I have learned that gestures are fragile things. They carry deep intent in the heart of who makes them, yet appear entirely different to those who only see them from afar. What is sincere can and may be misunderstood. What is small can become larger than it ever was meant to be.
We Muslims know the weight of intent and effort. I take pride in Senator Robinhood Padilla’s visible conviction: his willingness to express his faith, even where he stands as part of a minority. This is no small thing. Reverting from the country’s majority faith into Islam is itself a courageous journey, carrying both scrutiny and misunderstanding. His intent deserves recognition as his effort reflects sincerity.
But, pride must also be tempered with prudence. Gestures, especially now in the era of constant cameras, do not always translate as we hope. What may be sacred for others may appear strange or even offensive to the rest. Here, restraint is not a form of silence. It is a form of wisdom. Restraint shields sincerity from distortion and protects faith from being misread or misinterpreted.
This is not about defending him, but I prefer to remember Senator Padilla’s substance over symbols. He authored the Muslim Burial Act (RA 12160), ensuring that our departed are laid to rest in accordance with Islamic rites — released from hospitals within 24 hours, free from the burden of unpaid bills, and buried with dignity. Likewise, he supported measures strengthening the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, promoting halal livelihoods, and opening cemeteries to both Muslims and Indigenous Peoples. These are not dramatic postures; they are lifelines of dignity.
His service did not begin only in the Senate. Years earlier, he established Liwanag ng Kapayapaan, a preschool for underprivileged Muslim children in Quezon City. He helped build a Muslim cemetery in Bulacan. After the siege of Marawi, he launched Tindig Marawi, donating millions for relief and psychosocial care, even giving land in Marawi itself for resettlement. These are the scaffoldings of faith in action — works that endure beyond the fleeting image of a hand gesture.
In moments like this, I recall voices that shaped my own compass. My father, the late Ambassador Sanchez “Ching” Ali, founder of the United Muslim Democrats of the Philippines, carried in his heart the Qur’anic verse: “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256).
For him, it was both the light of faith and the ideal of democracy that Muslims could fully belong to the nation without surrendering their convictions. At his side was Judge Panambulan “Bing” Mimbisa, one of the party’s pillars, who tempered fervor with a gentle reminder: “Do not state the obvious.”
Incidentally, recently, an alim very close to our family reminded me of the thread that binds all of this together: “In Islam, universality comes first.”
Taken together, these teach the same truth. Faith does not need to compel or dramatize to be real. Its strength is clearest when it invites, when it restrains itself from spectacle, and when it serves not just the few, but the many.
We are all not perfect. It would be a loss to see a man’s journey reduced to a snapshot, or faith to a gesture. What we need most is a gentler respect, the patience to weigh intent before judgment, the generosity to value effort over interpretation, and the openness to see Islam not through fear or exclusivity, but through its universals of compassion, dignity, and peace.