Around 6,000 Muslims from different parts of the country arrived in Marawi City to join the three-day Joohur or religious gathering that started Friday and ended Sunday (June 23).
The participants included 15 participants known as Tabligh or foreign missionaries from four countries -- Oman, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
This year's Joohur in Marawi is the first after the Marawi siege in 2017. In 2018, it was held in Luzon for security reasons.
Organizers said the number of this year's Joohur decreased as compared to the previous years that have reached to more than 10,000. Even the participants from the western countries did not participate because they were not allowed by their embassies to come to Mindanao.
Suaib Hassan, one of the organizers, said they are doing all the necessary effort so that the incident in 2017, in which a similar religious gathering was used by terrorist group Dawlaha Islamiya to enter Marawi to participate in the siege, would not happen again.
"We submitted names of the participants to the military, the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the LGU (local government unit) and we required the participants to bring their IDs, which we did not do before," Hassan said.
The participants were also required to submit their belongings to the security for inspection. However, despite the tight security, Hassan said they believe the security situation has a little effect on the decline of the number of participants of this year's Joohur.
"I believe it is the fake news'" in social media have a big effect on why the regular participants are not joining this year. The economic situation has also contributed," Hassan said.
Few days before the event started, reports emerged on social media that several Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) people have entered Marawi to prepare for another siege.
Brig. Gen. Romeo Brawner, Jr., commander of the Army's 103rd Infantry Brigade located in Marawi City, was quick to deny it.
"There was no truth to the rumor that there will be another siege that shall happen in Marawi City due to the alleged presence of ISIS-inspired terrorists in the three-day Joohur," Brawner said.
"Security measures are in place. The participants of the Joohur promised that they will police their own ranks and will report to the military any suspicious person or activity," he added.
The provincial government of Lanao del Sur also assured that the municipal mayors, religious and community leaders and the security sectors are working together to ensure that the Marawi siege in 2017 will not be repeated.
Abdul Manan, a participant, believes that despite the security issue, Marawi residents should welcome the religious gathering as it focuses on how Muslims may "live their lives in line with what Allah wants."
"That is the reason why we are here so that we will make everyone understand the true Islam," Manan said in the interview.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1073123
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