Philippine Muslims Waiting for President's Action

Jakarta, 21 Sya’ban 1438/20 May 2017 (MINA) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is known as a leader who ‘opens hands’ to Muslims in his country, unlike the previous elite. Therefore, Filipino Muslims pinned peace hopes to him who once threatened to quit from the UN.

Shaykh Watu Datu Ibrahim, an active cleric preaching Islam in the predominantly Catholic country, revealed that Duterte came from Mindanao, a Muslim-majority region in the southern Philippines. So that is one reason Muslims prefer him. However, his young leadership has yet to show clearly what his policies are toward Muslim minorities.

“Our new President is a Mindanao and has Muslim blood, so we see him as different from the previous president,” he told MINA during a visit to Indonesia to take part in a mass gathering to hear religious messages or tabligh akbar in Cileungsi, Bogor province West Java, Saturday (20/5).

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In general in Mindanao, he continued, Muslims are able to live peacefully with non-Muslims, although in other parts of the country, Muslims still get discrimination in their daily life..

Watu noted, this would be a homework for Duterte’s leadership called supporting democracy and equality of all citizens.

He added, Duterte is currently being aggressively fighting drugs like Indonesia. Given the high rates of illegal drugs entering his country, Duterte gave strict punishment to the perpetrators.

In general, Watu asserted, Islamist propagation or dakwah in the Philippines can be done without any problems. Many people convert to Islam regularly, even from priests.

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This is according to him, because the Philippines before colonized by Spain is Muslim.region.(L/R04/RS5)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)