Dialogue urged after evacuees received ‘Maranao Bible’ mixed in relief packs

By Ryan C. Rosauro
For MindaNews

ILIGAN City — Bibles set in Maranao language were distributed as part of relief goods for Marawi evacuees last Thursday, raising eyebrows among several peace advocates and Muslim leaders.

The same leaders are urging a dialogue to arrest any complication that may arise from the act.

The Bibles came with every hygiene pack distributed to home-based evacuees in Ceanuri Subdivision in Tubod village here. Each pack contains a bath soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush, making the Holy Book the most prominent stuff.

Ustadz Abdul Karim Ambor, former president of the Iligan League of Imams, said the evacuees did not immediately discover the Bibles as these were part of the goods contained in plastic bags. They found out only when they opened the relief packs.

In lieu of Bibles, some packs contained magazines on the Bible story of the fisherman, also in Maranao language.

When told about the Bibles, Ambor, who lives and runs a madrasah in Ceanuri Subdivision, said he asked that these be given to him for safekeeping.

The Maranao translated Bible had the phrase “So Sindaw” (The Light) on its cover.

No one has come forward to say they distributed the Bibles. Some evacuees only remember the donors as a group led by a certain Pastor Solaiman.

Abelardo Moya of the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) said the act “transgresses some cultural and religious sensibilities.”

“This must be dealt with soonest. Now that this has happened, it is best seen as an opportunity to dialogue,” Moya said.

“This is simply exploiting people in times of crisis,” the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said in a statement.

“What makes the reports this time very sensational and particular was that the Bible was not an ordinary one written in standard English; it is a translation of it in Maranao language, which means that there is a deliberate plan to convert non-Christians to Christianity,” the MILF said. (mindanews)