A military-initiated Ulama Peace Summit was attended by 40 Muslim religious leaders at the Paglas Compound, Mamay Road on Thursday.
The Task Force Davao, which organized the event, said its goal was to provide a venue for the leaders “address miscommunication, misconception, and discrimination” among their community and for them to commit to peace initiatives.
“We found it necessary na puntahan ang mga kasamahan nating ulama since they are the religious leaders and because we believe that they are the influencers of their own community. Kailangan nating hingin ang suporta at kooperasyon nang sa ganon ang ating culture of security maging maayos ang pagapatupad sa lahat ng sectors dito sa Davao City,” said Task Force Davao Commander Darren Comia.
Presenting the workshop outputs of the summit to Mayor Sebastian Duterte, Comia said the success of the event will enhance the peace and security of the city.
“May susunod pa ito kasi nagpropose sila to continue this kind of engagement with them. This is just the beginning,” he added as the participants requested that the city council craft and ordinance to protect them from hostility and discrimination as well as the creation of an institution to push their mission of peace forward.
In accepting the outputs, Duterte expressed his support for the creation of an Islamic higher institution, which was also among the proposal as the mayor said that in the city, religion should be used to propagate evil actions.
He added that the city has a law against discrimination.
The military unit added that the event also becomes the mechanism to strengthen the ties between these leaders and the city government in pushing peace-building forward as well as nurturing the culture of peace in the city.
Among those who attended were the six Muslim deputy mayors of the city, Region XI Grand Mufti Mohammad Yusop Pasigan, President of Mercy Islamic Foundation Shiekh Abu Muhammad Al-Kholaqi, and other public and religious functionaries.
Among the activities were a workshop on the action plans in pushing for peace in the city and their community and the forging of the manifesto of support.
