In a recent column, The Maranao in Manila, I wrote about the quiet tension of carrying a name from the Muslim south while growing up in the country’s center. That tension is not only personal. It is also a reminder that identity grows stronger when supported by the right institutions. 

And so a natural question emerges: what would it mean to build an institution that strengthens the heritage of Filipino Muslims while opening new doors for the nation?

We already have meaningful foundations. UP’s Institute of Islamic Studies and the King Faisal Center under the MSU system have shaped scholars, public servants, and community leaders for generations. Their contributions matter deeply. 

The invitation now is to imagine what could rise alongside them — a university designed from the ground up to be a national home for Islamic scholarship, modern disciplines and global partnerships. This is not a call to replace anything. It is a call to expand what is possible.

A Philippine Islamic University can follow the same constitutional path that allows faith-informed institutions to serve the public good. It can be Muslim-led yet open to all, rigorous in its academics, rooted in faith but not confined by it. Its strength can rest on awqaf, philanthropy and international cooperation rather than public funding alone. Our government needs only to set the stage through a charter and clear policy direction. Filipino Muslims and partners from across the world can take it forward.

The global landscape offers encouraging examples. Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, now one of the region’s strongest institutions for engineering and applied sciences, shows how a Muslim-majority nation can blend tradition and innovation without compromising either. Its graduates help drive advances in renewable energy, robotics and research. The lesson is simple: faith and forward-thinking can move together.

The Philippines is ready for such a moment. For decades, Filipino Muslims have quietly helped run the Gulf’s hospitals, research centers and public institutions. Many now teach in Saudi universities, conduct research in Malaysia and lead programs in Qatar and the UAE. They understand the systems, the standards and the possibilities. Their experience is a wellspring of knowledge waiting to be brought home.

The potential reaches beyond religious lines. I think of people like Dr. Aurora Fajardo, who spent her career ensuring the maternal health of Omani women and the safe arrival of countless Omani children. Though now in her later years, she carries a lifetime of wisdom that could help shape future Filipino educators. She reflects thousands of Filipino professionals — Muslim and non-Muslim — who have served in the Gulf and know how excellence is built in environments that honor Islamic values while upholding global benchmarks.

A Philippine Islamic University would be guided by Muslim leadership and vision, yet enriched by a diverse faculty united by mission and merit. It would be a meeting place — where heritage grounds ethics, where Arabic studies meet digital tools, where Islamic perspectives strengthen sustainability work and where finance is taught through both global and Islamic lenses. It would widen the country’s intellectual landscape, not fragment it.

To Filipino Muslims: we have the talent, the experience and the partners. The next step is to build the institution worthy of our story. To the State: support for such an endeavor affirms that inclusion strengthens the nation. To the global ummah: walk with us as partners, so the Philippines may stand as a hub of purposeful Islamic education in Southeast Asia.

This university is not a retreat. It is an invitation — a bridge toward a future where heritage and progress meet.