Islam, the religion of peace and harmony. With over 6% of followers in the Philippines, is one of the oldest organized religions to be established in the Philippines. Its origins in the country may be dated back to as early as the 15th century, with the arrival of Arab and Malay muslim traders who converted some of the native inhabitants of the islands.
Though being a minority, it is still loved by many people across the globe. Islam has always gained appreciations from various organizations in various forms. Some of them include: iftar Parties, Setting up Musallah(Prayer room), distribution of snacks during Ramadhan and many more.
Emilio Aguinaldo College, situated in Paco,Metro Manila(EAC-M) though being a private organization has always been a great supporter of the Muslim Student Association(MSA). MSA is a nonprofit organization established to spread the message of Islam within the campus of EAC-M.
Recently, perceiving the increase in the number of Muslim students enrolling; EAC-M has decided to
extend the boundaries of the previously established Musallah(prayer room). They have decided to allot a large hall (which is already under renovation process) to allow the Muslim students offer their Namaz/Salaat (prayer) comfortably. This step was intiated by EAC-M to make sure that the Muslim students should not feel any cultural differences, as the majority of the population enrolled here are Christians.
The activities of the Musallah include Daily Prayers and Friday Prayers.Islam is one of the three major religions of the world. It is a monotheistic religion that obligates all Muslims to perform certain mandatory duties, one of which is prayer. Muslim prayer is based on a lunar calendar, which causes the timings for the five daily prayers to vary between 5:00 am to 12:00 midnight. Each prayer must be performed within a limited time frame and completed prior to the next prayer time. The prayers can occur in a group or in an individual manner; the group prayer is preferred and more vocal. The prayer includes bowing and prostrating to Allah (God), and reciting from the scripture, the Qur’an. On Fridays, the Muslim holy day, congregational prayer is mandatory. Due to these various facets of Muslim prayer, having access to a Muslim prayer room (musallah) on campus would eliminate the problems that Muslims face in observing this mandatory act of worship. EAC-M has eliminated the on campus problems of prayer by creating a “Muslim Friendly” environment.
As a Muslim student studying Medicine here at EAC-M, praying anytime of the day is much easier now because of the prayer room in the campus. I don’t have to look around for a clean and calm place to pray. I would like to thank EAC-M and MSA for all the support and encouragement. And I would also like to request Muslim Students all over the Philippines and other parts of the world to enroll here at EAC which provides good quality of education and a “Muslim friendly” environment.