CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Muslim community in this city joined a solidarity walk on Sunday, October 22, calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
YOUNG Muslim students march on Don Apolinar Velez St., Cagayan de Oro City in the ‘Solidarity Walk for Palestine, A Walk for Peace’ led by the Muslim Youth Council-Cagayan de Oro on Sunday, October 22. (Photo courtesy of Laurence Geralde, Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro)
The “Solidarity Walk for Palestine, A Walk for Peace” led by the Muslim Youth Council (MYC)-Cagayan de Oro started at 6 a.m. at Rodelsa Circle and ended at the Amphitheater in Divisoria.
The event was attended by MYCs in schools here as well as non-council members and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.
Participants held placards with the statements “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” “I stand with Palestine,” and “Palestinian lives matter,” among others.
MYC-Cagayan de Oro chairperson Abul Khair Casidar said a prayer would be one of the best weapons for Muslim students who are seeking an end to the conflict and stressed that people should stand with oppressed people regardless of their religions.
“This is not about religion; this is not about the country in which we stand. We stand for peace globally,” Casidar said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro where he aired hopes that Israel and Hamas would agree to stop fighting.
The group thanked the city government and the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office for supporting their activity.
The MYC-Cagayan de Oro had earlier released an official statement urging the people to understand that “what’s happening to the Palestinian people is inhumane and unjust” and opposing “disinformation, polarization, violence, and war.”
“We understand and feel the pain in our communities. We must all do our utmost to bring togetherness, peace, and protection to the innocent and vulnerable, and stand together to advocate for peace and protection,” the statement said.
On October 7, Hamas – which stands for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya or Islamic Resistance Movement, a political and military organization that has de facto control over Gaza, one of two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank – launched an attack on Israel and killed and kidnapped Israeli forces and civilians.
An explainer article said the Hamas attack on Israel was “due to Israel’s alleged violence against Palestinian women and children and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Read: https://mb.com.ph/2023/10/13/israel-and-palestine-hamas-and-gaza-what-is-what
The Israeli military, according to the United Nations (UN), declared “a state of war alert" and started attacking targets in the Gaza Strip, including residences and medical institutions, where thousands of people have died and more than one million have been forced to flee their homes.
The UN has urged both parties “to spare civilian lives.”
The MYC-Cagayan de Oro chairperson called on Muslim Filipinos to join the movement and make their faith and prayers instrumental in ending the conflict.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said four Filipinos have died in the fighting.