New Year’s Day coincides with first day of Islamic Hijrah

COTABATO CITY — The world’s Christian communities will celebrate the New Year on the first day of the Islamic Hijrah calendar, a phenomenon that happens only once every 110 years.

The Hijrah calendar is based on the lunar cycle, which advances at least 10 or 11 days each year. Religious holidays or events in Islam, as a result, cannot be marked on the Gregorian calendar, which has fixed timeframes regardless of the lunar cycles in each of its 12 months.

Coincidentally, New Year’s Day in both calendars falls on the same day, or today.

Haron Fermil, director of the Office on Cultural Affairs of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), explained religious holidays and events and Islam are scheduled according to lunar occurrences.

Thus under the Hijrah calendar, year 2006 is still 1427.

Many Muslim leaders interpret the coincidence of the first days marking the Gregorian and Hijrah calendars as "a good sign."

"This phenomenon, which happens only every 110 years, gives us hope that Muslims and Christians will continue to live in harmony and peace in the years to come," said Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade based in Iligan City.

For Dolorfino, a decorated graduate of the Philippine Military Academy who prays five times a day facing Mecca, religion must not set up barriers between people.

"All religions teach love for others, respect for life and the perpetuation of good things that are spiritually beneficial to all, regardless of faith and race. Religion, therefore, can be a strong force that can unite all people in this world," he stressed.

Islam, which implies the meaning of peace and centers on universal love and respect for life, has strict teachings on religious solidarity and tolerance.

Islam espouses the principle of "la ikra fidin," which literally means "there is no compulsion in religion."

Fermil pointed out Islam also contains profound teachings on respect for Christianity.

Fermil said the Qur’an in fact relates how Prophet Mohammad had sought refuge among Christians in the Middle East when he was chased and hunted like a wild animal by Arab pagans who, at first, refused to embrace the teachings of Islam he was introducing to them.

ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, an ethnic Maguindanaon Muslim, said he is confident the region’s peace and order problems can be addressed through extensive inter-faith dialogue among local sectors.

Muslim leaders in the ARMM have lately been active in joining their Christian constituents in celebrating the Yuletide season as a means of fostering religiously solidarity.