MANILA, Philippines - A ''fatwa'' issued by a top Saudi Arabian Islamic cleric which says that attending flag-raising ceremonies may be contrary to Islam's ''tawheed'' or creed of monotheism has generated a debate among Muslims in the Philippines.
The debate, mainly conducted on facebook, revolves around what a militant Muslim Filipino cleric said is a fatwa or opinion rendered by Sheikh Abdel Azis bin Baz, the late mufti (top Muslim religious leader) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to Sheikh Jamil Yahya, chairman of the Bangsamoro Supreme Council of Ulama (BSCU), Baz's fatwa forbids Muslims from flag-raising ceremonies and singing of the Philippine national anthem.
Yahya said local Muslim are not allowed to sing the national anthem because of the passage ''Ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo'' which commends dying for one's country.
Participation in flag-raising rites and singing of national anthem violates ''tawheed,'' the central theme of Islam's highly monotheistic creed (There is no god but Allah), which ascribes no partners to Allah, Yahya said.
A forrmer grand imam (prayer leader) of Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Yahya once served as ''mutawa'' (religious police) in Saudi Arabia.
He has been using modern technology, particularly text messages from mobile phones, to reach out to local Muslims.
He sends texts every day to many people on issues concerning Islam.
In a phone interview, Prof. Salipada Tamano of the Mindanao State University (MSU) and former education secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), acknowledged the seriousness of the fatwa.
He called on the MSU, ARMM, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), and ulama (Muslim religious leaders) to discuss the fatwa and its implications in a conference.
''If this fatwa is not taken through a scientific discussion, then it might be taken against Muslim Filipinos as it runs counter against patriotism. We should have a common stand,'' said Tamano.
Some religious leaders may be interpreting participation in flag-raising ceremonies as a form of worship with the flag as being regarded as another ''god,'' Tamano said.
''I don't think that is what is in the minds of Muslim students and government workers who participate in flag-raising and singing of national anthem. It is a form of respect and a call for patriotism,'' said Tamano.
On facebook, another religious leader, Abdul Qahar Dimapunung, agrees with the fatwa, calling participation in flag-raising ceremonies a ''shirk,'' a term meaning the sin of idolatry or polytheism in Islam.
Datu Ali B. Sangki, former executive director of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) has another take on the issue.
''This militant cleric should not use Islam and Muslim as a battle cry to promote their advocacy bordering on intellectual arrogance. Look there are 57 Muslim countries and all have their National Anthem they are proudly singing,'' he said.
Journalist Samson Gogo warned of the consequence of the fatwa if not addressed correctly.
''I cannot imagine if all the millions of Muslims in the Philippines who are working in the government and the million of Muslim students studying in schools will not participate in flag ceremonies and will refuse to sing the Pambansang Awit. Hindi kaya sila kakasuhan ng gobyerno (Will the government sue them)?'' he said.
Eli Mua said: ''This should not again fuel Islamophobia; In Saudi, people stand during Saudi flag ceremony, and sing anthem; there are millions of fatwa, and in the Philippines, it is up to individuals to think about it.''
Ustadhz Abdulhadie Daguit, who teaches at the Institute of Islamic Studies-University of the Philippines, noted the seriousness of the Saudi cleric's fatwa.
''This is a serious fatwa because Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations are singing their National Anthem but never their Muftis said that it is a 'shirk','' said Daguit.
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