MARAWI CITY, Philippines - There is a mayoral candidate here who is using da’awah (catechism) to propagate public consciousness on the sanctity of elections in the Islamic context of oneness of religion and government.
Former Marawi City Mayor Solitario Ali, now aspiring for the same post, is using Facebook to inform voters they should exercise their right of suffrage wisely by voting for candidates who can protect their rights and freedom in religion.
Marawi City, touted as the country’s only “Islamic City,” is a component area of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Ali’s bid for the Marawi mayoral post is being contested by Majul Gandamra, an incumbent member of ARMM’s 24-seat Regional Assembly, the “Little Congress” of the autonomous region.
Ali has not been attacking Gandamra when he goes around announcing his platform of government.
In one of his campaign visual aids, Ali prodded Marawi City voters to exercise their right of suffrage via a “halal” electoral procedure.
The term halal is Arabic for food that Muslims can eat, free from alcohol and pork.
Halal can also mean livelihood, governance and electoral exercises that are not against Islamic teachings meant to achieve spiritual perfection, particularly on respect for life and love for neighbors regardless of religions and ethnicity.
A Maranaw former intelligence and security director of the Office of the Regional Governor in ARMM, who asked not to be identified, said Ali is likely to defeat Gandamra in the Marawi City mayoral race on May 9 owing to his campaign pitch that fascinates conservative voters.
There are 96 barangays in Marawi City, an old settlement overlooking the majestic Lake Lanao in the center of Lanao del Sur province, whose native folks are called Maranaws, which means “people of the lake.”
“It is good to see him (Ali) invoke religious principles in campaigning for himself. In Islam there is oneness of religion and politics. There is no separation of government and religion,” commented Imam Zulkarnain, a cleric who studied Islamic theology in the Middle East.
Ali, a senior official of the Moro National Liberation Front, was mayor of Marawi City for two consecutive terms after the crafting on Sept. 2, 1996 of the government-MNLF peace pact.
Ali is a long-time comrade in the MNLF of a mayoral candidate in Cotabato City, Datu Muslimin Sema, chairman of the largest of three factions in the MNLF.
Sema has also been so sober in his campaign discourses, talking only about good governance and the need for Muslims, Christian and Lumad folks in Cotabato City and nearby provinces to cooperate in sustaining the gains of the Mindanao peace process.