Muslim prayer disrupted by military operation in Lanao del Sur

From the Mindanao Examiner (Mar 17): Muslim prayer disrupted by military operation in Lanao del Sur







Facebook photos posted by Wo Phyt Hab Yb show army soldiers at the Bacolod Grande Mosque where they searched civilians for weapons.

COTABATO CITY – Muslim villagers have accused army soldiers of disrupting their prayers after they surrounded a mosque in southern Philippines and ordered every men to step out and searched them for weapons.

The incident occurred during Friday’s congregation prayer in the town of Bacolod Kalawi in Lanao del Sur, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, and was also recovered on a cell phone and posted by Wo Phyt Hab Yb on Facebook and went viral on social media.

In his post, he wrote: “Sabi ng Army may natanggap sila ng info galing sa Kalawi at inutusan daw sila ng Battalion Commander nila na palibutan ang buong masjid ng Bacolod Grande at e- search ang mga nagdasal ng Friday at tuloy pinahubad ng damit ang mga taong galing sa masjid ng Bacolod Grande. Kayo na po ang maghusga kung may nahuli silang ISIS, kutsilyo at baril sa mga nagdasal sa Masjid ng Bacolod Grande.”

He said Bacolod Grande is known as the little Makkah because majority of the residents there are “religious” and kind. “At hindi maisip ng mga civilians sa Bacolod Grande kung bakit ginawang search operation sa mga taong galing masjid Bacolod Grande. Nababalewala at natatakot ng mga taong relihiyoso sa Bacolod Grande dahil imbes na protektahan sila ng mga Army ay nagawa pa nilang kapkapan ang mga inosenteng taong nagdasal sa masjid Bacolod Grande,” he said.

He also called on President Rodrigo Duterte to see if the military operation on the mosque was legitimate or not. “Parang lumalabas na hindi safe ang mga tao sa Army at hindi safe ang mga masjid sa Army. So parang ang freedom of religion ay hindi rin safe sa Army. Please Duterte administration, paki-check po kung legitimate ang searched operation na ginawa ng mga Army sa Masjid Bacolod Grande.”

There was no immediate statement from the military’s Western Mindanao Command or provincial government officials on the allegations against the soldiers. But a press statement released by the military on Friday said local government officials and villagers in the town of Piagapo - about 40 kilometers from Bacolod Kalawi - surrendered 43 assorted illegal weapons. It said Piagapo Mayor Ali Sumandar handed over the cache of weapons.

 

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