Subscribe

RSS Feed (xml)

Powered By

Skin Design:
Free Blogger Skins

Powered by Blogger

Kamis, 25 Desember 2008

Muslims set for Manila

COTABATO CITY: A gathering of ulama (Islamic scholars) who are known to be advocates of moderate Muslims from Mindanao that include delegates from this city will be held in Manila early next year in a three-day dialogue or forum with their Islamic scholar counterparts from Malaysia and Indonesia in order to discuss moderation in Islam as against extremism.

Prof. Taha Basman, president of the Center for Moderate Muslims (CMM), which is the main sponsor of the three-day dialogue that will be held at Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City from January 9 to 11, said the dialogue seeks to address issues affecting an estimated 1.5 billion Muslims in the whole world like the problem on extremism in Islam.

In an interview with The Manila Times, Basman said, “We want Muslims to follow the real teaching of Islam which is ummatan wasata or moderation. With this we can achieve peaceful co-existence in the world.”

The Center for Moderate Muslims president said over 200 participants are expected to attend, some of them are Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Muslim leaders as resource speakers, who will discuss the issues and problems affecting the Muslim community based on the theme “Redirecting Islamic Da’wah: Addressing the Contemporary Concerns of Muslims.”

Basman said those who are scheduled to speak, among others, are Malaysian Parliament Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Haji Mulia and Dato Ismael bin Mohamad also of Malaysia, who are both Gusi Peace Prize Laureates; Saudi Arabian envoy to Manila Ambassador Muhammad Ameen Wali; former Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Dr. Tarmizi Tahir; Haji Mohamad Alami Musa of Singapore’s Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and Sanusi Ismael of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia.

On the other hand, the resource speakers from Manila are Supreme Court of the Philippines Jurisconsult Saaduddin Alauya; former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao secretary of the Department of Education Dr. Salipada Tamano; Ms. Roslaini Iljas Rasu­man; University of the Philippines student regent Shahanna Abdulw­ahid; Philippine Marine Commandant Gen. Ben Muham­mad Dolor­fino and several others.

Meanwhile among the known ulama from Mindanao who are expected to attend the forum are several muftis, which is somewhat equivalent to a Roman Catholic bishop. They are Mufti Ismael Ibrahim of Cotabato City; Mufti Julasiri Aberin of Sulu; Mufti Abdulwahid Inju of Tawi-Tawi; and Mufti Abdullah Utoh of Basilan province.

“With the extremists still finding attentive ears in the ummah or Islamic community, a gathering of these international Islamic leaders and their Filipino counterparts through the CMM will help empower the moderates among us Muslims and eventually seek to address the most important issue affecting the Muslim world like extremism,” Basman emphasized.

It can be noted that the CMM since its inception a few years ago, with its affiliate organizations in the Asean region, has been in the forefront of promoting interfaith dialogue, fostering religious tolerance and harmony, and working for peace between Muslims and non-Muslims and among members of the Islamic world. It has held its first dialogue in the year 2004 while the second one was in 2006.

“In order to address the issues effectively, selected and influential Muslim personalities from various sectors—ulama, diplomats, professionals, academicians, businessmen, traditional leaders, women groups, youth associations and the media—are invited to grace the occasion and share their valuable ideas and experiences,” said Basman in a letter to Saudi Ambassador Wali.

Basman, who is also a commissioner of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), said the event seeks to boost the “tradition of promoting dialogue and the use of other more effective means for the resolution of issues besetting the Muslim ummah.”

He said some of the concerns to be addressed are issues of deviation, radicalism and disunity among Muslim missionary (da’wah) groups; problems facing the youth, many of them have become easy recruits for extremists who advocate violence; issues on the role of women in the family and the community; and economic opportunities, among others, as Muslim-Filipino traders continue to seek better chances to improve their lives through business