The Marawi siege will be remembered in the history as a sad experience of violence in Mindanao. The seeds of violence come from other countries in the name of ideologies of violence using religion as a cover up of some geo-political plans and strategies entered in a more visible way in the nineties in Mindanao with a group known today as Abu Sayyaf. Along the years, other ideologies have been introduced up to the time when the siege in Marawi was identified as a strategic plan of the ISIS with the help of a group called MAUTE that during the Marawi siege emerged as the voice of the ISIS in Mindanao.
Reflecting on this sad experience, we wish to say that there is hope in the “midst of divisions and conflicts” and the Silsilah experience of the last few days is an affirmation of many Good Maranao and Christian people of Lanao ready to rebuild with hope the broken hearts of many. Rebuilding the city of Marawi still remains a big question mark and it is not clear how it will be done, but Silsilah is a witness of good signs of “rebuilding” from inside starting from the Maranao women who reaffirm their “power” in leading programs of dialogue and peace. This is what I witnessed in the last few days in Iligan and Marawi.
There are many Silsilah friends who have been involved in the last two activities of Silsilah in the Lanao areas. On August 22 in Iligan the program was held in the Institute of Peace and Development of Mindanao State University with the presence of many alumni and friends of Silsilah, including Fr. Teresito “Chito” Suganob and Fr. Michel De Gigord. That was also the occasion to launch the regional Silsilah Forum of Lanao. The following day in Marawi we re-launched the Silsilah Forum Marawi after the sad experience of the siege. In Marawi, the program was done in the Institute of Peace and Development ( IPDM) of Mindanao State University, the same place where, in 2009 Silsilah launched, for the first time, the Silsilah Forum Marawi. The participation was also very vibrant with the presence of many leaders especially Maranao women, youth, Silsilah coordinators of other cities, friends and new members of Silsilah who attended last July a special program on dialogue and peace.
This event was honoured by the welcome address of the director of IPDM Dr. Acram Latiph, and messages of Dr. Moctar Matuan, Dr. Minang D. Shariff and many others. The person who have emerged clearly in all these activities was Ms. Jamila-Aisha Sanguila who was the first Silsilah Muslim coordinator when we started the Silsilah Forum in Marawi in 2009. She is a teacher of Islamic History but for a few years she was out of Marawi for other activities, including a two years program in the University for Peace in Costa Rica.
I met her during my previous visit to Marawi, on February 16 this year, and I asked her to help again to restart the Silsilah Forum in Marawi. She was ready and willing to accept the challenge and from that time on she became very active to the point that Silsilah is now moving with new energy and hope in the Lanao areas of Mindanao with a special attention to Marawi.
Silently and emotionally I followed the program in Iligan on August 22 and in Marawi on August 23. Moved by this new beginning, we decided to expand Silsilah in the Lanao areas with a more meaningful presence in Iligan and Marawi and other areas of the Lanao region. It was also easy to identify new Muslim and Christian coordinators and the core group to support the program. Listening to different reflections and comments during my visit in Iligan and Marawi I got the feeling that, indeed, the Maranao women are determined to use their “power” and determination to rebuild what has been destroyed.
In my sharing during the re-launching program of Silsilah in MSU-Marawi, I reaffirmed the spirit of Silsilah that is sustained by the spirituality of life-in-dialogue promoted through the Culture of Dialogue, Path to Peace program. On that occasion I reaffirmed the reflection of Dr. Minang D. Sharief who presented the spirit of the “great Jihad” that is the struggle of the “ internal journey of purification” through different stages. In fact when we started the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in 1984, we proposed as a foundation of the spirituality for the Christians the Beatitudes of Jesus and for the Muslims the spiritual journey of the “great Jihad” as a journey of purification based on the Islamic teaching in the spirit of “ mercy and compassion”. These entry points are the foundation of the spirit of Silsilah that we reaffirm always inviting all to live and promote the Culture of Dialogue, Path to Peace.
Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME
Founder of Silsilah Dialogue Movement