Photo exhibition explores lives of Filipino Muslims in drive to combat prejudice

A group of young Filipino professionals in Manila on Tuesday (December 8) launched a photo exhibition exploring the everyday lives of Muslims in the Philippines.

Their project, "Stories of Bangsamoro", is aimed at encouraging greater tolerance and awareness of the country's Muslim community, and started in response to a recent spate of attacks by Islamist militants around the world. "Bangsamoro" is a pre-colonial term for indigenous Muslim Filipinos.

One of the organizers said the project hoped to shed light on the indigenous religious group in ways that might not otherwise be seen.

"We want to show in "Stories of Bangsamoro" the different aspects of Muslim lives, aspects you normally cannot see in the media, and (aspects) that regular people who do not know the Bangsamoro of Muslims in the Philippines do not read or hear about," Norhainah Abdul Aziz said.

After Tuesday's launch, the project will move to an area in the Filipino capital that is more easily accessible to the public, the organisers said. After Manila, they hope to showcase the ever-expanding collection in areas across the country.

The group behind the exhibition are all affiliated with Manila's Academy of Political Management. It initially started as a class project on a Facebook page, with the photographers being Filipinos from diverse religious backgrounds.

One college student who attended the launch, Marilyn Patawaran, said the exhibition helped advocate the need for greater awareness.

"I want to know more about them because just because you're Christian, doesn't mean you know everything. You need to acquire more knowledge because if you know more, your perspective will change," she said.

Islam is the second most popular religion in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, with over 10 percent of the 100 million population practicing the Muslim faith.

Muslim insurgents and hostage incidents involving al Qaeda-linked militants in the country has marred the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the southern island of Mindanao, often creating a false stereotype of Muslims as militant extremists.  — Reuters