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A more empowered Muslim religious sector is a key to attaining peace
in the country. This was the consensus of nearly 200 ulama—or
Muslim religious scholars and leaders—who gathered from all over
the country to discuss the feasibility of establishing a national
organization during the First National Summit of Ulama in the
Philippines, held January 28 to 30 at the Bayview Park Hotel in
Manila.
While a number of ulama groups already exist,
there has been no national organization that includes all the major
groups, similar to networks that exist in Muslim countries. The lack
of unity among the ulama is generally attributed to tribalism,
political differences and lack of institutional support.
A 2006 Social Weather Station survey indicated
that Muslims follow their ulama more than Catholics follow their
priest.
“It is important that we harness this
potential so that Muslim religious leaders can have more impact in
improving both the spiritual and existential lives of our people,”
former Senator Santanina Rasul said.
National ulama organization
“This summit is the culmination of five
regional consultative workshops held in Zamboanga City, Cotabato
City, Cagayan de Oro City and Metro Manila,” said Dr. Hamid Barra,
the project director.
The summit in Manila was part of a three-year
“Empowering the Ulama” project of the Philippine Council for
Islam and Democracy, supported by the British Embassy and the Royal
Embassy of The Netherlands.
During the workshops, ulama participants agreed
that there is a need to unite the Muslim religious scholars of the
country, that such unity is crucial for the promotion of peace and
development in the Muslim areas. The ulama agreed to establish a
national federation that will involve the various ulama groups
already in existence. An ad-hoc committee was proposed to prepare a
draft structure and bylaws that will embody the ideas of the
participants.
United ulama
The two-day summit featured lectures from highly
respected Muslim scholars from here and abroad: including
Muhammadiyah Chair Dr. HM Din Syamsuddin, Nahdlatul Ulama’s Dr.
Masykuri Abdillah, Prof. Haji Maarouf Bin Haji Salleh of
Singapore’s Center for Contemporary Islamic Studies and Dr. Muneer
Fareed of the Islamic Society of North America.
Syamsuddin, head of the influential Muhammadiyah
with a membership of 35 million, argued that Islam, contrary to
misconception, is a religion of progress and dynamism. He stressed
that Islam can be employed to become competitive in today’s world
as Islam must be increasingly seen as a problem-solver of the issues
confronting the Muslims in the modern world.
Fareed, secretary-general of the Islamic Society
of North America, largest Muslim organization in the United States
and Canada, appealed to the participants to bring back the legacy of
the ulama by providing leadership to their impoverished communities.
It is only through enlightened leadership, he said, that extremism
can be countered.
Abdillah, vice-chairman of Nadhlatul Ulama, the
largest Muslim organization in the world, explained that in
Indonesia, most ulama support democracy as a political system
implemented in the Muslim state, because it is compatible with
Islamic doctrines and principles such as justice, peace, equality,
brotherhood, pluralism, trust and accountability and tolerance.
Salleh, meanwhile, shared the experiences of the
Muslims in Singapore who are considered a minority community (15
percent of the population) in a Chinese-dominant and
Buddhist-majority setting. He added that the Muslims in Singapore
have adopted a “non-confrontational approach” to government and
the majority. This, Salleh said, has successfully led to a delicate
balance of social cohesiveness and national integration, which are
paramount in nation building.
Mutilan testimonial
The summit also featured a posthumous award to
the late Dr. Mahid Mutilan, who died in a vehicular accident in
December. Mutilan, co-founder of the influential Bishops-Ulama
Conference, is widely recognized as a pioneer in pushing for the
empowerment of the ulama.
The award given by the Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc. and the
Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy paid tribute to “his
life-long dedication to peace through interfaith dialog, empowerment
of the ulama and madrasah education.”
The award, accepted by his widow, Aleema Khadija
Mutilan, cited Mutilan as a “reasoned voice of tolerance,
moderation and democracy.”
Archbishop Fernando Capalla and Bishop Hilario
Gomez Jr., Mutilan’s co-convenor of the Bishops-Ulama Conference,
together with Fr. Eliseo Mercado Jr. and former Senator Rasul paid
tribute to the late Muslim leader.
Capalla, in a statement read during the dinner,
paid tribute to Mutilan’s “open and broadminded approach to us
Catholic and Protestant bishops in Mindanao, [which resulted in] a
significant improvement in the relationships between Christians and
Muslims.”
Gomez called Mutilan “a man of peace.” He
added that “it is surprising to have such a great Muslim leader
who, like that proverbial voice in the wilderness, preached the
message of salaam and shalom or peace in the midst of decades-old
conflict in Mindanao.”
Rasul emphasized the contributions of Mutilan to
Islamic education as an instrument for peace. “He was a champion
of peace. . . his accomplishment with the Islamic education system
is a great achievement, and my hope is that his work will serve to
inspire others who come after him,” she said.
During the opening ceremonies, Dutch Ambassador
Robert Gerard Brinks stressed the importance of tolerance.
“Freedom of expression, tolerance and a willingness to make
concessions formed and still forms the basis of our society
that recognizes the necessity of opposing viewpoints as much as the
need to deal with them in a pragmatic fashion.”
“It makes no difference whether you call it
tolerance, common sense, pragmatism, a lack of
idealism, a refusal to mount the barricades, indifference, or even
commercial spirit, as long as the majority continues to benefit from
what can best be called ‘pragmatic tolerance,’ which allows all
of us to live in freedom,” the envoy said.
The outputs of the summit were presented during
closing ceremonies attended by the participants and guests including
British Ambassador Peter Beckingham. He congratulated the
participants for their historic summit.
Beckingham said the ties between the United
Kingdom and the Muslims in the Philippines, dating back to the
agreement between the Sultanate of Sulu and the British East India
Company, predates Philippine relations with any other Western
government.
Rasul supported the calls made by some
participants to have continued dialogues, and small working groups
“to constantly bring out into the open the many problems and
challenges that the ulama face.”
She told participants during the closing banquet
ceremonies that the ulama’s mission “is not just preaching the
true message of Islam, but also the development of your
communities.”
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