Al Qalam Institute strongly condemns the vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians in Cotabato City last August 5, 2013.
The bomb explosion along Sinsuat Avenue shortly before 5 p.m. Monday has risen to eight as four of the injured died in the hospital, among those killed were boys aged nine and 14.
We join with all our fellow Cotabateneos, Mindanaons, and Filipino brothers and sisters in calling for the swift justice and bringing the perpetrators to the full extent application of the law.
We strongly believe that no amount of political cause could ever justify such immoral, evil, and cowardly act against humanity. We must be constantly reminded that the Holy Qur’an denounces killing a human being and equates the slaying of one human life to that of genocide against the entirety of mankind. Chapter 5:32 says,
“If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”
As the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, we call upon the President and the current administration to reaffirm the values and principles that were signed in the Framework Agreement of the Bangsamoro.
We also call on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to work with our authorities to fastrack the investigations and identify the perpetrators of the bombing.
Furthermore, we call on our authorities to respect human rights and will NOT do any form of “witch hunting” and observe the true essence of due process to all Muslim civilians. This act
of terrorism must not justify any form of discrimination towards any Muslim Filipinos in our country.
We grieved to all the victims of the bombing. However, we fear that any military action without fully understanding the nature of the conflict cannot stop nor eradicate terrorism.
As part of the academe, we call upon our leaders to recognize that in order to address our problems of terrorism and discrimination, our nation must understand its root causes. We hold out the hope that these root causes can be addressed through non-violent means, in a way that promotes peace and harmony through inter-religious and intercultural dialogue between the Muslims and Christians.
We call upon our fellow Mindanaons to remain strong and have faith in God as He will guide us and protect us from evil.
