Why Marawi?

In the closing scenes of the movie “Kingdom of Heaven”, Orlando Bloom, who plays Balian, asked Sultan Saladin; “What does Jerusalem mean to you?”, and Saladin answers “nothing and everything.” This cryptic answer from Saladin would probably be the answer we will get if we asked ISIS leaders in the current Marawi battle. So “why Marawi?” is a legitimate question.

Marawi City is the capital and the largest city of Lanao del Sur. It is a third-class city in term of income and part of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. It is about 87.55 sq.km or 8,775 hectares with a population of 201,785 in 2015. The population has been growing at an average of 4.2 percent per year, so when the fighting started last May, there must have been over 220,000 people in Marawi. This makes the enormous problem of the government regarding the refugees and evacuees understandable. A total of 97 percent of the population are Muslims and the non-Muslims are Christians from other parts of Mindanao and the Visayas. The Maranaos comprise most of the Muslim residents. Sharia law is in effect in Marawi and gambling and alcohol are not allowed. Muslim women must also wear a veil covering their faces.

Marawi was and is still considered the summer capital of the south due to its 700-meter elevation and cooler climate. Temperature ranges from 18 degrees to 27 degrees all year round. It also has the beautiful Lake Lanao as a frontage and backyard. It was a beautiful city with the distinctly Muslim architecture and influence.

Agriculture is the main activity in the area and the rest of the province. There are small manufacturing of indigenous products for export, but trading is the dominant economic activity. There are 26 colleges and universities which includes the main campus of the Mindanao State University. It is host to Agus I, one of six hydropower plants of the National Power Corporation. It contributes to 2 percent of the Mindanao GDP/economy and .3 of the 1 percent of the Philippine GDP/economy.

Why ISIS would start a war in Marawi and risk destroying the city is hard to fathom. It could only be because of the symbolism and circumstances of the city, but more likely the circumstances. The city was the only place big enough to absorb large amounts of firearms and ammunition unnoticed. There is significant transport and trade activity to avoid suspicion. The city also has enough Muslims sympathetic or indifferent to Muslim activism. The symbolism of taking control of Marawi, the largest Muslim city in the Philippines, was secondary and a bonus if they took control of the city.

To the government, while Marawi may not be economically important, it is an integral part of the country which cannot be allowed to be taken over by terrorists. It is allowed to be an autonomous region but under the umbrella of the republic.

The movie “Kingdom of Heaven” is fiction but solidly based on 12th century history of the battle for Jerusalem between Christians and Muslims. Throughout the movie, the words “Salaam Alaikum,” which means “Peace be with you” was said many times and when the movie was shown in Beirut in 2015, Muslims who were watching the movie applauded during the scene where Saladin picks up a fallen cross placed it back on a table.

This incident is a demonstration that there are enough moderate Muslims willing to live in peace with Christians. The problem is how to make that Muslim majority prevail over the militant minority who wants to kill all infidels.