PHILIPP I NE INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Surian sa mga Pag-aaral Pangkaunlaran ng Pilipinas
DEVEL O PMENT RESEARCH NEWS
Vol. XXIV No. 4
Editor's Notes 9/11/2001. As footages of the plane-crash attacks on the World Trade Center were flashed on our TV screens, we witnessed how the vibrant city of New York was suddenly enveloped by dark clouds of death and destruction. The incident struck fear and terror in the whole world and stirred the realization that if some Muslim extremist groups could inflict harm on the most powerful country in the world, they could, without a doubt, easily do it elsewhere. We, Filipinos, know this, for a fact. We have had our own share of terror in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf. In tragedies like these, it is natural for the media to focus their attention on the victims. But it is saddening to think that amid all the upheaval, less is being said and reported on its grave impact on the many innocent Muslims whose lives have been adversely affected by the 9/11 tragedy. A clear example is the harsh experience of many Muslims with racial profiling in many airports, subways, and borders. In reality, however, there are countless other forms of bias and discrimination—big and small—that Muslims are facing. These acts of discrimination have actually existed in many nonMuslim countries for centuries but have intensified after 9/11. +12
What's Inside 7
Costs and spillovers of the AFP vs. NPA armed conflicts: Metro Manila - Rizal case study
10 The “PIDS corner” in provincial libraries: helping to make research outputs more accessible 10 PIDS and Bohol: partnership in launching the 1st PIDS Corner 11 PIDS revives its regional seminar program
July - August 2006
ISSN 0115-9097
The bias against Muslims: A creeping perception*
W
ould you be willing to have a Muslim in your house as boarder? Or hire a Muslim woman as househelp or a Muslim man as worker in your company? How about living near a Muslim community?
These were some of the questions in a survey done by pollster Pulse Asia in March 2005 to find out if non-Muslim Filipinos are biased against Muslims. Commissioned by the Human Development Network (HDN), a project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) that advances the concept of sustainable human development through research and advocacy, Pulse Asia revealed the survey’s results in an article titled "Ulat ng Bayan." It is included in the latest issue of the Philippine Human Development Report (PHDR), a series of publication that includes short research papers done by experts in various fields of discipline concerning human development. It was during the research and consultation workshops in preparation for the 2005 PHDR that an alarming picture of apparent discrimination against Muslims emerged. People recounted personal experiences and anecdotes about how Muslims were shut out of jobs and study opportunities, ignored in public places, or greeted with patronizing, shocked comments about how come they are so “good” even though they “are Muslims.” Some representative stories of ignorance, prejudice, and misrepresentation are enumerated in this article. Decent, law-abiding Muslims often bear with discrimination in business and employment. Some Muslims in Metro Manila also said they are often
* Condensed by Ms. Toby Monsod for the 2005 Philippine Human Development Report from Pulse Asia Inc.’s "Ulat ng Bayan Survey (March 3-15, 2005): Final Report for the Human Development Network." This also appears as Appendix 1.1 in the 2005 PHDR. Ms. Barbara Gualvez of PIDS made a slight recast of said article for this DRN issue.