i Report Issue No. 3 2005 - Philippine Center for Investigative ...

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FOCUS ON FILIPINO YOUTH SAMIRA GUTOC BEFORE ME was an Islamic religion studies graduate, an al- eema who divorced her aleem (Islamic learned man) husband for beating her up. She was lecturing on significant Muslim women in Islamic history. So far she had taken up the Prophet Muhammad’s wife Khadija and daughter Aisha. Today’s topic: Madina’s Umu Sulaim Rumaisa. All were women of virtue whose lives could give us insights on what a Muslim woman should aspire to. Every Sunday, a few of us women and girls in the barrio would gather in a small shop of a lady leader to read the Qur’an and listen to aleemas, who would arrive garbed in traditional dress, with only their eyes peering out of their veils. But once they were in front of us, they would shed their facial covering and discuss themes ranging from women heroes to marriage and women’s obligations—basically all things domestic. Through an association of women “seeking faith,” the seminars provided us a place to rest, as well as to bond and learn with other women. My village at Buadi Sacayo, one of the homes of the old sultanates, has held on to many traditions. It is a close-knit community where residents, especially the young, congregated in the street or during Friday prayers. People here are proud of their roots, a pride they made evident through their colorful homes decorated in the traditional style. Across this village, at the other end of the highway, is Mindanao State University (MSU), where the more Western-educated reside and teach. While my barrio provides spiritual congregation, it is on the secular, modern campus that I meet a host of other highly educated and “modern” women. Our most recent topic was women’s rights and all the rah-rah of promoting it. The context: cleaning up the elections, especially the ARMM polls in August. Despite living away from the metropolis for the past year, I find staying in the Islamic city of Marawi refreshing for I see the best of two worlds: those who gave up on the old ways and those who live it. At one end is the sandal-and-backpack crowd, people who live on just the basics and whose ultimate activity is prayer. At the other end are those who push for material success and crave recognition—the professionals, politicians, and yes, NGO workers. One fact ties each extreme to each other: both are made up of Muslims. I myself feel I am between both worlds. Sometimes, I even feel like an interloper. Having a hijab (veil) on and having non- Muslim friends makes me feel half-Muslim and half-Christian (or mestiza). It is not the religion that makes me feel like I always have to be in the middle of a religious discourse. Instead the feeling arises from the curiosity/ half-acceptance I encounter in both Muslim and Christian circles. When I am with Muslims, I have to defend my “liberal” media profession. When I am with Christians, I have to explain Islam’s practices. But what is being Muslim anyway? Was it all about the five pillars, about the sayings of the Prophet and the Qur’an? What of the women, like me—had we rights, could we speak out? And how about pop music, my favorite, was it haram (forbidden)? Was living all about following rules? These were among the questions I had while growing up, and I have been asking even more questions since. I had been brought up to be conscious of my heritage, to always protect our maratabat, our good name, to avoid overexposure to the outside world. This was my culture as a Maranao. My religion, at least as taught to me, said almost the same thing—to observe the rituals, to lead a structured life. But I have since realized that religion is actually dynamic and that it was only the elders who had interpreted it otherwise. As postmodernist author Akbar Ahmed says, Islam and balance are compatible, meaning Muslims are not prohibited from embracing principles such as tolerance, democracy, and justice. So could a Muslim have a Christian as a best friend? Can we sing and dance? Could Muslim women wear jeans? And how do we see the Pope and Madonna? I THINK Muslim communities have yet to confront questions Growing Fema & Mus 52 PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM I REPORT
le Up le lim CHANGING FACE. Muslim women are slowly moving out of the safe cocoons of clan and community. like those I have, and so have yet to bridge a generational gap that has formed. During the National Muslim Youth Summit held at the Asian Institute of Management in 2003, “confusion” was the catchword in the workshop discussions. The speakers were learned elders. The participants, meanwhile, were part of Generation M(uslim). Although they came from different cultural communities, they were all multilingual and educated in some of the top schools around the country and even abroad. One of the speakers crowed that this was the “new generation of future Muslim leaders”—mobile, techie, and assertive. But some of the participants expressed disappointment at their elders’ lack of sympathy for their “confusion.” “I don’t wear a veil but no one can question my faith,” said 24-year-old Maguindanaon Nora, a Manila-based nurse. “We are confused because we are curious.” She raised the issue of smuggling by a few Muslim entrepreneurs to which some elders had been willing to turn a blind eye, so long as the proceeds were given as zakat or charity. “Can (smuggling) be made permissible by giving (the proceeds) as zakat?” an incredulous Nora asked. “Have you read the whole Qur’an?” posed Lucman, offering advice from the elders. “Pray five times and affirm yourself with the graces of Allah.” All the speakers had advised us to “learn Islam.” Former MSU regent Ansary Alonto also said, “Islam is a system, a way of life.” But the older yuppies among the participants advised the youngsters to maintain an open mind. Said Aldean Alonto, who had gone to Oxford University on an interfaith event: “Islam is a process, and (acknowledges) an effort to find yourself.” For me, that process is still ongoing. When I was a child, I thought I would end up as a singer. I had been starstruck as a kid and was a big movie fan; I loved performing as well. Yet being Maranao—and a girl— meant there were many things I could not do. Interest in the arts was discouraged because of its perceived anti-Islamicism. Even today many of us are still unable to deviate from professions chosen for us, like T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N nursing, medicine, engineering, and law. I took up law at the behest of my parents, although my heart wasn’t in it. It was only when I failed major prelaw courses that I allowed myself to follow my desire, which by then was no longer singing, but journalism. As the eldest of five, I had learned early on to be conscious of the larger group, to sacrifice and put the group’s interests first. Following tradition, we girls had to be very careful in choosing our friends. While my brothers had girlfriends, my sisters and I were chaperoned to avoid “developing” our crushes. We weren’t allowed to date or sleep over at other people’s houses. Contrary to what many outsiders assume, however, we girls—at least those in my family—were made to excel in academics. Mother wanted to be sure that if we were to marry and then were left by our husbands, we could use our education to survive on our own. (Mother’s own father had left their family for another woman.) Father, too, put a premium on education for his children. He was from a clan that placed professionals on pedestals and was himself an inspiration to many of his relatives to acquire an education and land a good job. Yet for all the restrictions and expectations put upon us, I still managed to have fun in high school. I was lucky because Father was a career diplomat and I was exposed to Western education. Traveling was an eye-opener. I learned to be sensitive and be open to other cultures aside from my own. Practicing my faith had its ups and downs, but I was soon to learn that to know my religion, I had to experience the lack of it. THAT CAME when I reached college. I suddenly had the freedom to party and socialize. That freedom, however, also brought me one dilemma after another. While my upbringing taught me precaution, the ethos on campus was to live life. While I was boxed in by rules before, I was now being urged to make my own rules. My response in part was to widen my search for myself. I met atheists who questioned God and all the fundamentals of existence. I attended masses, learned of the Christian faith. I read alternative literature aside from the religious text. Yet as I searched, I had one tangible evidence of my Muslim identity: my hijab, which I began wearing at age 17. I had made the decision to wear one on my own, without any parental prodding, without a mullah lecture, without pressure from my peers. I had read through the Qu’ran and saw in there the rationale for the veil. Rather than being segregationist or purist, the hijab is an acknowledgement that women can work alongside any individual, male or non-Muslim. I do not have to be judged based on my physical appearance, even as my hijab makes me aware that I have to be “good” to earn my keep for the afterlife. I have since noticed that others wear the veil as a matter of convenience or culture, with the hijab taking on different nuances, depending on the wearer’s community or tribe. Women of the Tausug tribe wear their caps with sequins, those in Maguindanao prefer colored nets, and the Maranao go for PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM I REPORT 53
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i REPORT July-September 2005 P75 Ph
Page 4 and 5: SHEILA S. CORONEL NO TWO presidents
Page 6 and 7: Tobacco, the country’s biggest ci
Page 8 and 9: THE TWO FACES OF GMA. Aides say tha
Page 10 and 11: likewise rebutted Zuce’s charges.
Page 12: T H E C A M P A I G N Presidential
Page 15 and 16: C A M P A I G N F U N D S Buying vo
Page 17 and 18: C A M P A I G N F U N D S On March
Page 19 and 20: T H E V I C E P R E S I D E N T WHO
Page 22 and 23: HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN? In 1998,
Page 24 and 25: legislators have given themselves p
Page 26 and 27: LIGHTS, CAMERA, IMPEACHMENT! ALECKS
Page 28 and 29: For Visayans, the center does not h
Page 30 and 31: The Moro people can be part of a pl
Page 32 and 33: TWO AT EDSA ‘When the wheels of h
Page 34 and 35: FOCUS ON FILIPINO YOUTH DEFYING THE
Page 36: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N d
Page 39 and 40: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N K
Page 41 and 42: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N s
Page 43 and 44: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N d
Page 45 and 46: Stay, serve poor first, Stay, serve
Page 47 and 48: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N l
Page 49 and 50: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N W
Page 51 and 52: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N m
Page 53: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N a
Page 58 and 59: FOCUS ON FILIPINO YOUTH ALECKS P. P
Page 60: T H E L O S T G E N E R A T I O N a
Page 64: GRASSROOTS GAME Jueteng has deep ro
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