Filipino Muslims attend a noontime prayer at Manila's Golden Mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr

By Rexcel Sorza, IOL correspondent

ILOILO CITY, Philippines, November 25 (IslamOnline.net) – Millions of Muslims around the Philippines celebrated the end of the holy month of fasting Tuesday, November 25, starting the day by trooping to mosques for the morning prayers.

But the whole Filipino people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, would be celebrating the Eid al-Fitr, popularly known here as Hari Raya Puasa, on Wednesday, November 26, which was declared as a national holiday by President Gloria Arroyo.

“May the Filipinos and the rest of humanity draw inspiration and guidance from the teaching of Ramadan. Definitely, the thrusts of government on peace, stability, sustainable development and economic prosperity will be immensely benefited by the positive virtues of Ramadan,” Arroyo said as she was greeting the Muslim community.

Her Eid statement further read: “The season of fasting also inculcates in the minds of the Muslims a sense of moral discipline and spiritual renewal. It reminds mankind of the moral degeneration brought about by the influence of worldly desires. Indeed this finds significance and relevance in our current advocacy towards moral recovery.”

Integration

In issuing Proclamation No. 498, declaring Eid to fall on November 26, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo said the entire Filipino nation should be given the full opportunity to join our Muslim brothers and sisters in observing and celebrating this important day, while at the same time promoting cultural understanding and integration.

Romulo, who signed the proclamation by authority of the President Arroyo, likewise underscored the need to declare November 26 as special non-working day throughout the country without prejudice to the public interest, to bring the religious and cultural significance of the feast of the Ramadan to the fore of national consciousness.

Moon-sighting

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye asked Filipino Muslims “to understand” the gaffe on the date of the holiday saying the Palace based it on scientific calculations and not on actual moon-sighting.

Moon-sighting committees were deployed by the Philippine Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in various sites around this Southeast Asian country. At 9 p.m. Monday, November 24, Office of Muslim Affairs head Zamzamin Ampatuan declared the end of Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr’s major feature here is the early-morning prayer in every mosque or open field, where khutba (sermons) are expected to focus on forgiveness, family and friendship. The giving of Zakat al-Fitr, money given to poor, before the prayer starts is another important feature of the Eid in the Philippines.

Hundreds flocked to mosques like the Golden Mosque in Quiapo and the Blue Mosque in Taguig in Taguig and all other mosques around the country donning their new and best clothes for the feast.

A large congregation of Muslims based in the capital Metro Manila was expected to troop to the Philippine International Convention Center on Wednesday for the Eid celebration led by the Office of Muslim Affairs and non-governmental organizations Islamic Information Center, Liwanag Forum, Discover Islam and Balik Islam Unity Congress. Qur’an readings, Adhan (call to prayer) contest, parlor games and speeches were expected to follow the morning sermons.

Governor Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where most of the country’s 10 million Muslims live, reminded his fellow Muslims of the significance of the Eid as they try to find a lasting solution to peace and poverty in Mindanao.

“It is my fervent wish that we all adhere to the true meaning and teaching of fasting – that is, to love, persevere, to be patient, honest, peace-loving, unselfish, to be always just and fair as we continue serving our people,” Hussin said.

“The physical and spiritual cleansing that we have undergone for the past month will certainly strengthen our continued journey in this mortal world,” he said, lauding Arroyo’s call for reconciliation, which he said is truly significant between Muslims and non-Muslims, and even among Muslims themselves.

“It is about time we should unite, forget animosities and put behind all the things that divide the Filipino nation. After all, we have only one country, the Philippines,” he further stressed.

“Let us remember also that Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the only Philippine President that strongly advocated the making of a national Islamic holiday and succeeded when she signed the Eid al-Fitr Law after the House of Representatives and the Senate enthusiastically passed it,” Hussin also said.

Republic Act No. 9177 declared Eid al-Fitr as a regular holiday, but the date on which the holiday falls varies from year to year, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

“The Eid al-Fitr Law is very significant not only here in the Philippines, but throughout the Muslim world. Organization of Islamic Conference ambassadors and their governments had welcomed it with genuine appreciation,” he pointed out.