(This is a reaction paper I submitted as a requirement for our History subject during our First Semester in First Year. This concerns our Muslim friend, Ardy, which happened to be our interviewee to clear things out which baffled our minds at that point of time.)
Making the World a Better Place
"The primary duty of the Muslim as set forth not once but many times in the Koran is 'to command good and forbid evil.' It is not enough to do good and refrain from evil as a personal choice. It is incumbent upon Muslims also to command and forbid."
-- Islam And The West, Bernard Lewis
What oftentimes separate ourselves from others are the differences we each have which oppose our beliefs. A barrier is said to be present that builds a huge gap between the two parties—the primary cause of cultural, as well as of our religious differences. But, alter the way you think towards our Muslim friend, Ardiyah Y. Lampa, a freshman student of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, taking up BS Architecture.
Ardy or Ate Ardy, as what we fondly call her, is no doubt a Filipino Muslim. I have to admit that I was surprised during the first week of classes that I have a blockmate who is a Muslim woman, together with a Protestant, Adventist, and name all those other Christian sects, all contained in one block (This was the time when 11 of us still share in the class of Block 1; now we are transferred to the other block.). Having been from a Catholic institution for 12 years, starting from Kinder to Fourth Year high school, makes me unaware of the side of the Filipino minority especially when dealing with them including our Muslim brothers. Studying in a university like PLM is like a new world has opened for me, a vaster one, uniting individuals from all walks of life and culture in a single campus.
We set a schedule for Ardy to be interviewed and it transpired during our free day which was last Tuesday, July 13, 2010, in order not to have conflicts with our time since we only used to be blockmates. The scorching heat of the sun and the high level of humidity inside the Puerto Real Gardens in Intramuros did not bring us to a standstill and still pursued our interview with our friend. The shade of the wide, old tree has been helpful in conducting the said activity. Several questions were asked to our interviewee such as “Have you experienced discrimination?,” “Why a Muslim man is limited to have four wives only?,” “How does your daily routine as a Filipino Muslim happen?,” and the like changed our impressions towards our Muslim brothers. (I need not to state the answers we arrived at since even as a Catholic, I somehow already knew the answers to these questions, having a background knowledge and reading articles beforehand about Muslim people.) However, what struck me most about Ardy were not the words coming from her mouth but rather the way she acts and gets along with her non-Muslim friends that truly makes her profoundly different from others.
Far from the perception we have towards the Muslim community particularly those in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and in our very own Mindanao, our Muslim brothers are not in truth dissimilar with us, Christians. In fact, they are much disciplined individuals for strictly following rules stated in their Qur’an especially with regards to their manner of clothing and for not eating forbidden foods such as pork. Muslims need not be frightened off just because terrorists in the downside of our country belong to the same group. Just like anyone of us, we must embrace every culture comprising within our country. It is a God-given blessing and should be accepted with deep discernment. In the long run, what beyond doubt separates a group from another is not with the impact a difference brings to the other, but with our lack of will to understand and give each one an opportunity to prove oneself.
Ardy is just one of those few fortunate Muslims who are treated fairly regardless of their religious background. Just her implicit way of lending her time to us is an enough reason to show good treatment not just to her but to all of our Muslim brothers. Let not the bad news we hear alone lead us to make an unfair judgment. It pays to know them personally and there we can find that they are not all the same. We must always remember that a Muslim is not anything if not a Filipino.
It is through with our constant communication and showing respect to other individuals which make a big leap of difference and peace. It is through with our open-mindedness and ability to accept divergence within the people which make the world a better place.
Seña, Daniel Franco B.
BS Arch 1 Block 2
2010-20442
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