PNP asks Muslim leaders: Define martyrdom

A ranking Philippine National Police (PNP) official appealed to his fellow Muslims yesterday to justify the meaning of "martyrdom" in the Koran.

Senior Superintendent Sukarno Ikbala, head of the PNP-Task Force Salaam, said Muslim leaders — or Ulamas — must educate the faithful on the true meaning of the word since it is being misused by extremists to justify terrorism.

While the dictionary defines martyrdom as the suffering and death of a martyr, Ikbala said extremist groups have their own interpretation of the word.

"They believe that if a Muslim dies because of his religion, then they would go directly to heaven. The Ulamas should qualify this," Ikbala told "The Center for Moderate Moslem toward Regional Cooperation" forum yesterday.

Ikbala noted extremists take the habit of lifting ayats or verses from the Koran in harming their enemies.

For instance, Ikbala said "smite their neck whenever you find them... they use this (verse) to justify their actions."

He said some verses in the Koran are being lifted as basis for terrorism.

"They omit the part where the Prophet (Muhammed) says that if they (the enemies) tend to cease from doing wrong, you should also refrain from committing any wrongdoing," Ikbala explained.

Ikbala, who heads the police task force protecting Muslims against indiscriminate and unlawful arrests, said the forum is to correct the perception on martyrdom.

"Extremists would have a hard time getting new recruits (because of this)," he said.

Ikbala also called on Muslim leaders during the forum to specify problem areas where they could take action.

Commissioner Taha Basman of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), also agreed a distinction should be made.

"Suicide bombing has become a frequent occurrence (in the world)... But if the Ulamas define martyrdom not in the same manner as the suicide bombers, it can be a deterrent," he said.

Basman said that at present, no Muslim cleric or leaders has made an effort to distinctively explain the concept of martyrdom.

"At least it (proper definition) wake up the Ulama to their senses to give emphasis. If it was a Catholic priest, they would issue pastoral letters stating the definition of martyrdom and that if an innocent is injured, they would not be considered as a martyr," Basman said.

Basman stressed the Ulamas, regarded as authors of the teachings of Islam, are greatly respected by the Muslim people and would follow their orders.

In the same forum, education officials announced plans to integrate secular subjects as part of the curriculum in Islamic schools, or Madaris.

Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for Madrasah Manaros Boransing said the subject of mathematics and science will soon be integrated for the curriculum of Islamic schools alongside with the traditional teachings of Islam.

Boransing said the integration of the secular subjects is to enable students of Madrasah schools to be globally competitive.

"So for the first time, the mainstreaming of the Madrasah, under President Arroyo, the approach has become holistic and systematic...the program is how to harmonize the Madrasah education and the Philippine educational system," Boransing said.

Boransing noted that even as some of his fellow Muslims are enrolled in Madaris, plural of Madrasah, they greatly lacked knowledge in secular subject even as they are thoroughly taught the Arabic language and Islam.

He said students are deprived of learning regular subjects such as other languages, mathematics and science even if they complete their religious training.

Boransing said the students lacked the competitiveness since they lag behind their global and local counterparts since their curriculum is not recognized by the National Basic Education system in the country.

"The Madaris students lack the competitive skills required for employment and are eligible for transfer to regular schools because the Madaris do not implement the standard curriculum of the DepEd," he said.

Boransing said it would take the government three to five years to fully implement the program.

He said it would require "some social marketing" which would have to be introduced and elicit support from Muslim leaders.

Boransing explained the project requires financial support which would entail additional budget allocation from the government.

For it to be acceptable to Muslim students and their teachers, some changes have to be made in the textbooks with some issues that would not be offensive to the Islamic faith.

"That is what we call contextualization...instead of using Pepe and Pilar as names of stories, we could substitute in Muslim books the names of Abdul and Fatima. Also instead of using pigs, use cow in illustrations," Boransing said.

"You are not going to change the textbooks, not alter the substance but just remove (the) offensive substances," he said.

Basman, for his part, said he would support the government’s plan.

"We support that proposal (to include math and science) subjects which would make the Madrasah students productive members of the community," he said.

Ikbala added the program would produce graduates of balanced learning with moderate behavior and thinking.

Former Indonesian religious minister Dr. Tarmizi Taher, also pushed for a "borderless" opportunity for education and encouraged young Muslims to study in western countries.

"I advocate for students to study in the West because of the quality of education. I think there must be no barrier for a Muslim to learn abroad. Maybe if Prophet Mohammed was alive today, he will go to the West. So I think our young generation would have mutual respect with the western people," Taher said.