Gatchalian proposal on Islam education
Much of the headwinds in this government program are caused by ignorance about religion and culture.
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Much of the headwinds in this government program are caused by ignorance about religion and culture.
Every once in a while, a bit of good news comes one's way. Although this is buried in the inside pages of our print media and hardly mentioned in social media, it still caught the attention of critical observers. And to its supportive public, the least they can do is to reecho it for the idea to gain traction. This leads to an informed action after it is ventilated before the arena of public discourse.
Mainstream media reported last weekend that Senator Sherwin Gatchalian "pushed for the inclusion of Arabic language and Islamic Values Education in the curriculum of all public and private elementary schools outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao." Why only in the BARMM? These subjects are already taught in homes, lectures, and madaris (plural for madrasah or Islamic school), including regular schools in Morolandia. This is an idea whose time has come.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, filed Senate Bill 382, or the Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education Act to provide Muslim learners the appropriate and relevant educational opportunities while recognizing their culture… (and) ensure the contribution of Muslim Filipinos to national goals and aspirations aimed at making them partners in nation-building." It also seeks to provide technical and financial educational assistance to DepEd-accredited or recognized madaris, which are privately -operated, community-based educational institutions whose core emphasis is Islamic studies and Arabic literacy."
Two fundamental messages are conveyed in the explanatory note of the bill. First, Muslim Filipinos are now recognized as having the desire and capacity to contribute to national goals and aspirations and second, they are partners in the task of nation-building. For long, they have been perceived by many as social misfits, bogeymen, and recalcitrant secessionists waging a war against their fatherland which caused unnecessary fratricide and social and physical damage. This provided the premise, that contrary to the jaundiced mindset of some non-Muslims and anthropologist critics, Muslims are willing partners of the government in its platforms to address national problems.
Gatchalian has a soft heart for Muslims. During the 2017 Marawi Siege, he was the first national official who visited Marawi bringing financial and other assistance to the evacuee victims. The City was still burning with the intense fighting between the rebels and the soldiers that local authorities had to transfer the ceremonial turn-over of Gatchalian's assistance to the safe ground at a nearby town of Baloi.
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Altruïsm and philanthropy are in the genes of the Gatchalians. When I was ambassador to Egypt, I worked successfully for the pardon of Lorna Laraquel, an overseas Filipina worker who was jailed for killing her employer. Upon instruction from the home office, I brought her back to the Philippines. Upon arrival, I received a call from William Gatchalian, patriarch of the Gatchalian clan, to bring Lorna to his office. Without fanfare or glare of publicity, he gifted her a huge sum of money that she could use to start her new life or engage in business.
The Gatchalian bill can go a long way in accelerating the integration of marginalized Muslims into mainstream Philippine society. Much of the headwinds in this government program are caused by ignorance about religion and culture. One must recognize that there is still a segment of the Muslim communities who believed and feel alienated from the government because of past neglect and discriminatory national policies.
This has created an unnecessary schism within Philippine society which required decades-long attention and reparation policies by the government. The bill, if passed, will open the minds of young Filipinos on what Islam and Muslims really are — peace-loving and that they are no different from the rest of Filipinos in terms of patriotism, nationalism, and another "ISM" that teaches love of country and neighbors.
We hope that this bill gets the support of the other solons and national leaders who wage the mantra of unity among Filipinos as their ladder to power.
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