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THE YEAR 2003 started and ended with tragic events in the Muslim world, starting off with the declaration of war on Iraq on March 19 and punctuated by an earthquake in Iran, killing thousands of people.
On the local scene, Muslims faced stories of mass evacuations, arrests of suspected terrorists, shaky peace talks and deaths of prominent Muslim personalities.
Some legal successes were in the offing with the assumption of a Moro party-list, Anak Mindanaw, and the approval of the Regional Economic Development Authority (Reza) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The year started with a gesture of goodwill to Muslims with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's appointment of Simeon Datumanong to the Department of Justice (DoJ) on January 6. But this act, making him the only Muslim cabinet member, was dimmed by clashes between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Central Mindanao, resulting in massive evacuations in the next month.
Almost 400,000 persons have been displaced by the all-out war policy by then Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, which began on the eve of Eidul Adha, a religious Muslim holiday on February 6. This led to evacuations of civilians in the towns of Pagalungan and Pikit in Maguindanao province, dramatized by Bakwit Power, a local "people power exodus" of civilians looking for safety in nearby towns. Threats of tagging the MILF as terrorists, suspected of coddling the Pentagon criminal gang in Liguasan marsh, were dropped following GRP-MILF peace talks facilitator Malaysia's request that such would affect peace talks.
On March 4, Davao City was rocked with the bombing of its airport leading to the arrest of Muslims suspected to have links with the MILF. In its aftermath, grenades were lobbed at local mosques.
Another bombing hit the Sasa wharf in Davao City on April 2. The next months would see bomb blasts in public places like markets and the National Irrigation Administration office in Cotabato.
On April 23-24, Muslim legislators, led by Basilan Representative Gerry Salappuddin and former Department of Education Undersecretary Macapanton Abbas (now deceased), and NGO leaders convened for the 1st Philippine Muslim Leader's Forum (PMLF) at Midtown Hotel in Manila. They formalized federalism as a proposal. The issue of Nur Misuari, detained at a Laguna provincial jail, cropped up among MNLF supporters in the forum. Mindanao Natin, a program of the President, was also launched in the same forum.
On July 13, MILF chair Ustadz Salamat Hashim, passed away in Butig town, Lanao del Sur province. Only reported in mid-August by the MILF's Executive Committee, his passing away was seen as a "tactic" for a smooth transition from the long-standing chair (since 1970s) to a new leader, MILF peace panel chair Murad Ebrahim.
The next day, July 14, Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi escaped from his detention cell at the Camp Crame national police headquarters, raising a regional alert on terrorism. On that same day, a Basilan youth politician, Mujiv Hataman, was proclaimed party-list representative of Anak Mindanaw after a long pending petition before the Commission on Elections.
The dramatic Oakwood incident on July 27 led to revelations by mutineers that the Davao bombings were the "handiwork by the military."
On August 15, ARMM Governor Parouk Hussin signed the Reza into law, providing for tax holidays and incentives to businessmen to invest in the ARMM.
September 2-3 saw the launching of the ARMM Business Congress in Marawi City.
September 16 saw the death of an eloquent Bangsamoro intellectual, Macapanton Abbas, 61, then serving at the Department of Education.
Two days later, Lanao del Norte finally hosted the Palarong Pambansa after a year of delay due to perceived peace and order problems in the said province.
The whole of September saw forums in the cities of Manila, Cotabato, Zamboanga and Marawi on "Islam and Democracy" organized by the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy.
September was also relevant to the Muslim world as preparations were headway for the 10th session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia. A related event, the first International Conference of Muslim Young Leaders (ICMYL) was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 14-17, with almost 70 countries in attendance. The ICMYL endorsed then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad as the next secretary general of the OIC.
October saw the emotional farewell of Mahathir Mohammad as Prime Minister of Malaysia and turnover to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi as the 57-member country OIC convened in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Oct. 16-18. Mohammad was to step down from being PM after serving for 40 years, becoming Asia's longest standing leader.
On October 11, academic luminary Cesar Majul, 79 and founding dean of the UP Institute of Islamic Studies passed away. He was followed in November by Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Candidato Gutoc, 56 (served as consul general and ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Bahrain) and Ambassador Mukhtar Muallam (Egypt).
On December 5, the 1st National Halal Conference, a showcase of accredited companies to Muslim food-processing was launched at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City. Muslim women convened for the Mindanao Women Peace Advocates Conference in Zamboanga City last Dec. 10-14, alongside the convention of ARMM's Cotabato City-based Regional Commission of Bangsamoro Women in Davao City.
Also in December, books were launched on the topic of terrorism on the local and regional front - former government negotiator Robert Aventajado's "140 Days of Terror" and CNN's Maria Ressa on "Seeds of Terror."
Note: This news article appeared on the Philippine Dail Inquirer on January 4, 2004.
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