Religions

When I was taking the bus to get from one terminal to another in Manila, a women seating opposite to me started talking to a young men who just entered the bus. According to her facial expression she was nice to him; she was smiling, shaking her head in agreement. Additionally I heard some well-known words “Koran” and “Maashallah”. While the man made himself comfortable in his seat he was turning to her and showing something that was in a big frame resembling a picture. My observation suggested that he was carrying a Koran that was framed.

Mindanao is home for multiple religions. There are Muslims, Christians and Indigenous people. It was believed by the foreigners, including me, that the main reason for the conflict in Mindanao was based on religious; however, after being there I started doubt the idea. The presence of different religions was more obvious than I ever thought was possible. In some hotels, there were arrows pointing towards the Mekkah, a holy place for Muslims where they turn towards to pray. Some places had Bibles. During our visits to some religious organizations or local communities, the meetings started and/or ended with prayers. Overall, people form various communities, whether they were Christians, Indigenous people, or Muslims, expressed or commented in a positive tone regarding the representatives of the other religions. They were echoing each other’s concern that even if there is a religious reason it was in the past and roots of the current conflict should not be connected to the religion. However, according to Baba Mike Mindanao conflict has a “religious color”.