By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
An invitation to Pope Francis to visit the Philippines’ restive south from the region's one-time largest insurgent group has been heralded a “true Muslim gesture” by a leading peace advocate.
Professor Ali T. Yacub, Muslim convener of the Inter-religious Solidarity for Peace, told The Anadolu Agency this week that he believes the invitation from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, known as the MILF, is sincere.
He said: "I join the people of goodwill who profusely congratulate and pray for God’s blessings to the MILF for, as the report has said, it 'has invited Pope Francis to take a side trip to the south during his visit to the country next month.'"
The Philippines' Roman Catholic Church is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, with the pope as its head. The country is one of only two Asian nations with a predominantly Catholic population -- the other being East Timor -- and is the third most populous Catholic country in the world.
In the western provinces of the southern island of Mindanao, where Muslims form the majority, armed conflict between the government and groups like the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf, who last year pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, had been going on for decades.
Last year, the MILF signed a peace deal with the government but the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a MILF splinter opposed to the peace treaty, continue the violence.
In December the MILF asked the pope to visit Cotabato City in Maguindanao province as part of next week’s visit to the country. However, it was not clear if the message reached the pontiff.
Yacub said that while some remain "skeptical," and "others horrified at the thought of the pope coming to Mindanao... God will protect the pope as he is sincere."
"To me, God will take care of everything. Do you think the pope is scared of the Muslims?" he asked. "St. Francis of Assisi was mixing with Muslim mystics [the Sufis], so it is no wonder that St. Francis’ prayers were as mystical as [those of] the Muslim Sufis."
Yacub said he hoped the Church and the Philippine authorities seized the chance or they will "lose the opportunity for a meaningful encounter of Muslims and Christians."
According to Yacub, Muslims and Christians are brothers in faith.
"Why should Muslims rejoice if the pope comes to Mindanao?” he asked. "[Because] if he comes, then [it is] a flashback in Islamic history to remind us of Christians in the life of the holy prophet's time."
The pontiff is scheduled to arrive late in the afternoon of Jan. 15 at Villamor Air Base, Pasay City in the capital, Manila.
