Bangsamoro to Open First Islamic Higher Education Institute

Mindanao, MINA – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of the Philippines in Muslim Mindanao, southwest of Mindanao Island will open the country’s first Islamic Higher Education Institution, Arab News reported on Tuesday, citing the statement of Education Minister Mohaghee Iqbal.

The Kuliyyah Institute in Buluan will be submitted by the Bangsamoro Education Ministry and awaiting a related draft law which is expected to be approved next month.

Bangsamoro Transitional Authority Bill 31 will provide a “unique opportunity for Filipino Muslims to immerse themselves in Islamic and Arabic studies”. The institution will open lectures at both undergraduate and electricity levels.

“I think the longest waiting period for the ratification of the bill which has been announced as an emergency is until September. But I really hope that we can pass it in August. Once the bill is passed within the powers given to the BARMM government, it will be considered approved for implementation,” said Iqbal.

He added, the need to meet the needs of society. “For us, during the Spanish colonial period, the most important thing we fought for was Islam. Islam is our life,” he said.

Islam entered the Philippines between the 12th and 14th centuries through Arab, Indian and Malay traders. Since the 16th century, Roman Catholicism has been the country’s majority religion, while Muslims today represent about six percent of the population, mostly venturing on the southern islands of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.

The Philippine government signed a peace deal in 2014 with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front movement, ending four decades of conflict and insurgency in the south. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)