Zamboanga private school bans Muslim hijab

[sharkey360]

Pilar College in the spotlight.

Zamboanga private school bans Muslim hijab

A Catholic-run school here has caused controversy by banning Muslim students from wearing the hijab headscarf.

Mehol Sadain, who heads the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, said Sunday he had written to Pilar College in the mixed Muslim-Christian port city of Zamboanga to demand it to reverse its policy.

While the school was right to claim it could exercise academic freedom, Sadain said it should do so with "justice and fair play".

"Pilar College should realize that while educational institutions can formulate their own policies, the same should not run counter to existing laws and state policies," Sadain said.

The complaint has reached the local city council, which asked the school to reply to the allegations.

The school is believed to be the first in the Philippines to enforce an outright ban on wearing the hijab.

Sadain noted that an education department policy states that Muslim girls should be allowed to wear their head coverings in school and be exempted from non-Muslim religious rites.

But the school, run by the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, said in its letter to the council that it could not "deviate" from its Catholic leanings.

It said students from other religions were welcome to enroll but must strictly follow its non-hijab policy.

"Rules and regulations are explained to them, particularly the non-wearing of the hijab or veil," the school said.

"This is part of academic freedom in connection with which the school has the right to choose whom to teach," it said.

It was not clear what percentage of students were Muslim but it is fairly common that children from different denominations or religions mix at school in the mainly Catholic but largely tolerant Philippines.

Education department officials in Manila were not available for comment Sunday.

More than 80 percent of the Philippines' nearly 100 million population are Catholic, while Muslims form a large minority in the south of the country.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...s-muslim-hijab

[jpd74]

its their rules ... catholic school iyun .... bakit nag enroll ang muslim duon ...
madami naman private or public school duon ...

[prisma]

Lakas ng loob ng school na ito ha. Di takot sa bomba?

[kuroihikari]

I'm all for secularism, but I agree with jpd.

It's a private Catholic school. Rule nila yun.

[marcus_hunt]

Yun kayang muslim girls na pumapasok dyan eh nagrereklamo din dahil di nila masusuot yun hijab?

[JobyBryant24]

I feel sorry for what might happen in this school. Seriously. Kung isa ako sa teacher dyan eh aalis na ko dyan. Haha

[aeris]

fair lang 'to. private Catholic school, their rules.

if you're Catholic, and you enrolled in a Muslim school, you will also be made to follow Muslim rules, like wear a hijab, if you're female.

[noynay]

i think it's fair. Punta ka ng saudi ang mga babae dun kahit hindi muslim pinagsusuot ng hijab. Sana fair din sila sa mga hindi muslim.

[bier_trinker]

Bakit kasi sila nag-enroll sa Catholic school e Muslim sila? Buti nga sa kanila. Ilipat nila ng ibang school. Tsupi!

[sHUktOng]

Well, kanya kanyang policy lang yan. if you don't agree with the policy then don't enroll.

[imanh0rn]

Totoo, like what I've said yung sa issue na teenager di pina graduate dahil sa isang picture sa beach party

Private school, their rules.

Pero pwede naman na next sem na ipatupad para mabigyan ng time mag transfer ang muslims.

Still.... Zamboanga tsk

daming unreported deaths kaya dun.

[andresbonifacio2]

In Saudi Arabia all female Filipino Muslim nurses are FORCED to wear a full body veil in some situations.

Our brother Muslims must respect the decision of a Christian institution in keeping their own practices and traditions.

[Objection]

Good Luck with That

Sana wala silang marinig na sumigaw ng "ALLAH ACKBAR"

[sharkey360]

A development

Catholic school in Zamboanga agrees to lift ban on Muslim veils

A private Catholic college in Zamboanga City has agreed to lift a ban on wearing hijabs in the school.

A hijab is a veil worn by Muslim women to cover their hair and neck area, especially around non-related adult males.

The Pilar College Administration, in a joint statement with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), said it will allow “the voluntary wearing of hijab” within the school premises.

The school decided to lift the ban after the Roman Catholic nuns who run the educational institution conducted talks with government officials from the NCMF last Friday.

Last month, the school was criticized after it was reported that it had banned the wearing of the hijab among its Muslim students, citing academic freedom.

The ban prompted NCMF Secretary Mehol Sadain to write to the school, asking its administrators to reconsider its policy.

In the joint statement, the Pilar College administration also vowed to “encourage interfaith and intra-faith dialogues among Muslims and Christians."

The NCMF, for its part, committed to assisting the school in its program to strengthen Christian-Muslim relations.

In the Philippines, more than 80 percent of the nearly 100 million Filipinos are Roman Catholics, while Muslims form a large minority, estimated by the US State Department as constituting five to nine percent of the population.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story...n-muslim-veils

[Max_Buwaya]

sabi na't bibigay din ang pilar college eh. kung nagmatigas sila, para silang nagtampo sa bigas.