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August 27th, 2007, 07:38 PM #101

kiretoceNot your average saint.

Join Date: May 2004Posts: 5,055

Sangki appointed head of Office on Muslims Affairs

President Arroyo has appointed a scion of a Moro royalty of Maguindanao,Datu Ali Balayman Sangki who is a 56-year-old technocrat andmanagement expert, as executive director of the Office on Muslim Affairs(OMA).

Arroyo signed Sangkis appointment last Aug. 13. OMA is under the Officeof the President.

Sangki will replace Sultan Yahya "Jerry" Tomawis, a businessman fromLanao del Sur and OMA head for the last two years.

Sangki has advised the OMA that he intends to assume office in simplerites today after taking his oath of office.

The Chief Executive also appointed last Aug. 9 Datu Aladdin Ampatuan,another Moro royalty clan member, as presidential assistant for MuslimConcerns at the Office of the President.

Ampatuan was the former head of the Philippine Overseas EmploymentAdministration (POEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(ARMM).

Sangki, who finished a management course at the University of Manchesterin Manchester, England, through the British Council, is closely related toMoro royal families from Maguindanaos Muslim communities, being the son

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of Datu Sangki Dilangalen Ampatuan and Hadja Sophia "Pinanogod"Balayman.

Sangki and Ampatuan expressed gratitude to the President for giving themthe opportunity to serve their countrymen and contribute in bringingMuslim Filipinos closer to the government.

Sangki is married to Hadja Tita Lim-Sangki of Buluan, Maguindanao. Theirchildren are Mariam, Al-Iskandar, and Sheryl Yasmin.

Sangki said he would continue Tomawis programs and sustain them incooperation with other government agencies.

OMA is mandated by Executive Order No. 122-A to preserve, promote andenhance the countrys Muslim heritage and help the President address theMoro peoples concerns.

"As far as I know, Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo askedme to head OMA after knowing what I have done with the Al-AmanahIslamic Bank of the Philippines as chairman," said Sangki.

"The charter of the bank provides that my qualified successor shall benominated by the President and properly installed during the scheduledstockholders meeting this coming Oct. 22," he said.

"There will be a review of the mandate of the OMA and all its existingprograms and focused them on the programs of the President for a closercooperation with the Executive," he said.

Sangki, a former OMA deputy executive director, is a member of theTechnical Working Group of the government-Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF) peace process, former Maguindanao board member, and erstwhilemanager of Southern Philippines Development Authority among otherpositions he has held.

Sangkis appointment lauded by Christian and Muslim solons

Christian and Muslim members of the House of Representatives laudedyesterday the appoinment by President Arroyo of Datu Ali B. Sangki,chairman and executive officer of Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank ofthe Philippines, as executive director of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA).

"Sangkis profound background as a technocrat, management expertise anddeep involvement in Muslim affairs that helped uplift their economicconditions through the operation of Al-Amanah Bank will give strongdirection and dynamism to the missions and visions of OMA," Christian andMuslim solons said.

The solons are led by Reps. Annie Rosa L. Susano of the second district ofQuezon City, Francisco T. Matugas of Surigao del Norte, and Datu Pax S.Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat.

They said with Sangki at the helm of OMA, the relations between Muslimand Christian communities are expected to improve vastly as he is knownfor promoting brotherhood, cooperation and harmony between all Filipinosas chairman and CEO of the only Muslim bank in the Philippines.

Susano, chairwoman of the House Special Committee on Metro ManilaDevelopment, said Sangkis deep understanding of the human nature will


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be very useful in running OMA, one of the most sensitive governmentagencies in the country today.

A management graduate of Manchester University in England, Sangki wasinstrumental in laying a strong foundation of AlAmanah Bank despite itsproblems when he was appointed its chairman and CEO.__________________

"Love is the first act of a tragedy."

September 6th, 2007, 12:52 PM #102

Sinjin P.LIBOTEROSinjin P.'s AvatarJoin Date: Jul 2005Location: Lapu-Lapu, CEBUPosts: 6,256

Islam values to be taught in Lapu-lapu

LAPU-LAPU CITY Arabic language and Islam values will soon be taught inpublic elementary schools here.

The Department of Education (DepED) LapuLapu City Division endorsedthe offering of the Arabic Language and Islam Values (ALIVE) in the cityspublic schools.

The proposal is based on the memorandum of agreement (MoA) betweenthe Madrasah Education, DEpEd-Lapu-Lapu Division and the citygovernment to jointly organize, implement, and sustain the ALIVEprograms.

The MoA states that both parties support the DepEd National MuslimEducation Roadmap not only as an affirmative action for the Muslimcommunity but also as a peace-building strategy.

It further states the role of DepEd in identifying prospective ALIVEstudents, and in organizing classes, monitoring and evaluation of theprogram and to avail of the LGUs honoraria.

The MoA states that the ALIVE teachers will receive P3,000 monthly..

ALIVE classes are to be conducted in Basak, Pajo, and Poblacion Primaryschools and in the Lapu-Lapu City Elementary School. (Danny Fajardo)__________________

Libotero Philippine Tour: Davao (June) | GenSan - Sarangani (July) |Bacolod (August) | Ozamiz (September) | Dumaguete (October)

Helpful links:Cebu Pacific | Eat&Shop | Sinjin's House | Cebu Daily

| Cebu Pacific Airlines | Takaw Pansin | Philippine Airline News

September 6th, 2007, 01:27 PM #103

paulkrpsBANNED

so many years back, i heard of some mindanaoan commented that muslims(from mindanao or maybe worldwide) were losing so much of it's localcolours and culture due the arabization of islam.


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Join Date: Jun 2005Location: Eastern TimePosts: 136

September 7th, 2007, 02:31 AM #104

LoumanRegistered User

Join Date: Feb 2005Location: Manila / Los AngelesPosts: 185

I've heard of something like that happening in Malaysia too.

Apparently the culture minister or something like that was noticing somekind of Arabization of Malaysian culture. I can't remember where I saw thisso maybe someone from the Malaysian forum could clear this up for us.__________________

Goo Hit

Pilipins+pilipins+pilipins+pilipins+pilipins+Can't see the baybayin/alibata? Click here to learn.

September 20th, 2007, 08:15 AM #105

AnimoOn hiatus

Join Date: Oct 2005Location: Entre l'ocanPacifique l'ouest et la baiePosts: 2,338

The Status of the Minorities in South East Asia: Why Cant Turkey Be Like thePhilippines?

Kurdishaspect.com - BY Aland MizellUniversity of Texas at Dallas school of social science

The Philippine nation is a pluralistic society and culture compared to otherSouth East Asian countries in the region. The direction the Philippines hastaken since her colonial days has been toward the integration of small,more diverse tribal communities into a more developing nation with thenations desired goal being to bring about a cohesive society under theunifying umbrella of institutional processes. There are many tribal

languages spoken in the Philippines , especially among the Muslimminority. For example, a member of the Maranao tribe speaks Maranao,and one belonging to the Tausog tribe speaks the Tausug tribal language.The Philippine government never forced minorities to speak Tagalog, thePhilippine national language. Of the 175 languages, 171 are living and only4 are extinct, making a very diversified and rich linguistic map (Ethnologue2007). The pluralistic nature of the Philippine society is very interesting tostudy in the areas of ethnic, racial, and religious relations compared toTurkey, because the Turkish nation is also a pluralistic society and culturepopulated by many ethnic minorities, like the Kurds, Armenians, Jews,Central Asians, and those from the Balkans; however, the direction theTurkish government has taken is not toward integration into a morediverse, tolerant society or a more educated and developing nation, but

rather the direction the Turkish government has taken is to continue todeny differences, a denial based on a more racist and nationalisticapproach.

Like the Turkish government, the Philippine government constitutionallyremains a secular state, but unlike the Turkish government, it neithersupports nor discriminates against any religious group, institution, orpeople according to the constitutional principles. In the Philippines , mostpeople classify themselves along sectarian lines. However, religious fanaticgroups in the Philippines are trying to divide the social structure of thenation instead of trying to unify it into a common homeland under thePhilippine government. They use the drug of religion to combat against


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governmental efforts. Instead of fighting against poverty and illiteracy andof maintaining security and building the economy, the fanatics createproblems, so that investments do not go to the rural areas. As aconsequence of the violence, Muslims pay the price. Even though in thepast the government discriminated against minorities, now it hasrecognized these past mistakes and has compensated through a program ofreconciliation and autonomy. However, the Turkish government has had noreconciliation programs to reconsider the taboos against the Kurds. Justrecently, the head of the Turkish Historical Society, TTK, Professor

Halacoglu, argued that the Kurds actually are Turkmen and that the AleviKurds are Armenian. Indeed, this is the history that the Turkishgovernment teaches to young generations with misinformation aboutKurdish history. The history professor lays no claims to having foresight orpre-science, and he has studied history just enough to know that he doesnot know enough to risk predicting what the future holds for the Kurds. Hehas eyes, though, and so he is in a position to ask readers to gaze in acertain direction and determine whether they also see what he sees. Thiskind of professor needs to wear glasses because his eyes suffer frommyopia, and, therefore, it is entirely possible that his claim rests onevidence that either results from not seeing all there is to see or frombeing based on what he thinks he sees. Also, a few years ago BogaziciUniversity in Istanbul held an international conference, but the TTK pulledits funding and support when it learned that a paper on the Kurds andanother on the Armenians were to be presented. The Turkish governmenthas held this kind of groundless history for decades. However, Turkey ispreparing to join the world class, so I wonder if Turkey will relinquish hernarrow ideas based on a nationalistic view that denies minorities right toexist or if it will follow the path of Europeans who strongly believe thatrespect for human rights is one of the most fundamental and universalvalues of our world. According to Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EuropeanHuman Rights Commissioner for External Relations in the EuropeanNeighborhood Policy, All of us, in our official capacity have an obligation topromote and protect the rights of our fellow members of the human family,be that at home or elsewhere in the world (2005).

By contrast to Turkey with its land mass being contiguous, the territorialsetting of the Philippines is comprised of more than seven thousandsislands, a reality that creates problems because of isolation andcommunication gaps. Yet, in spite of these natural difficulties arising out ofits being an archipelago, the Philippines government is committed toovercoming these complexities and to narrowing the gaps. However, it istrue to say that the Philippine government in the past has neglected thesouthern part of country, or consistently has used assimilation anddiscrimination policies against the Muslim minorities in that region.Proselytizing the indigenous tribes with their religions based primarily onanimism, Islam was introduced to Mindanao and the Sulu Islands in the15th century, and affected not only the religious order but the political and

social system as well, establishing sultanates and bringing the barangaysor kinship groups under the control of powerful datus or chieftains.. Afterthis period of Islamic proselytism, Muslims in the southern Philippinesconsider themselves native since they preceded the Spaniard colonizationthat began with the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Today,however, the Philippine government has admitted that the governmentspast policy was wrong and unjust. The government has given a largedegree of freedom in the area ranging from education to autonomousself-rule. It has created a special Muslim curriculum, Muslim institutions,and scholarship programs exclusively for the Muslim minorities. Forexample, Mindanao State University (MSU) is located in Marawi City ,where the majority of the population is Muslim. The tuition is very


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inexpensive compared to other universities in the region.

When I interviewed, Dr. Tamano, a prominent Muslim, who is highlyeducated and enjoys a high profile, he was Secretary of the AutonomousRegion in the Muslim Mindanao, Muslim advisor to the regional Departmentof Education, and acting Vice- President of Mindanao State University(2007). He also ran for governor but lost because of election fraud. He isnow Chancellor of Mindanao State University. I asked him, What is theMoro question? If Muslims have their own autonomous region, their self

rule, education, language, and culture, what do Muslims want? Why arethey still fighting for? He told me that when the Spaniards came for threeGs--GOD, Glory and Gold. They tried to take our land from us and to forceus to believe their God. Thats why Muslims resisted them until today. Thatwas a just war, and thats why we won. He explained the difference now,But today we are fighting the wrong war, because the government nowrecognizes her past mistake and has given us all opportunities to catch upwith the rest of society, in terms of education and economics. Muslimshave a higher il literacy rate than the Catholic Christians. There is such adisparity between the Catholic majority and the Muslim minority in termsof poverty. He continued, That is what Muslim leaders in the Philippinesshould be fighting for. They are supposed to unify to eliminate poverty,narrow the educational gaps, and create peace so that people can havejobs, but sometimes Muslims fight among themselves, especially when anelection comes. Some of the leaders want the Muslim candidates to usereligion as a scapegoat to gain political power for themselves. Also, a lackof Muslim leadership among the Muslim minority perpetuates the problems.He told me to look at his university as a good example. The governmenthas given every opportunity for Muslims to be educated and to have skillsas well as good jobs. He referred to education as the right education, onethat teaches Islam but an Islam that is compatible with science. In hisview, Muslims should learn science and skills as well as their religion.

Also, I visited the Mayor of Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is wellknown for making the city safe and free from the corruption of

drug-dealing. He has a zero tolerance against drugs and other illegalactivity. Today there is only one city in the Mindanao region that is safe,and it is Davao . When I asked him, How did you do that? Mayor Dutertetold me that the Philippine government policy had been wrong in the past.He did not have any intention to follow the wrong policy of thegovernment. The mayor said that the state is not a moral agent; peopleare, and as such, they can impose moral principles on powerful institutions.He said that he talked to everybody especially the rebels and implementedequal representation in his administration. He explained that he gave anequal voice and an equal role to every tribe to make sure each person wasrepresented fairly and equally, and then he said he told them that therewould be no more assassinations, kidnappings, or killings. That is why thecity is safer today than before his coming to office. Mayor Duterte does not

believe that using the military is a good solution to ethnic and religiousconflict in his country. He believes we are all human beings, and as such,we all have rights inherent to that status. We all have dignity and worththat exist prior to law. That is a system in which words can change thewhole structure of government, and words can prove stronger thannumerous military divisions. That is why today Davao City is the safest cityin the Philippines ; it is because of a good and strong mayor.

Good administration and politics emphasize rights, the superiority of law,duty, and the placement of responsible people in difficult jobs. According tothe mayor, government means justice and public order. One cannot speakwhere those two do not exist. For Duterte, laws should be effective all the


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time, everywhere, and for everybody. This unity of feeling, thought, andculture are essential to the development of a strong nation becausedisintegration of moral unity causes that same nation to weaken.

Like more recently in the Philippines , in the 1960s America called fornational integration to solve the problem of racism, and it implementednew policies to overcome the attitudes and practices that discriminatedagainst the Blacks. Since it is hard to change what happened in the past, a

society has to start at the present, so Turkey can change her attitudetoward ethnic discrimination. To begin, the current leaders must realizeTurkeys guilt, get rid of their arrogance, seed humility, and exchange love,humility, kindness, and forgiveness for hate to make the present morecomfortable and the future more hopeful. Peace will begin in the Kurdishregion when oppression, cruelty, injustice and hunger end.

However, today the Turkish government lags behind the Philippinegovernment in terms of its treatment of the minorities. An inquirer mustask why the law enforcement that serve in the Kurdish region are notKurdish or at least speak Kurdish. Why are there no educationalinstitutions that study Kurdology or that establish Kurdish institutes? Whycan the Turkish government not create some kind of program likeaffirmative action that will allow for a narrowing of the educational gapbetween Kurdish minorities and the Turkish majority because illiteracyrates among the Kurds is higher than among the Turks. Why can theTurkish government not give some incentives to encourage economicprogress? Kurds should be more organized and should educate themselvesto realize that they would be better off if they made education a prioritybecause education is mightier than the sword. The Kurdish culture andhistory should be allowed to exist in the open and also preserved, such asKurdish names, and the Kurdish language. Why can the Turkishgovernment not put forth some effort to foster civic engagement about theKurdish question? Why can the Kurdish question not be discussed in theacademic community? Why can the Turkish government not have some

kind of scholarship program exclusively for the Kurdish minority to givethem incentives to go to school? Why can the Kurds not have the samekind of autonomy that the Muslim minorities do in the Philippines ? Theproblem of the Kurds being subjected to objective analysis is that itnecessarily requires assessment of the governments adopted measures toeffectively solve such problems. If the government denies the existence ofthe ethnic group, how can any kind of governmental analysis occur? Goodgovernment produces opportunities for each generation to have adeveloped faith, innovative technology and science, and a cultivatedconsciousness about their identity and their cultural values. If, by contrast,the people see the government as tyrannical or oppressive, then the nationhas lost its purpose to serve the common good.

Further, in Turkey the government program still uses a military solution toachieve their policy of integration rather than an academic one. For a longtime the integration policy was always interpreted as assimilation oracculturation, which means that the Turkish government tries to reconcilediverse cultures with one culture and to deny the minorities culture. Bycontrast, in the Philippines the varied Muslim tribes have their ownlanguage, dances, crafts, and customs. Yet, when Ferdinand Magellan cameto the Philippines in early 1521, he conquered the archipelago by swordand cross, and for long time the Spaniards fought with Muslims in a bloodystruggle and war. However, later on, the governor as well as Catholic andother denominations missionaries organized a politico a military for theminorities group, so that they would be able to control the minorities


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affairs and supervise them. Dr. Tamano points out that the Spanish weresuccessful in Luzon and Visayas, so the Spanish began to assimilatenon-Christians into an already growing Christian society. In Dr. Tamanosview, the Spaniards made the integration policy successful in the northbecause the Spaniard considered that if the number of Filipinos convertedto Christianity could be measured, the numbers would show a fullysuccessful integration. However, in the southern regions like Sulu andMaguindanao, the Sultanates of the Muslims resisted the Spaniard forcesand the problem of assimilating these non-Catholic and Catholics failed to

bring them to work together to bring about peace. If a traveler crosses theregion, he or she will see how that policy has affected peoples lifeconditions there. Now the Philippine government recognizes thesedifferences and has implemented policies to recognize the ethnic andreligious differences.

Like Magellan, the Turkish government first under the Ataturk regime andthen subsequent ones used force and denial as part of its assimilationpolicy. Kurds are mountain Turks. Turkey was effective with thisassimilation, but they were not successful in the south; however, later on,the Turkish regimes generals and Agah or Sheik organized a politico themilitary for the minorities group, so that they could control the minoritiesaffairs and supervised them through corrupt religious groups. The Agha inthe south and in the eastern part of Turkey accomplished a successfulintegration policy because if the number of the Kurds who denied theiridentity or who believed that they were mountain Turks could beconsidered a criterion of national integration, then we could say that theTurkish government proved successful in her integration or assimilationpolicy. It is fair to say that the Turkish regimes integration policy in theeast was successful, but that it failed in the south. Last week, the mayor ofthe Diyarbakir challenged the Islamic Justice and Development Party (AP),saying that Diyarbakir is our [the Kurds] stronghold, and we are ready tofight. However, Mayor Osman Baydemir used this word as a illustration tomean that we will not give up our culture, we will not bow down toinjustice, we will not let the military burn our vil lages, we live here, and

we will fight you not in the sense of taking up arms but a civilized way.. Inthe recent case, however, a member of the Fetullahci group, FetullahGlens closest assistant wrote in the Zaman newspaper criticizingBaydemirs comments by saying that Mayor Baydemir cannot challenge thePrime Minister and that Baydemir is creating terror. But Huseyin Gulerceand his followers put the blinders on when the Democratic Social Party(DPT) leader Ahmet Turk criticized Recep Tayyip Erdogans government bysaying, There is no mention about the Kurdish problem during theparliamentary talks over the new government plan. However, Erdoganreplied to Ahmet, You first outlaw the Kurdish Worker Party [PKK} in theregion. Gulerce and his followers failed to see what kind of language thePrime Minister was using. What kind of leadership is it that wants to punisha majority of people because a minority of the people supports the PKK? If

the Prime Minister were a mature enough leader, he would never point outdifferences of thought and opinion to produce conflict. It is true that no oneshould refuse to tolerate views that separate people into camps anddestroy the community and society, but neither should they go out of theirway to use them to enflame opposition. If the Prime Minister and otherswho think like him believe in tolerance, then why do they oppose everyidea that seem contradictory to theirs and scare them off instead ofseeking ways to benefit from their opinions and ideas, of trying tounderstand them and to build a bridge, and of beginning a dialogue withthem? In other words, why do they not try to learn how to listen to whatthe Kurds say they really want and what they really mean? Otherwise,those who are kept at a distance and are led into dissatisfaction because


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they think that the government is biased will unit the masses and willresist the Turkish government. It is important that the Prime Minister andhis government learn how to benefit from other peoples knowledge andviews because that knowledge will help them understand how to approachthe Kurdish problem.

Also, Erdogan still believes that there is no Kurdish problem and that therehas never been one. By answering Baydemir, Erdogan was saying thatpeople should produce projects not words. I wonder what Erdogan has been

doing in southeastern Turkey . How many families have been compensatedbecause the military forced them to leave their villages? How manyfamilies whose village has been burned have homes being rebuilt? Howmany new schools and new roads are being built in southeastern Turkey ?How many job has he created? How much has he reduced the size of themilitary instead of increasing it, as he actually has? A just governmentimplies that there is a policy for everything: a policy for renewing anations joy until the whole nation feel the joys and likewise feels thesorrow and pain of others in the same nation. Instead, now there is a newcampaign that goes against Kurds, saying that Kurds are betrayers andhave taken the side of the Christians like those in America . But, thegovernment has never realized that Americans are the ones who freed theKurds, not their fellow Muslim brothers. Also, it has failed to understandthat those who have been oppressing the Kurds for centuries are neitherChristians nor Americans, but they are their fellow Muslim brothers. Iran ,for example, for a long time has oppressed the Kurds and is killing themeven today; it is not a Christian nation but rather a Muslim nation. Turkeyhas oppressed, killed, tortured, raped, and burned houses and villages, nota Christian nation but a Muslim one. Syria committed genocide against theKurds; it is not a Christen nation but a Muslim nation. Iraq s Saddamgassed Kurds not as a Christian nation but a Muslim one. Those who studypolitics and see politics as a propaganda struggle for power are mistaken.Politics is like an art of management based on diverse perspectives of thecontemporary world and on a future that will seek the peoples satisfactionand justice. Erdogan and some others should never forget that power and

dominance are transitory, while justice, equality, and truth are eternal.Even if they do not exist in Turkish politics today, some day they will.Therefore, especially those who claim to be Muslims should alignthemselves and their policies with equality and justice; and treateverybody the same regardless of their religion, skin color, race, ethnicity,or gender. The Prime Minister and Huseyin Gulerce should never forgetwhen they were discriminated against by the military and the Secularists,or when they were not welcome in the presidential palace or at a meeting.How did they feel in their own country? That is exactly how the Kurds feelnow. If religion is truly interpreted, it can promote democracy,understanding of others, human rights, equality, as well as justice, andthose values can be guaranteed via religion. Because religion should teachthat all people are created equal, it should not discriminate based on race,

color, age, or nationality. Religion should declare that power lies in truth;religion should teach that justice and rule of law are essential; religionshould teach freedom of belief, open ideas, and the right to life, personalname, and personal property. Everyone should be able to speak her or hislanguage and maintain culture that God-gave to them; no one should takethat away, and their rights should be violated. Religion is a relationshipbetween men and God. It results in a commitment between God and theindividual as he or she submits to His divine system in which all creaturesobey Him. To abuse it is very sad in that today many people try to usereligion to gain power and as a method of controlling another persons life.If a government is virtuous and the state is chosen because of theirhumble ideas and justice, then that government will be strong and peace


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as well as reconciliation are possible, but if the government is run byofficials who still have prejudice in their hearts and minds, not justice andequality, and thus they lack those high qualities, sooner or later it willcollapse. Erdogan and others should remember that extreme harshnesscauses unexpected explosions that are waiting for the spark to ignite them.As long as his government protects people from cruelty and defends themfrom injustice and oppression, it will be a successful government; however,if Erdogans government does not do so, then he will cause more hatred,more prejudice, and more turmoil.

The majority of Muslims in the southern Philippines (the Moros),

like the Kurds, are not rebellious and do not want to fight or be

rebellious against their government. Even though a majority of theMoros sympathize with the Moros struggle against, oppression, injustice,and cruelty that the rebels represent, most Muslims like the Kurds wish fornothing more than to live in peace, pursue their livelihood, have a family,raise their kids, live in dignity, and die in a bed. The Kurds seek above alltheir survival as a Kurdish people. They are now convinced that theirsurvival demands freedom from the domination of Turks in those matterswhich most impinge on their identity and selfhood as Kurds; those are suchmatters as education, community organizations, non-governmentorganizations (NGOs), family , law and order, an end to military rule, andeconomic resources. This is the kind of experience that has been telling usthat there can be no real freedom for Kurds until there is fundamentalchange in the structures of their relationship to the Turkish government.This change must give them power, that is affective reserved powers, toorder their affairs in their regions. However, those objectives should beaccomplished by Turkish political systems using all of the legalconstitutional means available, including publication of their ideas;organizing pressure groups and lobbies, and participating in governmentefforts to find the right, just solution to the Kurdish problem.

The number of Moros, like the Kurds, have acted on their belief that the

only way to respond to the governments wrong policy is to fight eventhough they are a comparably small entity. However, some Kurdish leaderslike Baydemir, a moderate, have often eloquently articulated the legitimateand understandable grievances the Kurdish people put forth and voicesound recommendations for the government, but presently the governmentand the people are not ready yet to discuss openly the Kurdish question.Mayor Baydemir speaks on behalf of his people pleading for understandingand justice. Former Senator Mamintal Tamano and former dean, CesarMajul of the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of Philippinessystems, have sets of recommendations for the Philippine government toimplement. Some of the recommendations are being implemented by thegovernment: 1) a moratorium on new settlers should be imposed, 2) lawenforcement agents in the Moros areas should be Muslims, 3) more

educational institutions should be established, 4) governments shouldencourage economic progress, 5) Muslim Filipinos should be betterMuslims, 6) important elements of Islamic law should be allowed forMuslims, and 7) the national government should enable greater Morosparticipation. These are the major recommendations that two moderateFilipino Muslims have put together for the government, and many of thoserecommendations have already been granted and implemented.

Now more Moros have been appointed to national services. A code ofPhilippine Muslims personal law has been promulgated. Muslim holidayshave legal status in the Moros region. The government has set up a Bankof the Philippines, Amana Bank, to capitalize on the Moro requirements for


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economic development. The Minister of Educational Culture has beenmaking a conscious effort to meet the educational needs and religiousfeeling of the Muslims. Moreover, the Philippine government grantedautonomy to the Muslims making them internally independent andexternally dependent on the Manila government. According to Dr. Tamano,The Autonomous Region of Muslims Mindano (ARMM) was created inAugust 1989 and inaugurated in 1990 under the President, CorazonAquino at the Cotabato City . This led to the Moro National Front layingdown their arms and converting to the Philippine national army. The

question is why cant Turkey be like the Philippines ?

References

Duterte, Rodrigo. Mayor, Davao City . Personal Interview. 10 July 2007.

Ethnologue.com

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=PH

Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations andEuropean Neighbourhood Policy. Promotion of Human Rights andDemocratisation in the European Union's External Relations. EuropeanCommission for External Relations. (10 December 2005).http://ec.europa.eu/external_relatio...ntro/index.htm

Gulerce, Huseyin. Diyarbakr 'n mesaj doru okunmal . Zaman.

http://www.zaman.com.tr/webapp-tr/ya...?yazino=584759

Tamano, Salipado S.

Acting Vice President, Office of the Vice President for Planning andDevelopment, the Philippines-Australia Basic Education Assistance forMindanao, RELC XII Compound ARMS Complex, ORC Cotabato City, MuslimEducation Advisor, The Autonomous Region in Muslim

Mindanao, Cotabato City , Regional Secretary Regional Department ofEducation, Culture and Sports. Personal Interview. 7 March 2007.

http://www.kurdishaspect.com/doc091907AM.html

January 29th, 2008, 09:06 PM #106



Bump!

Office on Muslim Affairs marks 21st year today

Officials and rank-and- file personnel of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA)headed by Executive Director Datu Ali B. Sangki will celebrate today, Jan.30, the 21st year milestone of OMA, an agency created by then PresidentCorazon Aquino in 1987.

Sangki, appointed to OMA by President Arroyo in August, 2007 to "fix andreform OMA," said todays celebration will be the first for the government


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agency in 20 years.

The observance, to be held at the OMA central office at Jocfer Bldg. onCommonwealth Ave. in Quezon City, will be attended by some Moropolitical, religious, and traditional leaders.

Sen. Joker Arroyo, in one Senate budget hearing for OMA, had said Aquinoissued Executive Order No. 122-A on Jan. 30, 1987 creating OMA for theleadership training of Muslims.

OMAs mandate is to "preserve and develop the culture, traditions,institutions, and well-being of Muslim Filipinos, in conformity with thecountrys laws and in consonance with national unity and development."

It has 822 employees manning the central office (with 208 employees) andits 11 regional offices in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. OMA also hasprovincial and sub-offices to attend to concerns of Muslims.

Among its mainstream programs are the processing and conduct of thepilgrimage or hajj to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, holding of Quraniccompetitions, development of Sharia justice system in Philippine setting,and halal industry promotion.

Sangki denied yesterday an earlier report that the President put OMAunder the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)because of issues over the recent pilgrimage and issuance of halalcertification. For the record, OMA ceased issuing halal certification after aSupreme Court ruling some years back.

Sangki said a group of "sheikhs" or hajj guides, led by Ustadhz MohammadSaid Mando, from Region 9 who wrote to Saudi King Abdullah Bin AbdulAziz invoking "the separation of Church and State" was "motivated bypersonal ulterior motives" to escape the hajj reforms he planned toimplement.

Arroyo appointed Sangki to OMA when his predecessor, Sultan YahyaTomawis, had already signed hajj contracts with Saudi Arabia, leaving littleroom for him (Sangki) to put his reforms in place.

Sangki said the sheikhs only wanted to evade compliance with the criteriathat spell out the rules for accreditation of the hajj guides, which alsoprescribe assessment report on the sheikhs performarce.

The OMA executive director said the hajj guides did not like the reforms hewanted to put in place because he discovered "highly anomalous activitiesin the hajj operations."

Removing the hajj operations from OMA "will only embolden and furtheraggravate the already very controversial hajj operations diluted by thesesheikhs to perpetuate their activities. These must be corrected by theregulatory powers of the State through OMA," said Sangki.

EO No. 697 received mixed reactions from OMA employees someapprehensive that OPAPP may re-organize OMA, others indifferent, andothers still resigned to it.

OPAPP Undersecretary Nabil Tan allayed these apprehensions, saying "wewill only assist, but I think there will be coordination meeting to be calledby Secretary Dureza so things can be clarified."


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__________________


January 30th, 2008, 10:33 PM #107



DepEd to boost mainstreaming of Muslim schools

MANILA, Philippines -- In a bid to popularize the Standard Curriculum inprivate madaris, the Department of Education (DepEd) has announced thatit will extend assistance to madaris looking for funding as long as they passthe necessary requirements.

DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus said the DepEd was set to provide help tomadaris or Arabic schools that integrated the standard curriculum with theArabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) program. He saidthe initiative was aimed at mainstreaming the private madaris.

"Mainstreaming Madrasah Education in our system of basic education isone of the initiatives we have been undertaking to give our Muslimschoolchildren an education that is culturally sensitive," Lapus said in astatement.

Undersecretary for Muslim Affairs Manaros Boransing said the projectwould provide comprehensive education to Muslim children.

"While the ALIVE Program is integral to their education, we also recognizethe need for them to learn the standard subjects taught in public schools --Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino, and Makabayan."

The Deped said it would help schools with funding needs and facilitate theirgrant application to the financial assistance program extended byOrganization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Under the OICs funding

program, madaris can avail of funds to cover the improvement of physicalfacilities such as classrooms, furniture, laboratory equipment, and libraries.DepEd will help schools who pass the requirements.

Part of the assistance is expected to go to capability building, whichincludes training of Muslim teachers or asatidz, management training foradministrators and finance managers, and installation of accounting andfinancial systems.

Before private madaris can avail of the financial assistance, they mustobtain a permit to operate from the DepEd Regional Office in theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). They should also offerthe Standard Curriculum for Private Madaris as prescribed under DepEd

Order 51, s. 2004.__________________


February 12th, 2008, 11:10 PM #108


Bump!

Who are the indigenous?Scholar says Negritos are the "Original Filipinos"


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BAGUIO CITY All these years, school teachers have taught Filipinochildren that Filipinos belong to the Malay stock.

Now comes a language scholar, who has authored influential studies aboutCordillera and other Philippine languages for almost 50 years, who saysthat linguistic, archaeological and anthropological findings collectedthrough the years prove that this assertion may have been wrong.

Based on a comprehensive study of Philippine languages and dialects, Dr.Lawrence Reid, a New Zealand-born researcher emeritus of the Universityof Hawaii, dates the indigenous and mainstream Filipino to Taiwan about4,500 years ago.

Reid says the people Filipinos call indigenous today are themselvesimmigrants to the country and have become a minority that has beenmarginalized by the state.

He says the original Filipinos everyone refers to are actually the Negritoswho are all but extinct in the country of their birth.

Reid has developed an influential body of work on Philippine languages with the Ivatan language in the 1960s, a contribution to the Tasadaydebate in the 1980s, and recently, with online dictionaries of a Mt.Province dialect that he speaks fluently.

In 2006, he was honored at the 10th International Conference onAustronesian Linguistics in Palawan.

Uninformed

In a paper, entitled Who are the Indigenous? Origins andTransformations, he presented to the First International Conference onCordillera Studies held last week at the University of the Philippines

Baguio, Reid asked the government to correct websites that containuninformed and grossly amateurish statements about the culturalminorities.

The most prominent site Reid poked fun at belongs to the NationalCommission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), the agency tasked toadminister, supervise and grant ancestral land titles to indigenousFilipinos.

There we find materials that have apparently been taken from populardescriptions and old, long outdated history books that refer to the multiplemigration hypotheses of Dr. H. Otley Beyer, the leading Philippineethnologist of his day, and which I am told is commonly taught in

Philippine schools today, he says.

He says the NCIP profiles the Ifugao as descendants of the first wave ofMalay immigrants to the country. The Kalinga are said to be descendantsof the second group of Malays who came to the islands.

The Ibaloi are described as peaceful, hardworking, and hospitabletribesmen. They are generally fair in complexion and have well-developedbodies, usually standing four to five feet above in height, have medium andnarrow noses and some have broad flat noses, he says.

Attention to the shape of the nose is also mentioned for the Kallahan (or


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Ikalahan), he says, as well as the Bugkalot, the Yogad of Isabela and theIvatan of Batanes.

Absurd and completely unscientific descriptions such as these areinternationally read, and not only give completely erroneous descriptionsof Philippine indigenous groups, but cast a very poor light on the level ofPhilippine scholarship, he says.

Who does the indigenous Filipino take after?

Reid says: It is simply not true that the ancestors of Ifugaos or anyCordilleran peoples or of the Tagalogs or other lowland groups aredescendants of the original inhabitants of the Philippines.

When your ancestors first arrived in these islands, they were notunoccupied. They were occupied by maybe hundreds of groups of Negritos,most of who have been completely assimilated or have died out, he says.

He says scientists have located 25 present-day groups of Negrito stock whostill thrive, although they are on the brink of extinction themselves.

Reid says the latest United Nations policy subscribes to the definition thatindigenous peoples are original inhabitants of a country, who inhabitedthe present territory of a country, at a time when persons of a differentculture or ethnic origin arrived there.

Negritos are the true first Filipinos who date back to 50,000 years, hesays, while the Ifugao ancestors who reputedly built the world heritageenshrined rice terraces appeared to have arrived only 4,000 years ago astheir first colonizers.

It is these first Filipinos who are the most downtrodden and sociallymarginalized of all Filipinos, and most in need of urgent action to enablethem to survive in this society, he says.

The Cordillera no longer hosts Negrito tribes, although Reid saysanthropologists have found evidence that Alta Negritos of the Sierra Madreused to thrive in the Ifugao mountains.

Citing the discovery of ancient pottery shards in a cave in Itbayat, Batanesby archaeologist Peter Bellwood of the Australian National University, Reidsays strong evidence marks [the first colonizers] as being part of aNeolithic culture that existed in southwest Taiwan and [who] spread southfrom there into the Batanes islands and Northern Luzon.

He says the artifact supports irrefutable linguistic evidence debunking thepre-scientific myth that Philippine languages are somehow corrupted

versions of Malay, as a result of multiple migrations from the south.__________________


February 22nd, 2008, 10:23 AM #109

limbayTribal Music Buff

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinjin P.


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Join Date: Feb 2008Posts: 1

Arumamen-ManuvuMindanao

The Arumanen-Manuvu had its origin from a village settled place

called Banubu near the mouth of Pulangi River.

A god named Apo Tabunawai rules the village. He is acclaimed as

the Timuay or the convenor of the village elders. According to

legends, Timuay Apo Tabunawai was a skillful forest food gatherer

such of wild ubi, sago palm, various roots crops nuts and fruits.

Issues are tackled by the Council of Elders are the review and

reconstitution of community policies for the coming seasons. Tobring omens of good tidings, abundance and societal well-being,

marriages of young people are arranged and undertaken on the

post-festival evenings.

By foot and with the use of basket types of traps, the hunters bring

home large fowls, fish, lizards, pythons and lesser wild games.

The villagers acknowledge that the abundance brought home from a

hunt comes from the favor of Elemental Beings whose compassion

is anchored upon Apo Tabunawai.

The above picture was taken from my website, without giving appropriatecredit...Not a decent way to deal with the intellectual property of other people...

Worse than that, the picture is used in a wrong context, as it does notshowArumanen-Manuvu but Tigwa Manobo from San Fernando, Bukidnon. TheTigwa Manobo wouldnot like it at all to be sold as Arumanen Manobo...

More accuracy, please...

Here is the link of my website, which is, first of all,dealing with Mindanao tribal music and culture:

http://brandeis.home.pages.dehttp://aedv.cs.tu-berlin.de/~brandei...stracts-e.html

::

Last edited by limbay; February 22nd, 2008 at06:36 PM.


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March 7th, 2008, 05:07 PM #110

FundadorRegistered User

Join Date: Oct 2007Location: Iloilo CityPosts: 1,859

As far as our native culture is concerned, I am very very interested

in learning

March 7th, 2008, 05:16 PM #111



Quote:

Originally Posted by bolajust asking, did phillipines have any kingdoms, empire besides

spain?

i think wala but American culture is very strong in our country

March 10th, 2008, 04:39 PM #112



Western Mindanao leaders welcome bill creating National

Commission for Muslim Filipinos

Muslim leaders in Western Mindanao welcome the proposed bill creatingthe National Commission for Muslim Filipinos, an agency that will abolishthe Office on Muslim Affairs.

In a public hearing jointly conducted by the House of RepresentativesCommittees on Government Reorganization and Muslim Affairs heldThursday in this city, Muslim leaders including top religious scholars fromZamboanga Peninsula including the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-tawi,expressed support for the immediate passage of the bill into law.

This would be of great help to the Muslim populace in the country, settlingthe different issues we Muslims are facing, said Sheikh Abdulwakil Tanjilil,the deputy Mufti representing Zamboanga Peninsula, Sulu, and Palawan.

We would like to congratulate the members of the two committees for thislaudable move, added former DepEd superintendent Hadji Abdu RahimKenoh.

But former Maguindanao Rep. Datu Michael Mastura said there is a need tolook into what I call cycle of abolition.

It is a failed policy. It is a pass unitary colonial formula which keepsMuslims trapped, he said.


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Mastura, a lawyer and historian and a member of the peace negotiatingpanel of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said, the issue isBangsamoro homeland, not national commission.

Rep. Erico Basilio Fabian, chair of the Committee on Muslim Reorganizationand one of the sponsors of the bill said the hearing is the first publicconsultation held outside Metro Manila. Their group, he added, will still beconducting similar meetings in the cities of Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

The proposed bill, which is the consolidation of house bills numbers 823,2347, and 2379, will take over the functions of the would-be abolishedOffice on Muslim Affairs (OMA).

The proposal states the office will have seven commissioners; fiverepresenting different Muslim tribes in the country and two from thewomen and ulama (religious leaders) sectors.

According to Rep. Pangalian M. Balindong, chair of the Committee onMuslim Affairs, the commission will ensure the full representation of allthe Muslim ethnic tribes as well as sectors in the country, thus ensuringequal services for all.

The bill will also define respective powers, functions and responsibilities ofthe commission and appropriate funds.

He added the result of the public consultation will be considered to enhancethe bill.

Among the points raised and approved by the body is the power of thecommission to nominate and endorse to the President of the Republic ofthe Philippines highly qualified candidates for posts in the foreign service,especially in the Middle East countries. This will include the positions ofambassadors and other high ranking foreign servicemen.

The commission will also have its different bureaus, particularly focusingon economic affairs, Muslim cultural affairs, Muslim settlement, andpilgrimage and endowment. The committees are also adopting the inclusionof Bureau on Halal Certification.

Other salient features of the bill are the open airline choice for thepilgrims, unlike the present which only allows the use of one airline. Thebill also proposes to have a Hajj Attache and Amirul Hajj, who will behelping thousands of Filipino Muslim pilgrims.

Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez, chair of theTechnical Working Group working on this bill, said they are now working to

fastback its passage into law.

This bill has been long overdue as Muslims should have already their owncommission looking after the Muslim issues and concerns,. This will elevatethe present OMA into a national commission he said, adding that theIndigenous Peoples (IPs) have already their own national commission.

The staff of the two committees said the results of the public consultationwill be wrapped up in May or June for endorsement to Senate. Thecounterpart Senate Bill No. 930 authored by Senator Loren Legarda is alsopending in the upper chamber of the Congress.__________________


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March 24th, 2008, 02:29 A M #113



Islamic Summit calls on two Moro rebel

groups to uniteZAMBOANGA CITY The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) hascalled on the two Moro rebel groups to unite for the welfare of theBangsamoro (Muslim nation) people.

The call was contained in a resolution passed during the 11th session ofthe Islamic Summit held in Dhakar, Senegal on March 13 to 14.

Both the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF) were advised "to combine their efforts to work forpeace and development of the Bangsamoro people."

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, told BusinessWorld that both groupswere invited to attend the summit.

He said for MILF, a "position letter" was sent informing the OIC of thestatus of the "Bangsamoro in Mindanao" and the current state of the morethan 10-year peace talks with the government.

In its statement, the OIC "also took note of the ongoing negotiationsbetween the Philippine government and the MILF, which it "hopes [willhave] a positive outcome."

The OIC brokered the peace talks between the MNLF and the governmentin 1996, and recognized the MNLF as the representative of the

Bangsamoro people.

However, the MILF, a breakaway group of the MNLF, has since emerged asthe biggest armed Muslim group fighting for a separate Islamic state inMindanao and is now on the final stage in signing the ancestral domainagreement with the government.

The government has earlier urged the two groups to talk. "The two of themwould have to talk because they will represent the Bangsamoroautonomous government. There could not be separate Bangsamoroconcepts of the MNLF and MILF," Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermitaearlier said.

Tighter security

Meanwhile, the military has beefed up security measures in the battled-scarred province of Sulu following a clash with the Abu Sayyaf group onFriday, military officials said.

The Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said Marines engaged ina fire fight a band of Abu Sayyaf that led to the killing of Nelson BinRicson, an alleged Abu Sayyaf commander in the village of Pansul inPatikul town.


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The 15-minute shooting also resulted in the recovery of several firearmsand ammunition and some documents. Ricson was believed to be under thecommand of Radulan Sahiron, who has been on the United States wantedterrorists list.

Marine Brig. Gen. Juancho M. Sabban, the new commander of theanti-terrorist Joint Task Force Comet, said there is a standing order thatoperations against Abu Sayyaf will not be suspended even during specialholidays such as Christmas.

Lt. Gen. Nelson N. Allaga, WestMinCom chief, has earlier ordered no let-upin pursuing the Abu Sayyaf even during last weeks observance of theLenten season that ended yesterday.

Military stations in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi have been ordered to rescue twokidnapped victims from the Abu Sayyaf.

In Tawi-Tawi, a rescue mission was launched for Omar Taup, a teacher ofNotre Dame School in Tabawan, South Ubian, who was hostaged by theAbu Sayyaf after the murder of Fr. Jesus Reynaldo A. Roda on Jan. 15.

Troops in Sulu are pursuing a band of Abu Sayyaf holding a Chinesebusinesswoman, earlier identified as Ma. Rosalie Lao. She was abductedallegedly by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 28 while walking outside her house indowntown Jolo.

The rescue attempt for Ms. Lao on Feb. 4 angered Sulu residents after themilitary allegedly killed seven civilians and an off-duty Army integree inthe coastal village of Ipil in Maimbung town.

Survivors claimed there was no Abu Sayyaf member in their area and theincident was a "massacre."

The Commission on Human Rights regional office earlier described the

incident as an attack against "sleeping residents" and not against the AbuSayyaf.

The commission also recommended the filing of criminal charges againstthe soldiers based on its investigation. Darwin T. Weewww.bworldonline.com

March 25th, 2008, 02:26 A M #114



Muslims dont believe in crucifixion of

ChristBy ALI G. MACABALANG

COTABATO CITY As the Christian world observed the Holy Week lastweek, Muslims in this Asias lone Catholic country acknowledged thesacrifices of Jesus for the good of the humanity.

Muslims revere Jesus, who is mentioned many times in the Koran, whichalso contains a whole chapter on the story of Eisa Ibnu Mariam or Jesus,the Son of Mary.


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While professing peaceful coexistence with Christians and people of otherfaiths, Muslims do not observe the Holy Week in the way some of them jointhe Christmas festivities.

The reason is that Muslims do not believe in the death of Jesus on thecross.

The Korans Chapter 19 (Suratul Mariam or Marys Chapter) disputes theGospels crucifixion story about the nailing by the Romans of Jesus to

death.

The chapter states: "They said (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus the son ofMary, the Messenger of Allah. But they killed Him not, nor crucified Him,but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are fullof doubts ... for of a surety they killed Him not (Surah 4:157)."

The crucifixion story is also disputed in the succeeding verses (Surah4:156-159), which say, in part, "They did not slay him, neither crucifiedhim, only a likeness of that was shown to them."

Ulama (Islamic scholars) in the country said that Jesus advent in thisworld taught Muslims and Christians alike to believe in God and in theprophets, and in a day of judgment.

Ustadz Esmael Ebrahim, spokesman of the Assembly of Dharul Ifta of thePhilippines (ADIP), said although Muslims do not observe the Christian HolyWeek, they respect the practices and traditions of other faiths.

"I think Muslims have, so far, shown respect for other religions," Ebrahimsaid.

This is evident in the yearly procession of the Cross in and aroundcommunities with Muslim residents, such as in Quiapo (Manila), Datu Piang(Maguindanao), Pikit (North Cotabato) and this city, Ebrahim said.

Muslims in Christian-dominated communities do not decorate their housesduring Christmas but they do exchange gifts with their neighbors as agesture of valuing the mutual relationships.

Some of them also join Christian friends during All Souls Day in visitingcemeteries for their dead. Islam prescribes visiting of graves especiallythose of pious people.

Some male Muslims marry Christians, who are described in the Holy Koranas the "People of the Book." www.mb.com.ph

March 25th, 2008, 08:24 A M #115

amigo32Intel i5

merong naging muslim na dating christian.Bakit ka nagpa convert? Gusto daw nya maraming asawa.?????__________________

President -it's either Gibo or GordonBayani Fernando for Vice President


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Join Date: Apr 2005Location: Philippine IslandsPosts: 578

April 10th, 2008, 04:52 PM #116



Hijab: a symbol of liberation and not of oppression

Some very young Muslim women approached me three weeks ago. Theyexpressed their anxiety over the fact that academic policies have compelledthem to take off their hijab, specifically the head veil or khimar. Schoolauthorities ordered them as nursing students to take off their head veilswhile they are on hospital duty in the course of their RLE practicum.Naturally, these veiled Muslimah are apprehensive. School authoritiesquashed their mild protestations with the following lame, controversial, anddebatable reasons: that the veil is dirty (this is either a slanderous orlibelous statement); that the veil is just a cultural costume or worse afashion just because some Muslims wear hijab while others do not (highlyfallacious); and that seeing veiled nurses on duty has traumatized hospitalpatients (are they running out of lucid alibi? Even surgeonshave to be fullyclothed in sterilized gowns their masks resemble the niqab except the colorof course).

This brought to mind a similar hijab incident at Pilar College whoseauthorities steadfastly refused to listen to the imploration of Muslimparents on behalf of their veiled daughters. They adamantly reasoned thatno one forced them to enroll their children at Pilar College and so theyhave to conform to school regulations just as non-Muslim OFWs have toconform to Muslim countries' legal compulsion for the former to wear theveil.

Reiterating my pronouncement during the Magna Carta for WomenConference organized by Cong Beng G. Climaco where we lobbied for the

rights for equal educational opportunity for Muslim women in thePhilippines, I observed that infringement on the Muslim student's right towear the veil is a result of profound ignorance of its divine merit andsignificance. Asking a Muslimah to take off her veil is not as ordinary asasking her take off her hat; or as mundane as asking her to take off hercoat; or as simple as asking her to take off her shoes.

In Islam, the female body, excepting the face and the hands, is considered"private parts" (awrat or juyyubihinna), and thus, the Qur'an (XXIV: 31;XXXIII:59) and Ahadeeth have so decreed that it must be covered beforepublic eyes and even in private, i.e., home if in the midst of prohibited orrestricted males. Thus, the schoolauthorities are unaware that asking a Muslim student to take off her head

veil is tantamount to asking her to strip off her unmentionables, herundergarments, or her underpants! Thus, such action is an encroachmentupon her right to privacy; it is synonymous to stripping her nude or tophysical transgression.

A Muslimah who wears the veil by choice, in her obedience and worship ofAllah as the Supreme Being fundamentally understands the wisdom ofbeing covered. It is a protection of her hayya (modesty or chastity) just asthe habit is as vital to a nun. How would a nun feel if one violates herhabit? The hijab of a Muslimah is her shield from the penetrating bullet ofevil desires of nafs/hawwa just as a knight would cover himself with anarmor or a cop protect himself with a bulletproof vest. How would a cop


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feel if he is deprived of his armor? One Muslimah in the name of DanahQuijano said: It is my life; Islam is my life! Armed with her faith in Allah,rather than disobey Allah and resolute in safeguarding her chastity, shechose to deprive herself of a nursing career and shifted to RadTech. If youtake off my veil, you are killing me! I understand Danah's predicament, Iresonate her sentiments; and I know many Muslimah empathize with her.How would an astronaut feel if he is deprived of his spacesuit which to himis his lifeline?

Such incidents trigger worst memories in the mid-1990's of students beingexpelled from schools and by some of them who countered by successfullysuing the French government; of one French student who staunchly foughtfor her Islamic aqeedah and shaved off her hair in defiance of theeducational ban. She declared: "My decision to shave my head is dignifiedthan committing sins by taking off my hijab."

When "religious freedom in France was restricted by a law which outlawedreligious proselytizing by persons of all faiths," the French Minister ofEducation severely interpreted such law as banning the wearing of thehijab. Thus, he ordered the expulsion from schools of all female studentswho wore it. President Jacques Chirac of France was even quoted to havepronounced this statement: "Wearing a veil, whether we want it or not, isa sort of aggression that is difficult for us to accept." The Roman CatholicCardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger was alarmed that enacting a law banning thewearing of hijab in public schools would encourage an aggressiveanti-religious trend. He commented: "This clumsy law risks reopening...areligious war."

It is clear that the State and International Laws affirm the right to Islamand the right to wear the veil by Muslims is a fundamental right in as muchas it is a substantive right; and for these very reasons it is ordained to beinalienable. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declares: Theseparation of Church and State shall be inviolable. (Article II, Section 6),and that, No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment ofreligious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference,shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exerciseof civil or political rights. (Article III, Section 5).

Furthermore, the right to freedom of religion and the exercise of it isentrenched in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights andArticle 18 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights1(ICCPR). In the Philippines, Islam, as a comprehensive ad-deen or way oflife, is also a deeply significant part of the cultural and ethnic identity ofthe Bangsamoro people. As such the Muslim Filipinos' freedom of religion isprotected as both a cultural right by Article 15 of the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and as a right

of minority groups by Article 27 of the ICCPR which states: In those Statesin which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging tosuch minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the othermembers of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practisetheir own religion, or to use their own language.__________________


April 10th, 2008, 07:17 PM #117


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bukidFishful

Join Date: Feb 2007

Posts: 254

in the nursing profession i think it is only proper that hijab is

banned because we are dealing with people's health and in a hospitalsetting everything had to be sterile that is why often times nurses anddoctors need a special attire that would enable them to perform their dutywithout any hindrance.

April 11th, 2008, 03:14 AM #118

RonnieRRegistered User

Join Date: Jul 2007Location: Metro ManilaPosts: 2,852

What's the fuss on this veil? The women Moslem nurses in Indonesia arewearing the prescribed nurse cap and not the veil. In Turkey, the womenare not obliged to wear veil.

April 14th, 2008, 04:35 AM #119

uncle robRegistered UserJoin Date: Apr 2008Posts: 1

I herd this place is not safe for us forieners its a shame.

April 18th, 2008, 04:33 AM #120

shaKEIRaThe GODDESS

Join Date: Aug 2007Location: DAVAO CITYPosts: 360

what other universities and colleges ang may MINSUPALA na subject?

Medical Missions Philippines

We connect medical volunteers with

mission organizations worldwide.www.MedicalMissions.org

Interfaith Dialog Center

Brings faiths together through

diverse interfaith activitieswww.idcnj.org

Davao Hotels

Save time & compare cheap hotels

by clicking on their price Today!www.wego.com/hotels


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