With the recent IED blast inside the Asturias Chapel in Jolo during Christmas day Mass wounding about 11 including the celebrant, talks begin again to circulate that exacerbate Christians and Muslims living together in Southern Philippines.

No doubt, we live in dangerous yet interesting times. The so-called “War against Terror” continues to haunt us and there is an ever-increasing paranoia over everything that appears as “threats” to our security and safety.

This emerging attitude is dangerous, because it makes us look at each other with fear and suspicion. In many places, religions and ethnicities fuel wars and conflicts. Issues pertaining to them continue to kill and divide humanity, often, along simplistic categories of “good guys” and “bad guys”.

The sad state of our divisions and fears poses a danger or a temptation to reduce Muslims-Christians relations to antagonism and a “clash of civilization”. Yet, the truth of the matter is that there are many and varied experiences of good neighborhood and peaceful living between Muslims and Christians involving not only religious leaders but also the faithful of both traditions.

It is interesting to note that both violent and peaceful people use religious images and passages from the Scriptures or Holy Books to “justify” their acts and actuations that either promote conflicts and violence or build peace.

The peoples of Mindanao in Southern Philippines are witnesses to and participants in these two strands. They have seen both the bloodshed in war and reconstruction in peace building.

War and peace have become like the proverbial opposite energies of “ying” and “yang” that have always characterized, from the very beginning, the encounters between Islam and Christianity in Southern Philippines.

It is often said that the Southern Philippines has really not known peace. What we, sometimes, experience are fleeting truces that allow peoples to build anew their homes and livelihood until war erupts again and send them back to evacuation centers. It is a tragic cycle of war and peace in Mindanao. Peoples of Mindanao – both Muslims and Christians - live in a continuing “evacuation”.

I will borrow Shakespeare’s words to describe the relations between Muslims and Christians in Mindanao.

" . . . Creeping murmur and the pouring dark
Fill the wide vessel of the universe:
From camp to camp, through the foul womb of night
The hum of either army stilly sounds
That the fixed sentinels almost receive
The secret whispers of each other's watch. . .
Each battle sees the other's umber'd face."

(William Shakespeare, King Henry V, Act iv)

So Shakespeare's chorus described the eve of Agincourt. The words might well have been written also of Mindanao, more particularly of Muslim-Christian relations. When faiths and religious traditions confront each other, it is, for the most part, with "fixed sentinels" and even with the "whispers of each other's watch".

In the Philippines, particularly in the South, Christianity and Islam have always been presented as two competing faiths for the same geographical area. Wittingly or unwittingly, the recent spate of lawlessness like kidnappings, bombings and plain and simple banditry is read along the understood "separateness" between Christianity and Islam.

This tragic and sad reality is further exacerbated by the contemporary surge of the so-called fundamentalist movements both in Islam and Christianity. The likes of the Abu Sayyaf (Father of the Sword) and the kidnap for ransom Pentagon Group/s are often associated with fanaticism send jitters to the people in the area.

All these are familiar enough and part of our present problem. Often, they exercise tyranny over our spirits. They have produced a culture and a habit of suspicion and confrontation that make friendly and hospitable environment for Muslims and Christian to live together, truly, a very difficult task.

There is the urgent need to re-configure the existing biases. And this would require a commitment and determination to steadily school ourselves to resist and reject our habit of preferring suspicion to trust; our instinct to prefer the familiar confrontation to a new relationship of partnership in the world that is in difficult transition.

It is said that Christianity and Islam are, indeed, physically adjacent. Yet, for all their nearness, the relations between these two faiths and their respective followers are largely shrouded in mutual suspicion and darkness.

There are few exceptions on either side to rise above the general ignorance and suspicion. But these are rare. When faiths and religious traditions confront each other; it is for the most part, with "fixed sentinels."

It is in the context of that “fixed sentinels” in Mindanao realities that I share with you the two basic passages that need to light our path that is, often, shrouded by shadows.

In the past as well as today, there is an ever-growing awareness of common territory and affinity between Islam and Christianity. The Qur’an in chapter 5 verse 82 unequivocally encourages Muslims to cooperate with Christians. “Thou wilt surely find the nearest of them in love to the believers are the ones who say, ‘We are Christians’; that because some of them are priests and monks, and they wax not proud” (S.5:82).

The Second Vatican Council document, Nostra Aetate, clearly articulates the common territory and affinity between Christianity and Islam.

“The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his Virgin Mother they also honor, and even times devoutly invoke. Further, they await the day of judgment and the reward of God following the resurrection of the dead. For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer alms-deeds and fasting.”

“Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The Sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all men, let them together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values.” (NA3).

More than ever, we need to reflect on these two passages as we begin the New Year, 2011 so that together we can build a community of believers – Christians and Muslims – not simply living side by side but as true partners and stakeholders for the peace and security of the land.

Alexander Tomawis or simply Alex to his friends was a three-term Mayor of the Municipality of Barira in the Province of Maguindanao. His rise to prominence in the Buldon, Barira and Matanog triangle was associated with the emergence of working local government units following the collapse of the MILF Main Camp Abubakar in the aftermath of the all-out war launched by former President Estrada in the year 2000.

Prior to the said collapse, the MILF exercised virtual sway or control over the said three municipalities with Barira being the main nerve center of the MILF. From the Buldon-Barira-Matanog Triangle, the MILF extended its sphere of influence and control over the neighboring municipalities both in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

Alex in 2001 was a young dazzling Mayor faced with the challenge of reconstruction following the devastation of the all-out war. It was his inspiration to form an alliance of the three municipalities that were, at one time, considered as MILF liberated zones. With his wife, Fatima from the Aratuc Clan of Buldon becoming the Mayor of the next-door Buldon municipality, he convinced Mayor Nasser Imam of Matanog that the only way forward for their three LGUs was to move together for the re-construction of their devastated municipalities.

In 2002, I was invited to the initial meetings of the stakeholders in the three municipalities to formalize the now famous Iranon Development Council or IDC. Alex was the dynamo for the said alliance. This three-municipality alliance expanded to the Municipality of Parang and the Municipality of Datu Blah in 2008. Under the leadership of Alex, the people of the five municipalities began dreaming of carving from the Province of Maguindanao a prosperous, peaceful and secure Iranon Integrated Development Area beginning with five municipalities.

Except for the Municipality of Parang which is a 2nd class municipality, the other four component LGUs are all 5th class in terms of delivery of social services and economic growth. In fact, Barira, Buldon, Matanog and Datu Blah are among the poorest municipalities in the Province of Maguindanao.

Alex saw the contradiction in their Iranon domain. On the one hand, there is so much poverty in the area, yet on the other hand, the place is blessed with rich natural resources.

Alex had three endearing characteristics. First, he had a dream and vision for the development of his people and their Iranon domain. He wanted to go the way of yet another Maguindanao leader, the late Datu Ibrahim ‘Toto’ Paglas in harnessing the potential of the vast fertile lands of the Iranon for corporate agricultural production – banana plantations, cassava plantations, African palm tree plantation, etc.

Second, he believed in his vision and he was devotedly committed to the realization of his dream. He contacted experts, business groups, civil society organizations, government line agencies and international communities to share his dream and vision for a prosperous and secure Iranon domain.

Third, Alex was given the gift of tongue. He was so persuasive and a natural ‘seller’ to market and package his vision with small ‘doable’ projects.

He was able to cajole the four other Mayors to pull their resources in responding to emergencies and disasters within their domain. They put up the now famous IRA 511 that works like the US 911 counterparts. The IRA 511 gives a new name to the infamous internal revenue allotment (IRA) which, for years, was the piggy bank and source of corruption for local politicians.

The three letters now stand for Iranon Rescue Assistance. The constituents of the four municipalities wherever and whenever need only call or text 511 for any need of rescue and assistance. It works 24/7 with the combined force coming from the LGUs, DOH, PNP and Firemen.

The next project of Alex being the chair of the Iranon Development Council is to evolve a design for sustainable development plan for each of the five municipalities. With his group and the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, we were able to convince AusAid to fund the pre-feasibility study of the Integrated Sustainable Development Plan for the five municipalities.

We are in the final stage of this major undertaking, when Alex at age 38 was assassinated inside his rented apartment in Davao City on the 28th of November 2010.

His sudden rise to prominence and his charismatic leadership, especially in forging alliances threatened the political ambitions of the shaping Iranon Province that would rise from the ashes of the former Shariff Kabungsuan Province.

During the May 2010 national elections and the October Barangay Elections, he collided headlong with the military leadership in the Iranon areas and a local political bigwig. The acerbic words and exchanges during those elections and the running victory of Alex in both elections notwithstanding his arbitrary detention must be too galling for his opponents.

He became so ‘hot’ and rumors of his impending assassination were circulating in Cotabato City and the nearby municipalities. This was the reason he decided to temporarily move to Davao City. He thought that things need a ‘cooling’ period and he thought that Davao City was safe. He believed that the possible Maguindanoan hired killers would never dare cross the former Mayor Rudy Duterte.

The assassination has all the marking of professional killers. The planning and execution of the assassination have the signature that is very professional. People think that we do not have such professionalism in Cotabato City and the Province of Maguindanao.

Alex belongs to the Tomawis – Dagalangit clan of Barira and Buldon. His wife belongs to the Aratuc Clan of Buldon. The marriage of Alex and Fatima sealed the union of the Tomawis-Dagalangit clan with the Aratuc Clan which, prior to the marriage, were at loggerheads.

The combined clans are big and the three municipalities of Barira, Buldon and Datu Blah are the source of their political power. In the traditional system that continues to be at work in the province, these three, but more specifically Barira and Buldon are the domains of the Tomawis-Dagalangit and Aratuc clans.

They have killed the dreamer and the visionary. But the dream and the vision are alive. They have killed Alex, the man! But Alex, the dreamer and the man passionately in love with his people and domain continues to live in the hearts of his people.

No doubt, the killing of Alex is a temporary setback in the development of the Iranon areas. But the commitment of the five mayors to continue the dream and vision of Alex is heart-warming. While they cry for justice for Alexander Tomawis, their fallen leader, they vow to make Alex’s vision a platform for the Iranons in the coming years.

We look forward to the end of the 40 days of mourning, and then together we shall pick up the pieces and forge ahead. It is our responsibility now to keep that fire aflame!