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Cordillera Day 2007

Feb 25, '07 11:41 PM
for everyone

Cordillera Day 2007

General Invitation and Theme

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance announces the 23rd Celebration of Cordillera Day 2007, in Baguio City from April 23-24, 2007, under the theme "Assert people's rights! Oust the GMA Regime and Advance the Politics of Change!"

Interested organizations and individuals may contact the CPA Secretariat through cpa@cpaphils.org (www.cpaphils.org)

We hope to hear from you and see you in Baguio City!

Tags: abie bengwayan, politics, indigenous people

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Tolerance: My PDI Youngblood article (p. A13, Feb 10, 2007)

Feb 13, '07 10:29 AM
for everyone

Tolerance

First posted 01:46:00 (Mla time) February 10, 2007
Vida Soraya Verzosa
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines --

“Khadaffy Janjalani is hot!”

That was what a former classmate said after seeing his photograph in the Inquirer, back when we were 18 years old. Later, she joined the New People’s Army and disappeared in one of the provinces near the University of the Philippines in Los Baños.

With news reports confirming Janjalani’s death after DNA testing, I wonder how that old classmate of mine reacted when she learned that he had taken a bullet in his neck during his Fajr (Dawn Prayer). Several times in the past, we would closely scrutinize the ubiquitous poster of Most Wanted Terrorists at the Metro Rail Transit station and she would sigh that so much violence in this world resulted from lack of religious tolerance and respect for cultural differences. But for hose who ended up on the “wrong” end of the religio-political spectrum as defined by the al-Harakatul al-Islamiyyah, or the Abu Sayyaf Group, I doubt if tolerance and respect would help ease the pain of being kidnapped and held for ransom.

I grew up in a family that is half-Muslim and half-Catholic. My mother is the granddaughter of an imam, while my father is a former Jesuit ex-seminarian who converted to Islam so he could marry her. And in our home, tolerance is scrupulously observed. We are used to seeing the Koran and the Bible placed side by side. We make sure that our meat is halal for my maternal grandfather, yet we followed traditional customs in the all-girl Catholic schools where we went for grade school. My mother initiates development projects for disadvantaged women in Mindanao, while my father is active in the Bible Study Fellowship. My siblings and I were baptized in Muslim and Christian rites and we have both Muslim and Christian names. We were made to understand that we could choose our spiritual path when we reached the age of majority.

When we were younger, my grandfather, the first Muslim ship captain of his generation and a star athlete in Zamboanga, would take us to the Eid’l Fitr celebrations after Ramadan. After that, he would delight us with stories about our Tausug and Samal-Bangingi family history. One of his oft-repeated tales was about how his grandmother, a Dutch missionary in Borneo, was abducted by his grandfather, a pirate.

At that time, not having read the Revised Penal Code yet, being a pirate seemed to me like an exciting occupation that involved traversing the high seas, visiting exotic islands and bringing the loot home. Of course, in grade school, I didn’t know that piracy also includes a host of other felonies now associated with terrorism. Before 9/11, the only conflict we read about in the newspapers concerned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s tantrums and the Gulf War. Terrorism became real and apparent to us only when tragic events abroad triggered a global paranoia. Locally, terrorism and Islam were still mutually exclusive.

Among the educated, well-traveled Muslims I’ve met outside of my family, no one can even remotely be associated with terrorism. They always emphasize that peace is something they constantly aspire for, despite being stereotyped as either hawkers in shopping centers or people who are prone to running amok.

When my grandfather was still courting my grandmother, he had to endure discrimination and the malicious talk of their neighbors in their small town. Whenever our Theology teacher talked about the conflict between Catholics and Muslims, the rest of the class would steal glances at our lone Muslim classmate to see how he would react.

My grandma eloped with her Moro suitor. Now she never tires of telling visitors that she was lucky to have married him. “Pulido siya, hindi naman Abu Sayyaf” [“He is high-quality, not a member of the Abu Sayyaf”], she would say, with a hearty chuckle that belies her resigned acceptance of the reality that as the first wife, she had to put up with a second and a third one, and so on.

Since we moved to Metro Manila, we knew very little about how the rest of the clan was doing in Mindanao. In hushed tones, my mother once related how a distant uncle joined a separatist group and was among those killed when government troops overrun Camp Abubakar. She said that this particular uncle was known to be quick tempered, so his death didn’t come as a surprise to her.

To me what is surprising is that despite all the resources funneled to the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, an egalitarian, lasting peace remains elusive. In this regard, I must agree with my friend, the New People’s Army amazon. No, I am not going to say that Janjalani was indeed an attractive man, but I happen to believe that whether we go to a mosque or a church to pray, peace will continue to elude us for as long as the sounds of gunfire drown out the voices calling for sincere inter-faith dialogue.

Vida Soraya Verzosa, 24, is a student at the Ateneo School of Law.

Tags: youngblood, islam

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http://www.bangsamoro.com :: a new medium for the modern moro

Dec 1, '06 5:14 AM
for everyone

Link: http://www.bangsamoro.com/index.php

Bangsamoro represents our roots, our culture and our home. But for us moro people, bangsamoro is more than just that: it is (for us) a nation that we call our own. As such, bangsamoro also represents a struggle: our struggle. It is for this reason why we decided to build this site around the term "Moro Nation".

This site carries numerous information about our very own Moro Homeland, as well as features about young Moro Professionals in the Philippines, Islamic-related scholarships and other things of interest to the Moro People.

A brainchild of several like-minded young Muslims who dream for the betterment of the Moro people, the medium envisions an empowered Muslim community of pro-active workers for the common good.
The innovative website is geared towards bringing a "Muslim presence" in information technology.

Using the facility of information, the website hopes to provide marginalized Mindanawans and Muslims access to opportunities available in the internet.

The site was first launched in mid-2000 by the pioneering YMP members led by Manila-based webmaster Acmad Moti.

Tags: islam

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Kristiyanislam: Kalituhan sa Ugat ng Pagsamba at Pakikibaka

Dec 1, '06 4:24 AM
for everyone

Bihira ang nakakaalam na ako’y kalahating Muslim.

Kaya minsan, hindi ko alam kung ano ang isasagot ko tuwing tinatanong ako kung ano ang relihiyon ko. Sinasalubong ko na lang ng ngiti at sinasabing Kristiyanong Muslim. O Muslim na Kristiyano. Susuklian na lang ako ng pagtaas ng kilay, pagsambit ng mahabang aaahhhh (yung tipong akala mo ay nagpapakita ng ngala-ngala sa dentista) o mas madalas, iibahin ang paksa. Never talk about politics, sex, or religion on the first date. Haler?! No way, pare!

Anyway, kaming magkakapatid ay bininyagang Katoliko at Muslim. Nagpa-convert kasi si Papa sa Islam para maging matiwasay ang pagsasama nila ni Mama. Pinagpapawisang sinabi ni Papa, ilang dekada na ang nakalipas: “I love your daughter very much but I’ve got a problem. I’m already married.”

Ang sagot ng matanda habang nagtatali ng kanyang kanchu: “That’s no problem. Me, I have 3 wives! You convert to Islam!”

So inayos nila ang papeles, bahagi ng pagsisinop ng proseso ng pagpapalit-relihiyon at kinasal sila ng isang mapagpayong Imam. Dumalo ang unang asawa ni Papa at ang kanyang mga anak at nagdiwang silang katulad ni Scheherazade pagkatapos niyang magkuwento ng isanlibo’t-sanlaksang alamat. Kaya lahat kami, may mga pangalang halaw sa Arabian Nights or Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Nakalulungkot man isipin, hindi namin gaanong napanindigan ang pagka-Muslim mula nung namatay si Lolo. Siya lang kasi yung hardcore sa paghikayat sa aming magbasa ng banal na Qur’an, magpilgrimahe sa Mecca at Medina, magbigay ng ambag sa mosque, igalang ang oras ng pagdarasal (limang beses, nakaharap sa Mecca) at pag-iwas sa pagkain ng baboy. Magkakasundo sila ng Radioactive Sago Project sa anti-baboy campaigns!

Tuwing hinahalungkat ko ang mga gunita ng kamusmusan, naaalala ko lagi ang pagdating ni Lolo (si Kapitan Bagsik, kung tawagin siya sa Zamboanga City). Makikitago kami ng bacon at hotdog sa ref ng kapitbahay at mamamalengke ng buhay na manok (si Kapitan Bagsik na ang magkakatay at dadasalan upang maging halal). Babatiin niya kami: “Assalamualaikum,” at nakapila kaming mamano sa kanya pagkatapos niyang ibaba ang sari-saring bitbitin, ang mga bungkos ng makukulay na malong, ang nakabilot niyang flying carpet at mga supot-supot ng durian candy.

Pinaka-astig si Lolo kapag Ramadan, ang ika-siyam na buwan sa Muslim calendar. Ito kasi ang panahon na ipinadala ang banal na Qur’an mula sa langit upang maging gabay ng sangkatauhan sa kanilang kaligtasan. Sa hudyat ng ika-27 na araw ay magaganap ang Laylat-al-Qadr o gabi ng kapangyarihan. Ayon sa kuwento ni Lolo, sa gabing ito unang natanggap ni Muhammad ang mensahe ng banal na Qur’an at ang pasya ni Allah tungkol sa kinabukasan ng daigdig.

Ipinagbabawal ang pagkain, pag-inom at paninigarilyo sa umaga. Sa gabi naman siya tumitikim ng kakaunting handa, ang iftar na may kalakip na dasal. Taimtim siyang magdarasal ng Taraweeh, na doble o triple pa sa haba ng 5 pang-araw-araw na dasal. Ito ang panahon na pinatitibay ang ugnayan ng aming pamilya at ng iba pang miyembro ng pamayanan.

Hay naku. Wish ko lang na mas maraming Pilipino ang makaranas at maging matapat sa konsepto ng Ramadan. Kung ganoon nga ay tiyak na mas uunlad ang kalagayan ng Pilipinas. Dahil tuwing Ramadan, ano mang mabuting makakamit sa pag-aayuno ay masisira ng limang bagay: pagsisinungaling, pananakwil, huwad na sumpaan, paninirang puri at kasakiman. Therefore, kapag nag-Ramadan ang mga taga-Malacañang at Batasan, baka mangayayat sila sa dami ng babawiin nila sa pag--ayuno!

Ang happy ending ng pag-aayuno ay tatlong araw na pagdiriwang ng Eid-al-Fitr. Edsa Shangri-La mall ang unang pinuntahan namin ni Lolo na may ganitong handaan. Magaganda ang exhibit at masasarap ang pagkain. Maraming dates, baklava at iba’t-ibang produktong galing Mindanao. Mababatid ang kaligayahan sa mukha ng bawat isang dumalo.

Kaso, noong November 26, napakalungkot ng Eid-al-Fitr. Maliban sa pagkakaroon ng mga make-up classes ng mga professor, pormal na nagdeklara ng pagtakbo sa papalapit na eleksyon ang isang action star na ga-kalingkingan lamang ang karanasan sa pamumuno. Mapapabuntunghininga ka na lang talaga.

Ilang araw matapos ang Eid-al-Fitr, tinanong ko ang Vice-President for Mindanao ng National Union of Students in the Philippines, si Paul Omar Gangoso, kung ano ang kalagayan ng mga Bangsamoro sa Mindanao. Mapait ang ngiti nang siya'y sumambit, “Hayun, binabagsakan ng Howitzer bombs ang mga bahayan. Kanto-kanto ang mga detachment at kampong militar, tigil ang kabuhayan ng mga Lumad at iilan lang ang lugar na masasabi mong ligtas talaga. Siguro, mas matindi rin ngayon ang diskriminasyong pabaon ng sobinismong Kristiyano mula nang pumutok ang 9/11 at siyempre, ang paboritong tambakan ng sisi, ang terorismo. Kesyo Muslim, terorista na daw, hindi pinag-iiba ang mga lehitimong grupong may pinaglalaban sa mga bandidong Abu Sayyaf.”

Kalunos-lunos ang sitwasyon ng mga Muslim sa kasalukuyang panahon dala ng walang habas na militarisasyon. Halimbawa na lang ay ang magsasakang si Samsudin Bago, isa sa mga pitong sibilyan na inaakusahang MILF. Siya ay dinukot, labis na pinahirapan at pinugutan ng mga militar sa Tabak Infantry Division ng Zamboanga del Sur kamakailan lang. Sa Tangub City naman, tatlo ang nahuling NPA na wala ng kakayahang lumaban. Sila’y walang awang pinaulanan ng bala, damay pati ang mg sibilyan katulad ng isang batang babaeng wala pang kamuwang-muwang.

“Mula nang maupo si GMA, tuloy-tuloy ang ganitong klase ng paglabag sa mga karapatang pantao,” sabi ni Amirah Ali Lidasan ng Moro-Christian People’s Alliance (MCPA). "Walang kaseryosohan sa pagharap sa mga kaso ng pang-aabuso ng kanyang paboritong instrumento para busalan ang mga naghihinaing. Ni hindi man lang alam ng mga tropang militar ang mga kasunduang pangkapayapaan katulad ng Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Lasing kasi si Erap nung linagdaan niya ito kaya hindi nakapagtataka na kahit si GMA, ay walang pasubali sa mga probisyong nakasaad dito."

Kilo-kilometro na ang talaan ng mga kaso ngunit nakakadismaya pa rin ang mga huwad na programang pangkapayapaan at pangkaunlaran na inilalagak ng gobyerno doon. Parang may kalakip na disclaimer: joke-joke-joke! sa nga programang ito. May paparating nang International Monitoring Team (IMT) upang obserbahan ang usapang pangkapayapaan at tigil-putukan sa pagitan ng MILF at GRP. Wish ko lang na magtagumpay ito, kahit na sa totoo lang, palamuti lang ito ng mga pulitiko dahil papalapit na ang eleksyon.

Sana hindi lang tuwing Eid-al-Fitr kinikilala ni GMA ang kabuluhan ng mga pagdiriwang ng iba’t ibang relihiyon at paniniwala ng mga nakikibakang mamamayan sa Pilipinas. Sana, hindi lang tuwing Ramadan nailalatag ang mga hakbang tungo sa paghahanda ng pundasyon para sa tunay na kapayapaan, katarungan at karapatang magsarili o yung tinatawag na right to self-determination.

Kapag nagkaganito, hindi na kailangang magkaroon ng tunggalian sa gitna ng iba’t-ibang tipo ng pagsamba at pakikibaka at hindi na rin ako malilito sa pagitan ng pagiging Muslim o Kristiyano.

###############
para sa aking Lolo, si Ismael "Kapitan Bagsik" Basa Salih. 1914-2000. Zamboanga City. Nagmamahal, ang iyong munting prinsesang Moro.

[originally posted here in 2004]

Tags: islam, politics, peyups

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