Here are excerpts from an insightful essay written sometime last year by Adel Tamano - if you haven't heard of him, you probably will in the months or years to come.
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SUPERMAN IS MORO – PROBLEMS OF IDENTITY, ALIENATION, AND INTEGRATIONby Adel Tamano
Superman is a Moro. How do I know this? - He has too many similarities with the contemporary Moro that simple logic reveals his true identity and ethnicity...
Proof No. 1: He has a Moro name. This is the biggest give-away - Kal-El is the real name of Clark Kent, Superman’s mild-mannered alter ego. His given name is incredibly similar to common Filipino Muslim names like Khalil, or even Ysmael and Abdul. In fact, for this reason, for him to get a job in the Philippines, he would have to use a pseudonym. According to the latest Social Weather Station Survey, Filipinos prefer hiring people with Christian–sounding names rather than those whose names appear to be of Islamic etymology...
Proof No. 2: He has to keep his real identity a secret...He knows that in the increasingly globalized and homogenized world, being alien, different, and outside the norm is a surefire way to becoming ostracized and misunderstood...
This is the same situation that the Moro faces; a case in point is the fact that many Filipino Muslims, when interacting with the Christian majority, have to adopt Christian names – Michael instead of Muhammad – as a way of side-stepping discrimination...
Proof No. 3: He is forced not to wear his ethnic costume...In this world, wherein intolerance abounds, emphasizing cultural pride, particularly when it is Moro pride, produces real-world problems...
For those of a more activist bent, the use of the hijab is a banner screaming for an end to prejudice and intolerance against Muslims; for those who prefer convenience, then they go the route of not wearing their veils to avoid complications, even in small things like hailing taxi-cabs...
Proof No. 4: He has strong views about what is right and wrong that constantly gets him into trouble. This is one of the powerful aspects of Islam – it provides its adherents with a simple and clear view of the world...
Superman too, in fighting for what he believed was good, had his Lex Luthor to contend with. In fact, there is never a shortage of villains for Superman to square off against, a reality that he bravely accepts as part of his responsibility. Kal-El needn’t have to put up with this situation because he could easily leave the Earth for another less violent and complicated planet. But he stays here and sticks to his beliefs.
Moros do that likewise. You find them in every metropolitan center in the country, usually with a small business, striving to survive within a system that discriminates against him not only socially but in terms of recourse to economic resources. Many in the Christian majority do not know the difficulties Moros face in looking for credit facilities.
Despite their hardships, the Moro maintains his faith no matter where you find him – in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro. He does this despite the routine harassment from the authorities, for some, especially those living in the poorer areas of the metropolis, the raids and tactical interrogations, which are all part of the global war against terrorism. How easy it would be for others to just renounce their faith and their culture in order to live a less stressful and challenging life...
Proof No. 5: He never finds peace. Unfortunately, because of this struggle, the Moro, like Superman, never finds peace. For ever Lex Luthor that he defeats, another villain appears in a never ending cycle of conflict for the man of steel. For him, peace too is elusive, a dream that never seems attainable.
For the Moro, one of the tragic non-variables of Philippine history is the fact of the conflict between the Muslims and Christians in the Southern Philippines. From the Spanish period through the American and into the 21st Century, our country never attains the peace that it deserves. In fact, it may be this never-ending conflict between Muslims and Christians in the Philippines that have embedded in Philippine mainstream culture the prejudice and intolerance against Moros. It is a sad self-perpetuating cycle – the intolerance against Moros breeds resentment in the Filipino Muslim against the Christian majority, which is the basis for some Moros to take up arms against the Philippine Government, which becomes the basis for the Christian majority to view Moros as violent, vicious, and unacceptable.
CONCLUSION
Moros have borne discrimination, marginalization, and intolerance in the Philippines for centuries with great measures of dignity and self-esteem. We remain proud of our being Muslim and being part of the BangsaMoro. Some brothers have taken the path of armed struggle, a matter that many Moros may have strong disagreement with but, at the same time, understand the roots and the motivation for fighting. That many Moros still strive to succeed - and in fact some do succeed – in an intolerant society is a great display of innate strength and resilience. Some would say that the armed struggle of the Moros, centuries long as it is, is also a sign of this inner power. Actually, we started this piece with a wrong premise; Superman is not a Moro; indeed, it is the Moro that is the Superman.
* The picture is an as-yet untitled acrylic on burlap piece by Rodel Tapaya. It is one of 20 pieces that will be used for Ang Batang Maraming Bawal, a major art exhibition and children's book to be launched by CANVAS this June 2007 at the Glorietta Artspace in Makati.
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