Tobias, Ralph Alonzo M.

BSA / 1 / M6 MWF 12:25 PM 1:25 PM School bans Moslem students from using veil, triggers outcry
http://www.rappler.com/nation/9544-school-bans-Moslem-students-from-using-veil,-triggers-protests

ighteen years from now, the total number of Moslem* inhabitants around the globe is expected to inflate by about 35% for the next two decades; that is, a tremendous growth

from 1.6 billion to 2.2 billion Islam followers is to happen, based from the 2010 populace projection made by the Pew Research Centers Forum on Religion & Public Life1. Philippines, an Asian archipelago comprising more than seven-thousand islands located at the southeast, is said to be one of the five countries in the world with the largest number of people who believe in Catholicism2. Still, Philippines is a multicultural countryit has plenty of indigenous people or groups, extensive aboriginal races, diverse communities, different descents, and various religions, with Islam as its second dominant religion3. The religion of Islam has lots of material cultures that denote their uniqueness and identity. Such example is their proper dress codes. The wearing of thobes (or thawbs) and turbans by Moslem men and hijabs and khimars by Moslem women does not bring anymore a culture shock to the Catholics in the Philippines, especially during the month of Ramadan. They are found in any direction of the day, even in schools. However, the prohibition of wearing the symbolic veils for female Moslems by the administration of Pilar College, a private sectarian academe in Zamboanga City, made a loud buzz not only to Islam believers but to others, too. In my point of view, there is no sound reason why Pilar College should restrain the female Moslem students to enter the school with their heads covered with such veils. The veils are not akin to ordinary headscarves that are used as fashion statements and decorations. The veils are sacred and holy. Furthermore, the president of Pilar College, Sister Maria Nina Balbas, verified that the faculty and staff members of the school are putting into action the said ban. What made them propose (and approve) by themselves the controversial provision was the notion of their religiosity. Balbas reasoned that Pilar College is mainly a Catholic school and that they cannot afford to stray away from their belief. Ergo, the banning of Moslem veils was conceived.

Upon enrollment, the students are already informed about Pilar Colleges rules and regulations particularly on their stance of forbidding female Moslem students wearing hijabs. Rules may be rules but compliance to the aforementioned order is already below the belt. Everyone has the right to practice their religion and their faith. Not only this prejudice happens in learning institutions; it also comes up during job interviews. Because of their eagerness to earn a living, most Moslem women take off their scarves due to pressure and only wear the hijabs when hired by the employer. The reason is that modesty is considered as incompetence, especially in the US4. It should not be like that. Why Moslem women cover their heads with hijabs is because Allah has ordered them to do so (Quran 33:59). Hijabs are essential to a Moslem womans life because it liberates her from the idea that they are sexual objects. Each time she wears a hijab, she is full of dignity, self-respect and morality. Each time she wears a hijab, she brings her own individuality. She does not need to shout to the world that she is a woman of Islam. It shows. The presence of hijabs reduces the number of sexually committed crimes in the workplace4. The aura of privacy that hijabs create signifies their importance in the religion of Islam. The perception that the world is a diverse one is an inevitable fact. Yet, a united nation can happen if all of us just have the sense of initiative to foster ourselves in interfaith dialogues, cultivate ourselves in universal synergy and encourage ourselves in building peace. Just like you, I am already tired of watching television news that project bloody religious wars. We do not need to die because of wars. A death resulting from wars is the kind of mishap that can be avoided. It pains me whenever I see images of young children who have lost their parents in wars. The visions of those children are already blurred and foggednot only with tears but with the early exposure to extreme chaos and intense violence. But as these two clichs say, it is not over until it is over and it is never too late for everything. As long as the clock still ticks clockwise and the hourglass goes upside and downside, it is still possible for us to hear the silent melody of the breeze. Of course, that is only a metaphor. If men were able to step on the Moon, then why cant we have a quiet and tranquil world, too? It is not impossible. The impossible only remains impossible until it happens.
References: 1 http://www.pewforum.org/The-Future-of-the-Global-Moslem-Population.aspx 2 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism#Philippines 4 http://www.islam101.com/women/hijabfaq.html *Moslem is also spelled as Muslim