Philppines: Local Islamic group rejects cause of Libya attack
A LOCAL Islamic group said Friday that there is no enough justification on the attack by protesters on the United States consulate in Benghazi that killed an American ambassador and three embassy staffs.
In a statement, the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) said it is condemnable and unacceptable that the attack was supposedly prompted by the defense of the Islam religion.
Reports said that clips of the film called "Mohammad, Prophet of Muslims," had been circulating for weeks before the latest violent protests resulted in the attack on the US consulate.
"PCID rejects the far-fetched notion that the attack on the US Embassy was in defense of Islam," said the PCID, adding that Islam does not promote the killing of innocents and civilians.
"Not only does our faith condemn the killing of innocents and civilians but we regret the killing of an American diplomat, who was a friend to Libyans and Muslims who aspire to be free of tyranny," it added.
The latest violence has killed US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans consulate workers, who are already on their way to a safer establishment when their car was hit by a rocket.
US President Barack Obama vowed justice as he condemned the attack.
In Manila, a member of the House of Representatives called on the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to strictly monitor films and documentaries that may ignite religious violence similar to what happened in Libya.
"We have to prevent such kind of violence provoked by transgressions against religious beliefs. In this case involving our Muslim brothers," Western Samar Representative Mel Senen Sarmiento said.
In a statement released Thursday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it is "outraged" over the "senseless act of violence" in Libya.
"This was a serious violation of long standing norms of international law with deep historical roots that diplomatic and consular agents are not to be harmed and that the diplomatic and consular premises are inviolable," the statement read.
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said she believes that there is no need yet to implement anew a mandatory repatriation in Libya despite the latest incident of violence.
"As of now, walang report na affected ang overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) nitong pag-ulit ng crisis dun," said Baldoz
.However, the labor chief said they are already set to implement a strict screening of Libya-bound OFW applicants at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), especially for construction workers.
"I asked our people to please submit the official report and recommendations so we could screen the applications for Libya of OFWs para ma-determine kung saang sector sila pupunta," she said.
Source: Sun Star, Philippines
Photo Credits: Peace Advocates Zamboanga
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We, as leaders of faith communities, need to develop a more inclusive view of the religious other, to recognise the humanity of the religious other as a starting point. We need to recognise the essential equality of all human beings regardless of religious beliefs. We need to affirm the mutuality and interdependency of all people... We may need even to extend this and recognise that religious other may, just may, have at least some access to the Truth. We may need to accept that the religious others also adopts more or less the same set of essential universal ethical-moral principles we share; that the religious other has feelings of pain and pleasure just like us; that the religious other has similar expectations about their children and family and the preservation of life, property and security; and that the religious other has the same fears and anxieties about the world and the future, just like us.