The Need for Islamic Media in the Philippines

The Need for Islamic Media in the Philippines
By Abu Khalid alMadz

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Have you ever wondered how are we Muslims in the Philippines ever to rise up to the surface while - we - now are drowning in the abyss of ignominy and despair?

I believe that the solution is in Islam; the way we understand it and implement it in our lives.

We witness in the last century how our struggle progress from combat to never ending peace talks. Deep in our hearts, we know that the latter (the way it is going now) is not going to work, judging from our experience with the people we are negotiating with. I do eagerly hope and pray that all will end up according to our expectations and aspirations.

While I certainly don’t underestimate the efforts and the untold sacrifices of our elders and brothers, I believe that there needs to be a renewal of effort in bringing back Islam to our homeland.

There is one way that we, the bangsamoro, have not yet fully participated in collectively as we did in the other arena of the struggle. That is the way of Da'wah.

We have all the fronts and groups, the main method of which is political and physical struggle. But we seldom hear groups with mass support to call the people to Allah and His religion.

Perhaps, partially one of the reason is that we don't see our selves as the main problem. Perchance, we don't see that it is because of our own state of weakness that Allah allowed this to happen to us. In other words, we don’t think of making da'wah to our selves.

In the last few decades, there have been efforts of da'wah, particularly supported by our brothers in the Middle East. Perhaps you would remember Da'wah centers springing up everywhere in the archipelago.

There were also groups that tried to brave the tides of broadcasting. I still remember watching Najeeb Rasul in his program Voice of Islam interviewing Dr. Bilal Philips. That episode made me - alhamdulillah - more conscious of my deen. I actually went to a da’wah center, for the first time, after watching.

I also remember while that program last, everyday people are coming to the da'wah center I frequently visit. People are embracing Islam almost daily. Once, four sisters embraced Islam simultaneously!

Come to think of it, that program airs on Saturday, at lunch time, pitted against well established lunch programs and giant stars, through a channel with the worst TV reception. Despite of that, I certainly believed that, that show helped many people, Muslims and non Muslims alike find their way back to Allah subhanahu wa taala.

But the event in New York in 2001 changed the way our generous brothers can give financial help to us. Consequently several Da’wah centers closed and others although operational yet their influence were reduced to within the walls of the buildings they are located.

The Iglesia ni Cristo has several TV programs funded by their own selves. If they can sustain their programs then so are we. We are more numerous and most importantly we have the Truth. We should be more motivated to have our own programs or even a channel.

Although Islam in of itself has systems of spreading information and education such as the Khutba every Friday, a widespread, far reaching, comprehensive, systematic delivering of Islamic information is urgently warranted.

Parents may wonder why their influence on their children is minimal. Simple math may answer this dilemma. A child goes to school and stays there for about 6 to 8 hours. Then after coming home, the child sits in front of the TV for another 4 hours or so. Dinner comes and everyone is sitting on the dining table for about thirty minutes. That is the only time when parents are actually with their children. Of course, actual scenarios may vary but the bottom line is how can thirty minutes parenting compare to 10 – 12 hours of school and TV.

We cannot expect help from the Philippine educational system to forge Islamic identities to our children – and this is a topic in of itself and there is also an urgent need for the Islamization of knowledge in the Philippines (and everywhere else I guess). I still believe that the identity of a child is forged at home.

Several researchers have concluded that broadcast television nowadays do not offer anything constructive to our children. This ‘enlightenment’ came from non Muslims themselves.

These two things I believe where we should exert our utmost effort – we – those who chose to struggle away from the battlefields. They are, Islamizing the educational system and causing a media metamorphosis from filthy daily mainstream broadcasting into informative, educational programs that would help the parents and their children, the teachers and their students, produce Islamic generations.

I think that this is a worthwhile endeavor and I am ready to partake in this mission and make it the mission of my life. The “how” of it and the “how much” of it is beyond my knowledge and capabilities now. But I don’t really care.

Let this group be proactive not just reactive. I sincerely hope that our discussion would revolve around this issue and I pray that more people would come to know about this idea.

I know i'm not alone in this and somebody may already have thought of this and may even have taken actions. But what we need now is a concerted effort from individuals who are inclined to this endeavor so that a bigger impact would be felt by the Filipinos in general and bangsamoro in particular.

Posted by Abu Khalid

Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; But turn away from the ignorant. Al-A‘raaf 7:199