Changing the odds through Madaris volunteers

THE National Association of Bangsamoro Education, Inc. (NABEI) was launched on March 9, 2014 in the joy and optimism of the signed Framework Agreement Bangsamoro. In the rejoicing that the armed struggle may finally come to an end, Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim, Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, was quick to say, “Our jihad, our struggle, is not yet finished. We are elevated to another jihad that is more difficult. The difficult path is now passed from freedom fighters to the educators. You educators are now on the frontline.” It was a stirring call to genuine education in a packed gathering that mixed madrasah educators with armed revolutionary warriors assenting to the insights of Ebrahim with the oft-repeated chant, Allahuakbar! Allah is great!

I was impressed by the deep desire of the MILF leadership to lead its Muslim peoples beyond the armed struggle towards peace and prosperity through education. Ebrahim pulled no punches in pointing out that the standards of Islamic education must not fall short of the standards of Catholic education such as offered by the Notre Dame schools or the Ateneos. But how to do this when the quality of Islamic schools and the quality of their teachers were so dismally low?