, I just don’t tell people [that I’m Muslim],” she admits.

Anna’s reluctance to broad-cast her religion is understand-able when one realizes that Muslim students also have to face jokes unknowingly made in bad taste. Ramadan, a film directed by 2011 AB COM graduates Dindin Reyes, Carlo Chong and Dave Anastacio, is based on actual experiences of Muslim students. In one scene, the character Muneeb is asked

to play a kidnapper for a class project. While his group mates laugh at the idea of their harm-less friend dressed like a member of the Taliban—complete with drawn-on facial hair—Muneeb struggles to tactfully say no to the idea.

Religious discussionIman is constantly asked

whether her years of Catholic education have made her con-sider changing her religion, to

which she continually answers no. “I find Catholicism to be more of a subject than a religion to consider,” she explains. “Life in Islam is what really stuck with me.”

Despite her confidence in her faith, Iman shares that one of her biggest fears is having a Theology teacher who will “grill the non-Christian stu-dents.” However, she also looks forward to the possibility of genuine dialogue with her pro-fessors, having previously chal-lenged her high school teachers’ flawed logic and explanations.

“I have great respect for The-ology teachers who can defend their faith against someone who doesn’t believe,” she says.

Anna, on the other hand, cannot share the same certain-ty. For someone who has never taken a class on Islamic theol-ogy, regular Christian theology classes can put a strain on one’s faith. “Sometimes I feel like I know more about your religion than mine,” she shares.

For the most part though,

“there are more convergences between Christianity and Islam than differences,” explains Rene Oliveros, PhD, who teaches In-troduction to Islam. Though Muslims don’t believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, both religions are monotheistic, and there is great stress on both parts on good works and charity. “The spirituality and ideals are so close; almost kith and kin.” A devout Catholic, Oliveros grew up with a Muslim mother, proof that what little differences the two religions have can be set aside for a harmonious—and even loving—relationship.

However, it seems that these similarities don’t stop local media from calling out Muslims when they can—an issue that truly bothers Anna. “I feel it’s unfair when [reporters] specify ‘Muslims kidnapped or killed these people,’” she says. “What’s the difference between that and saying that a Christian killed someone? Why do they have to specify that the person was Muslim when every day, a Chris-tian or Catholic commits crimes as well?”

The effect of this distortion of the truth is evident in Oliveros’ class. The most popular topic of his students’ final papers is jihad, a religious duty that can be interpreted as an internal spiritual struggle, but is more commonly known as holy war due to the media’s representa-

tion. “That in itself already speaks loud[ly] of the impres-sion of some our students,” says Oliveros.

Differences in the detailsLike any young adult, Iman

and Anna work to balance their conservative background with the more liberal youth culture they’re a part of. The way they dress, for example, can be an issue: while neither girl is ex-pected to observe purdah—the practice of covering oneself with clothes or a veil in order to stay out of the sight of men—their parents draw the line at sleeve-less shirts and shorts. “But I hate pants!” Iman interjects with a laugh.

The two have also gotten used to staying home on Sundays because their friends are cele-brating the Christian day of rest. Anna shares: “Sunday is just a normal day for us.” Another Christian tradition that Muslims have lived with and accepted is Christmas. But Muslims have their own holiday that majority of Filipino students see as merely a reason for having no school: Ramadan.

The 30-day celebration consists mainly of fasting and prayer, and not being able to eat or drink from 4AM to 6PM is made even more difficult when tests and papers are added to the mix. School food, of course, is tempting—Anna shares that

group work in JSEC can be tough during Ramadan. One other thing that they’ve had to get used to is the reaction they get when their friends find out they can’t eat pork. “Someone said to me, ‘you’re missing half of your life!’” laughs Anna about never having eaten bacon.

Finding a place to pray in school during Ramadan can also be difficult, says Oliveros. He recounts a story of Muslim At-eneans who have had to perform purification rites and pray in a bathroom at noon: “In one of these restrooms, they found privacy,” he says.

Heads held highThe paradox of being a minor-

ity is that normalcy has to be worked for. While the prejudice against Muslims continues to be a problem in Philippine society, young Muslims are learning that identity cannot be tied down. As Iman puts it simply: “I like being unique.”

Much like Iman’s mother, the girls hold their heads high. Though both girls keep a low profile, they cannot escape the stigma that comes with being different. “Even in college, people joke around and say things like ‘don’t get that one mad’ or ‘she might kill us,’” says Anna. “But I guess I just got used to it. I know they’re just joking.”

Behind the veil

I find Catholicism to be more of a subject than a religion to consider. Life in Islam is what really stuck with me.

— IMANAtenean college student

By Vernise L. Tantuco

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Features

Everybody has a secret. The lump beneath your former yaya’s pillow?

The notebook that your best friend never wants you to see? Your mother’s book with leather binding obscuring the original cover? Have you ever thought that maybe they’re not just being shy? Maybe they have books like “Kundiman Para Kay Sweetheart”, “Silence Means ‘Yes’, Maybe Means ‘No’”, and “Ang Halik Mong Sinungaling” hidden where you’re least likely to find them. Maybe, just maybe, they even like romance novels.

Cookie- cutter novelsFor every rich boy on Filipino

primetime television, there is a poor girl that he is madly—but forbidden to be—in love with. Usually, the rich boy’s mother, who wants him to marry an equally rich girl, is the cause of this forbidden love. Sometimes, it’s the other way around: there is a rich girl in love with a poor boy. Variations of the same themes and plots are littered all over primetime teleseryes and blockbuster films, but people tend to forget that these pre-conceived plots don’t only exist in television—they’re on print as well.

“Hindi naman gaanong kumplikado ang pagsusulat ng romance novel (It isn’t that complicated to write a romance novel),” Joi Barrios, PhD begins confidently in her essay, Chapter Eight (O Kung Paano Magsulat ng Romance Novel). In it, Barrios describes eight possible basic plots as a template for the perfect pocket book, ending her list with

“mga barsyon ng mga nabanggit na” (different versions of what has already been listed). More than plotlines, romances follow a recipe for characters as well. The perfect tall, dark, and hand-some leading man, must have his equally faultless leading lady: a mestiza of Western descent, or a Nora Aunor-esque beauty, in clothes that show off her figure.

These very figures grace the

covers of every P5 pocket book, more often than not, physi-cally touching, and drawn in bright colors. At first glance, these covers aren’t anything special—they’re the kind of thing one would expect from cheap, mass-produced novels. But as Interdisciplinary Studies professor, Soledad Reyes, PhD pointed out, these covers sell despite their aesthetic flaws—a fact that says a lot about Philip-pine culture.

Behind the industryAt the rate of 50 published

titles a month, and with the formulas that Barrios so easily compressed into a three- page essay, romance novels sound like easy money. There is some truth to this: pocketbook manuscripts sell for at least P4000 and most authors get started with the intent of improving their income. But for successful romance authors, the writing is far from easy—there’s a challenge to making every 128- page story accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds. Pocket book veteran Maribeth dela Cruz (under the pseudonym Martha Cecilia) knows full well what critics say about her seemingly effortless way of earning a living. “It’s the same stories being told over and over again,” she admits in a 2009 interview with Book-watch, the official publication of the National Book Development Board. “The difference only comes from how you turn the familiar patterns around—how you weave the words.”

Though dela Cruz defends her craft valiantly, many do not take the romance genre seriously. “Some accuse us of publishing trash,” says Segundo D. Matias Jr., one of the founders of Pre-

cious Hearts Romance, a pocket book publishing company. For graduates of universities like Ateneo and La Salle such as Armine Rhea Mendoza, the criticism doesn’t stop at a liter-ary level—writing romances at-tracts social stigma as well. Still, the members of the romance novel industry carry on defend-ing the work they’ve chosen. “At least this way even the poor can

read and improve the country’s literacy rate,” says Matias.

True enough, romance novels do improve literacy rates in the Philippines, according to Na-tional Book Development Board (NBDB) Chairman Dennis Gon-zales. Writers like Maria Teresa Cruz San Diego, for instance, are driven to narrow the divide separating high school graduates and doctorate degree holders by giving them stories worthy of their attention. "Very few people read literary books,” she states in an article. “It's a reality that there are more readers of Fili-pino romance novels."

Hopeful romanticsThose who think that romance

is a fringe genre would be sur-prised to know that romance is one of the highest-selling genres in the world. In a country dominated by classes C, D, and E, millions read romances, ac-

cording to the estimates of Pre-cious Hearts Romances. Among those, Bookware Publishing cal-culates that 90% of the readers are women between 13 and 50 years old.

Though not part of that demo-graphic, AB Psychology senior Chantal Tabo loves romance novels, having started in high school. "I like being kilig, and those books really make me kilig," she explains. "Being an avid reader, I also feel the stories. I find myself lost in them."

But the kilig factor isn’t all that readers want from romance novels. First, they need to be cheap, usually priced between P30 and P40. In fact, San Diego's former publisher almost went bankrupt after an ill-advised idea to raise prices to P45.

Second, the books have to be easy reads. Besides being in conversational Filipino, romance novels have to finish within

the 128-page limit. Barrios says that the traditional pocketbook formula is that all conflict has

to be resolved by Chapter Eight. Last, romances need to reso-

nate with readers on both an

emotional and a moral level. People need to empathize with the protagonist and to see the

Catholic values they’ve grown up knowing. Basically: No cheat-ing. No ending up with married

Between the sheetsBy Katerina R. Raraand Vernise L. Tantuco

It’s the same stories being told over and over again The difference only comes from how you turn the familiar patterns around—how you weave the words.

— MARTHA CECILIA,Pocket book veteran

... love can eventually bring us the happiness we deserve. — CHANTAL TABO,

AB Psychology senior

3The GUIDON Design Exercise

men. And if there's sex, it's hinted rather than laid bare.Though Tabo reads romance novels, she shies away from Filipino romances, citing

their brevity, the covers’ lack of appeal, and their own stigma. Still, she doesn’t hide the fact that she likes the romance genre itself, defending what most people call “yaya books”. "It's not about sex,” she says. “It's about love that may be sometimes so much [that] they want to express it."

Escapist in a sense, romance novels allow people to feel the happy endings that not all of them have, so much that they feel bereft when they don't get them."I think romance novels are for people who really have a strong belief in love and happy endings and [who] want to have a life like that. What's wrong with hoping?" Tabo asks. "Maybe the authors just want to promote that love can eventually bring us the happiness we deserve."

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