Bigotry.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Byline: Antonio J. Montalvan II

ONE can easily rattle off places around the world where there is harmonious co-existence among peoples of differing religious persuasions. Closer to home is Malaysia, one of the finest examples of a nation Muslims live so well with non-Muslims, both in private and public life.

In this age of Muslim bashing, one easily gets the impression of an anti-Islamic United States of America. (But no, American Muslims have generally blended so well with the rest of the American populace these past decades. One can see, for instance, a popular tide of acceptance of Muslim Americans who are in the public eye, especially well-known sports figures.) One gets easily swayed, therefore, by the notion of Mindanao divided by a great cultural chasm between Muslims and Christians.

Too often, I have been asked by Manila-based friends, always with the look of apprehension in their eyes, how our situation in Mindanao is. And always, upon being introduced for the first time to Manila-based persons who are told that I live in Mindanao, the introduction is consistently followed by an instant quiz on how life in Mindanao is. Meaning, of course, that there is this perception that we live in a troubled land where bullets are eaten for breakfast.

I must admit at being annoyed by such ignorance. Of course, life in Mindanao has never been so good. The truth is, there actually are many pockets in Mindanao where Christians and Muslims have co-existed so peacefully for decades. Easily I can tick off the names of these places. And I am not just talking about contemporary times. There had been periods in Mindanao's history when the cultural divide between Muslims and non-Muslims was unknown.

An interesting case in point was the entry of Chinese trading pioneers into the Moro areas of Mindanao, antedating even the coming of the Spaniards. In Maguindanao, for instance, many prominent families are known to be of Chinese ancestry. Among the notable names are Piang, Sinsuat, Matalam and Mastura. Among the Tausug of Sulu are several with Chinese surnames, among them, the Tans. All this indicates the Chinese trader's assimilation into the Moro society.