First of two parts
By ADEL A. TAMANO
May 3, 2006
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=37479
Superman is a Moro. How do I know this? He has too
many similarities with the contemporary Moro that
simple logic reveals his true identity and ethnicity.
Lets turn to the facts which confirm that, indeed
icon, this of goodness, truth and decency, the man of
steel, is a Filipino Muslim.
Proof No. 1: He has a Moro name. This is the biggest
give-awayKal-El is the real name of Clark Kent,
Supermans mild-mannered alter ego. His given name is
incredibly similar to common Filipino Muslim names
like Khalil or even Ysmael and Abdul. In fact, for
this reason, for him to get a job in the Philippines,
he would have to use a pseudonym. According to the
latest Social Weather Stations survey, Filipinos
prefer hiring people with Christian-sounding names
than those whose names appear to be of Islamic
etymology.
Without a doubt, within the context of the global war
on terrorism, wherein the usual suspects are those of
the Islamic faith, it becomes easy to rationalize the
preference. It neednt be rooted any longer in
stereotypes of Moros as violent, aggressive, and
vicious, the classic juramentado, but can be much more
easily and socially acceptable on the basis of general
security concerns.
While liberalism encourages and advances the
renunciation of discrimination and stereotyping, new
anxieties about terrorism and safety provide seemingly
liberal-minded people a basis for discriminating
against Muslims without the concomitant guilt. In
fact, honestly, whom would you prefer to hire as your
clerk, manager, driver, etc., Kal-El, or Clark?
Proof No. 2: He has to keep his real identity a
secret. Imagine how difficult it must be for a person
with the power to fly, smash through walls, bounce
bullets off his chest, and x-ray vision to keep these
phenomenal abilities secret. Most people would want to
shout it out to the world, publicize it, and,
ultimately, capitalize on it. But Superman is
different. And wise. He knows that in the increasingly
globalized and homogenized world, being alien,
different, and outside the norm is a sure-fire way to
becoming ostracized and misunderstood. This is the
reason why he dons his suit and tie. This is the
supreme irony: it is his corporate attire and not the
blue tights with the Superman logo and big red cape
that is his real costume. The coat and tie conceals
his authentic identityas an alien and, ultimately, an
outsider.
This is the same situation that the Moro faces; a case
in point is the fact that many Filipino Muslims, when
interacting with the Christian majority, have to adopt
Christian namesMichael instead of Muhammadas a way
of sidestepping discrimination. This too is an aspect
of an emerging Moro culture of keeping things hidden
and undercover. The name itself is a costume, a
camouflage, to conceal the reality of being Muslim and
therefore different from the Catholic majority.
In fact, Moro women, particularly in Metro Manila,
suffering daily the indignities of subtle
discrimination, such as Taxi drivers refusing to
accept as passengers veiled (hijab-wearing) Muslim
women, are forced to forego using the hijab when
taking public transportation, keeping their
Muslim-ness incognito. For both Moro genders, the
badges of being a Moro, which include the cultural
traits of the Moro as Maranaw, Maguindanao, or Tausug,
as well as the indivisible Islamic element that
infuses the culture of these Muslim tribes, such as
headscarves, Moro hats (kupya), beards and prayer
beads, are eschewed for modern clothing for easier
acceptance.
Even prayer, the most fundamental of human actions,
with man communing with his creator, has to be done
clandestinely. It is not difficult to recall the
recent furor that was raised over the request of Moro
merchants in Greenhills to build a small prayer room
so that they could perform salah (prayer). Some
prominent members of Philippine society vehemently
objected, using the media as their forum, to the
establishment of the prayer room, at times using the
most racially and ethnically discriminatory of
arguments.
Proof No. 3: He is forced not to wear his ethnic
costume. This is really a corollary to No. 2, but the
use of clothing to emphasize and express pride in
ones culture only makes sense in a world without
prejudice, particularly when one belongs to a
minority. In this world, wherein intolerance abounds,
emphasizing cultural pride, particularly when it is
Moro pride, produces real-world problems.
Interestingly, some Moro women, and their counterparts
in the West, have taken to wearing the veil as an
overt political statement, a reaffirmation of their
Islamic faith in the face of discrimination. It is
worn, literally, as a badge of fearlessness and
courage knowing that an intolerant society will make
them suffer, in ways subtle and otherwise, for their
beliefs.
Adel A. Tamano is a lawyer who obtained his master of
laws at the Harvard Law School as a graduate program
scholar and Islamic legal studies scholar. He took his
master of public administration at the University of
the Philippines and his juris doctor and A. B. in
Economics at the Ateneo de Manila University. He has
authored two law books and published a handbook on
Impeachment under the 1987 Constitution and
Impeachment of Justices of the Supreme Court, a policy
analysis.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=37479
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125)
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