Duterte urges Muslims: Work for common good

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has urged Filipino Muslims to work for the common good and to deepen their faith as they observe today’s Eid’l Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice.

He said the complete willingness of the prophet Abraham to offer the life of his son in obedience to Allah’s command is “one of the most remarkable demonstrations of faith of all time.”

The feast’s narrative, he said, “continues to resonate in our present time.”

“This account not only teaches us the importance of personal sacrifice, but also inculcates in us the value of submission to a higher authority, even though, at times, our feelings and emotions compel us otherwise,” Duterte said in his message for Eid’l Adha over the weekend.

He added: “Now, more than ever, we are called to lend a piece of ourselves to endeavors that redound to the common good and benefit the most number of people.”

Duterte called on Filipino Muslims to reflect on the lessons they can learn during the feast to deepen their faith and to strengthen their resolve to bring about “a society that is worthy of Allah’s continued blessings and protection.”?Eid’l Adha commemorates the willingness of Ibrahim, known in Jewish and Christian religious texts as Abraham, to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of submission to the will of Allah.?There are about 10 million Muslims in the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

As the country marks Eid’l Adha, Vice President Leni Robredo also urged Filipinos to continue to remember and pray for the victims of Marawi siege.

“On this day, let us remember our brothers and sisters who sacrifice and are striving to recover like our countrymen in Marawi and the Muslim refugees who were separated from their families. Let’s embrace them and continue to pray for them as they face their trials in life,” she said.

Over 100,000 Marawi residents were displaced when the ISIS-inspired Maute group attacked Marawi City on May 23, 2017. The armed clashes lasted for five months. – With Alexis Romero, Edith Regalado, Helen Flores