Free sisters in ‘spirit of Ramadan’

From the Manila Bulletin (Jul 2): Free sisters in ‘spirit of Ramadan’

The relatives of Nadjoua and Linda Bansil, sisters abducted two weeks ago in Sulu, sought the help of a top official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and other prominent Tausug leaders to exercise their “influence” for their safe release in the spirit of Ramadan.

The mother and brother of the kidnap victims have approached MNLF chief of staff Yusoph Jikiri, a former governor and congressman of Sulu, to seek the sisters’ release, according to Manila Bulletin reporter Edd Usman, an uncle of the victims.

They also sought the help of youth leaders Mimbur Abdurajak and Al Hamsain and the leaders of the Sulu Sultanate Darul Islam (SSDI).

Before going to Patikul town, the Bansil sisters had gone to the SSDI for help in a film project about the lift of a badjao.

On Sunday, prominent Tausug leaders urged the armed men holding the Bansil sisters captive to free them immediately in the spirit of Ramadan which is expected to start on July 9.

Among the most prominent Tausug leaders that aired their appeal were Ustadhz Abdulbaqi Abubakar, grand mufti of Region 9 and a highly-respected senior leader of the MNLF; heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, including Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan-Kiram; and Jadjurie Arasa, new administrator of the Blue Mosque in Maharlika Village, Taguig City.

Abubakar and Abdulbasit Bansil, the victims’ father, were classmates at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

Abubakar said the relatives of Bansil have no capacity to pay if the kidnappers want ransom for their freedom.

http://mb.com.ph/News/National_News/20205/Free_sisters_in_‘spirit_of_Ramadan’#.UdLQeY7D9jo