Pinas Forum

Very funny. Only Catholics are entitled to religious freedom in this country. It only becomes an issue when they are on the receiving end of religious intolerance. They insist the country is Catholic eventhough they are only a 20% majority. They insist on imposing their Catholic morality on all Filipinos in complete disregard to the rights of non-Catholics. Our Muslims certainly did not have any real problems with the relatively secular Americans after they realized their customs and religion were going to be respected. Hell, try going to De La Salle University in Manila, one of their so-called "modern" learning institution, where the Romans have control. They force all students there to pray to the Roman god in complete disregard for the freedom of religion of the students. Their logic, "This is a Catholic school, therefore we have the right to force everyone here to pray."

Palawan, Sulu and parts of Mindanao are Muslim land forcibly taken away from them by the earlier colonial governments and settled with Filipino Catholic subjects. The Catholic church has been trying to wrest control of these areas for over 350 years.

The region of Mindanao and Sulu is one of the oldest battlegrounds in the world. These dark jungles and blue seas knew only the law of the strong, whose song was the song of the kris.

Men of all creeds and colors have scrambled for a foothold in Mindanao--from India, Ceylon, Borneo, Celebes, Java, China, Japan, Portugal, France, Spain, Holland, England and America. Their bones moulder there, and only the spirits of intrepid adventurers remain. They reckoned not on the courage of the defenders of this soil.

In his defense of the religion and customs of Islam, the Moro set a new historical precedent. He survived. The Mayas, the Aztecs and the Incas fell before the Toledo steel, and their language and institutions perished with them. Their temples were destroyed and their literature burned by over-zealous bishops of the Roman Catholic church.

Not so with the Moros; sturdy and intact, their religion still flourishes on the shores of Sulu. The Moros remain.

Swish of the Kris