DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 June) -- The National Ulama Conference of the Philippines (NUCP) has written US President Barack Obama yet another letter, expressing its deep appreciation for his June 4 speech in Cairo where he sought “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world” as it also urged him to “vigorously support the peace process in Mindanao” and work to get the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) back to the negotiating table “as soon as possible.”
In its letter dated June 5, the NUCP praised Obama for his “bold efforts to address the root cause of the problem in the Middle East by recognizing the right of the Palestinians to their homeland and a state of their own” as it reiterated what the group wrote when it congratulated his election as the first African-American President of the United States in a letter dated January 29.
The NUCP listed five points for Obama to consider: “to engage the Muslim world, particularly the Southeast Asian Muslims and the ulama sector, through dialogue and cooperation that will benefit our communities and humanity; to vigorously support the peace process in Mindanao to end the 40-year armed conflict which has resulted in 600,000 displaced and hundreds killed since August 2008, and work to bring the Government of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) back to the negotiating table as soon as possible; to support the legitimate and inherent right of the Bangsamoro people to self-determination; to support the full implementation of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Philippine government; and “to extend massive relief and rehabilitation assistance to internally displaced persons in Mindanao, particularly in conflict-affected areas, through socio-economic development programs that will bring prosperity and dignity to our people.”
The NUCP’s January 29 letter had a sixth appeal which the June 5 letter no longer included as Obama had mentioned it. This was the appeal for Obama to “address the root cause of the problem in the Middle East by recognizing the right of the Palestinians to their homeland and a state of their own.”
“America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and we will say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true,” Obama said in his Cairo University speech, adding, “too many tears have been shed. Too much blood has been shed.”
“All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, peace be upon them, joined in prayer,” Obama said.
The NUCP also said it hopes Obama “would also place equal focus on the Muslims from Southeast Asia,” stressing that contrary to misconceptions of some, “not all Muslims are Arabs. In fact, of the estimated 1.2 billion Muslims in the world, 60% live in Asia (with almost one-third of them living in Southeast Asia) and only 15% are Arabs.”
“As you made clear that your country ‘is not and never will be at war with Islam’ but that the United States ‘will relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to (y)our (nation’s) security,’ we express the hope that you would pay particular attention to empowering the moderate sections of the Muslim population as a means to counter radicalization. We, the Muslims in Southeast Asia, are known for being moderate,” the letter said.
The group also commended Obama for his efforts at forging “closer ties and understanding with Muslims from all over the world.”
“We join you in condemning acts of violence and we unite with you in deploring war and the evils that it produces. We hope you can come and visit us in the Philippines, should you visit Indonesia and South East Asia,” the NUCP said.
It ended its letter by saying “Peace, we sincerely believe, is the only war worth fighting for.”
The letter was signed by Dr. Aboulkhair Tarason, Chair, Basilan Ulama Supreme Council and the National Ulama Conference of the Philippines; Dr. Santanina T. Rasul, Chair, Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc and Advisor, NUCP; Amina Rasul, Lead Convenor, Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy and Magbassa Kita Foundation Inc; Nasser Marohomsalic. co-Convenor Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy; Dr. Hamid Barra, NUCP vice chair and co-convenor, PCID; Ismael Abubakar, co-Convenor, PCID; Abdullah Hamza Uttoh Mufti, Basilan Darul Ifta; Ping Kasim, Deputy Vice Chair, Basilan Ulama Supreme Council; Esmael Ebrahim, NUCP Deputy Secretary General and co-convenor, PCID and “other Ulama from Sulu, TawiTawi, Basilan, and Zamboanga City, attending the NUCP Regional Consultations on June 3-5, 2009 at the Marcian Garden Hotel in Zamboanga City. (MindaNews)
Source: http://www.mindanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6488&Itemid=50
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