ARMM Opens Largest P20 Million Islamic School In The Philippines
Muslim political and religious leaders in Philippines’
troubled southern Mindanao have built an Islamic school to help government’s
anti-terror campaign.
The government of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) considered the school to be the largest religious educational facility
in the country.
Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf – armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles – has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortion in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.
“We constructed the Islamic education center for the
community to help curb the spread of radicalization,” he told reporters in an
interview following the inauguration ceremony.
According to Hataman, the infrastructure will not only be
used to impart the correct teachings of Islam, but it is also a reformation
center, particularly for out-of-school youth who are the potential recruits of
terror groups.
“Building more madaris [plural version of the Arabic term “madrasa”
for Islamic educational institution] is one of the initiatives to address
misinformation about Islam,” said the governor, who has been at the forefront
in the fight against radicalism.
The school occupies a one-hectare compound with more than 10
classrooms that could accommodate 1,000 college and secondary students.
At least 16 Muslim clerics regularly provide Islamic studies
in the school. It also has guest instructors from nearby Isabela City to teach
specialized Islamic subjects.
The school would also offer vocational and agri-fishery
courses.
The institution is not a simple school, but also a
reformation center in Sumisip.
“It will be replicated in the cities of Lamitan and Isabela,
and also in other provinces in the ARMM,” he added.
Abdulmuhmin Alyakanie Mujahid, vice-chair of the Basilan Ulama
Council, said the establishment of the new Islamic institution will boost the
Ulamas’ campaign to renounce the ideology of extremism and radicalism.
“Madrasa education is one of the most effective approaches
in saving our young people from the darkness of ignorance and the crudeness of
extremism and terrorism,” he said.
Source: Philippine News Agency
ARMM Opens Largest P20 Million Islamic School In The Philippines
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July 26, 2017
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