ILOILO CITY, Philippines, November 24 (IslamOnline.net) - Most Filipino Muslims pray that violence around the world would come to an end and that the believers of Islam would not be subjected to discrimination or labeled as pro-violence.

“We are hurt when Islam is associated with terrorism and violence. That’s why we are intensifying our prayers for peace now that the holy month is about to come to a close,” Imam Saadudin Maayo of the Pioneer Mosque in Iloilo told IslamOnline.net. “We are leaving it all up to Allah.”

Maayo further said, “I’d like to believe that most of my Muslim brothers and sisters pray for peace this Ramadan not only in Mindanao and the Philippines, or the Ummah, but the whole world.”

He said they are praying hard that people of other religions would come to understand that Islam is not a religion that condones violence, more so terrorism.

“Islam is a religion of peace and love. It is not what is seen on television or heard on radio. We abhor violence,” he added.

He said they are saddened “when people associate our faith to violence and terrorism. But we keep our cool and try to understand these people. We try to tell them that Muslims are not killers or terrorists. And we tell them that Islam does not teach violence, too.”

Maayo admits it would not be easy to make other people understand because what they see in the media is all violence involving Muslims.

“We see the bombings in the Middle East. We hear the news in Mindanao. But that’s only one side of the coin. Seldom do we learn of stories about the righteousness of the Muslims. Of our goodness. Of our good deeds.”

Muslims are a minority in this Southeast Asian nation. Of the estimated 82 million Filipinos, Muslims are placed at 10 to 15 percent of the population.

Muslims living in Iloilo, in particular, are not only praying for peace, love, prosperity and forgiveness this holy month of fasting, but also for continued understanding and harmony that has existed between them and the Ilonggos (native residents of Iloilo), including other non-Muslims, for years now.

During the height of the1970-1980s conflict in Mindanao between Muslims and government-backed Ilonggo vigilante groups like Pulahan and Puti-an, Iloilo remained a safe haven and home to Atty. Macaosur Macalanggan and other Muslims are here either to study or do business. “Peace between us has remained the same until today,” they said.

Macalanggan, current Philippine Office of Muslim Affairs provincial director, said that Ilonggos and Muslims share common traits. “We are generous and forthright. I believe the Ilonggos are the same.” In his three decades in this city, he says he has not encountered any tension with the Ilonggos.

“We are a people who shun violence. We abhor violence. At that time when Ilonggos were killing Muslims and vice versa in Mindanao, we never worried for ourselves although we took precautionary measures for protection. We tell the authorities and our leaders if we feel threatened. But generally, there was harmony between us. The same harmony that exists until today,” Macalanggan said.

Macalanggan, 59, first arrived here in 1963. A Maranao tribe member from Lanao del Sur, he came to study at the Christian-run Central Philippine University. “I studied Bachelor of Arts and then enrolled in law. I finished law in 1972.” He said he chose to study here because his elder brother and sister-in-law were here doing business.

He vividly remembers their first day of class, his first brush with discrimination. “When my turn to introduce myself came, I proudly told the class that I am a Muslim. I told them I am from Lanao and so on. Upon knowing I am a Muslim, my classmates went out of the room one after the other,” he recalled with a smile. He says his classmates thought Muslims were traitors, thieves and killers “and so am I.”

“They, however, realized that I am not a thief, traitor or a killer,” he recounted. His classmates did not realize this by just seeing him or being with him. He spoke about Islam in forums like the forum on Understanding the Faith in 1963, to make people understand Islam and Muslims.

Today, Macalanggan takes charge of the Office of Muslim Affairs in the whole of Panay and Guimaras. His office is tasked with looking after the welfare of the Muslims here, with a population of more than a thousand. Most Muslims here are Maranao who are engaged in trading.

He said he has seldom left Iloilo for Lanao “because I feel very much at home here.” The latest was last year when he paid his siblings a visit after 15 years. “They were the one who visit us here,” the father of four shared.

And he wishes this harmony and respect between Muslims and the Ilonggos to continue “and even become stronger” particularly these days as Islam is wantonly associated with terrorism.