The OFW's religious activities abroad

The arrest, a few days ago, by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's muttawas or religious police, puts into focus once again, the recurrent issue of whether or not the Filipino workers we are deploying abroad are properly and sufficiently oriented to the laws, cultural norms and idiosyncrasies of their respective host countries.

This important component of the Pre-departure orientation seminar is even more necessary insofar as the Islamic countries in the Middle East are concerned. If these OFWs are adequately oriented, then the issue would be how strong indeed is the faith of our workers that they are willing to risk arrests, prosecution and imprisonment by their host government. Are these arrests due to a conscientious exercise of their religious beliefs, or are they logical consequences of lack of knowledge, lack of foresight, or reckless disregard of fundamental sensitivity issues relative to culture and laws?

We, Filipinos, are known worldwide to take our religion seriously. Whether in New York, or in Germany, in Denmark or in New Zealand, or in South Africa, Zimbabwe or Zambia, our compatriots have their fiestas, their Ati Atihans, Flores de Mayo and Prayer meetings. We celebrate Easter Sunday and Peñafrancia even in Kuwait and in Qatar.

Ingrained deeply in our culture is this deep fixation to celebrations and festivities where we expressed both Christian and pagan rituals. There is nothing wrong in all these. But the moment that we offend the sensitivity of our host communities and government, the moment that we violate the laws of our host country, then we open ourselves to a serious problem with the country that gives us job and allows us temporary residence. In short, we offend our hosts.

I happened to be a diplomat who was posted in Kuwait for two years, until February this year. I have studied closely the Islamic culture. One of my salient findings is that our Muslim brothers in the Middle East are deeply religious people.They also take their religion very seriously. They pray five times a day. They fast for one month during Ramadan, and they have very strict rules governing women. The laws of Islam are given much importance. In fact, there is a virtual convergence between their Church and their State, as distinguished from our separation between church and State.

Although compared to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, Kuwait is quite liberal, I still hold the view that when it comes to Islamic laws, they are very uncompromising, and at times, unforgiving. This can be the reason why Islamic countries still apply the death penalty, some by hanging and others by beheading. And they are very strong and strict on adultery cases committed by wives.

In Malaysia, where I was posted for three years, I found out that there is a democratic fusion of multiple cultures, Malay, Chinese and Indian, and Christianity is allowed to flourish there. In fact, for three years, I served as an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist in St. John's Cathedral, right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The El Shaddai and JIL communities as well as the Iglesia ni Kristo are freely exercising their faith in the shadows of the Petronas twin towers. In Kuwait, the bishop and the priests are friends of the Royal family, and the Cathedral celebrates Santo Nino and penafrancia festivities, led by the Couples for Christ and El Shaddai.

The bottom line of all these is that we are exercising our freedom of religion at the tolerance and kind indulgence of our host governments. The moment that we offend the local communities and the host government, then we should be prepared to be arrested, prosecuted and jailed. Unless we are willing to follow the footstepsofSt. Lorenzo Ruiz, who was martyred in another country, for his deep and abiding faith, then we better exercise sound judgment in the exercise of our religion in Islamic countries. Let us pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and wisdom, so that we don't find ourselves arrested by the religious police. That is the simple truth that we, OFWs must never forget.