Father Teresito Soganub doesn't look like a Catholic priest and, from the outside, his cathedral doesn't look like a church. In his parish, tucked away in Marawi, the only Islamic city in the Philippines, it's easier that way. “To avoid arguments and to avoid further misunderstandings we just plant the cross deep in our hearts,” said the 47-year-old priest, who doesn't wear a crucifix or a clerical collar and sports a beard out of respect for his Muslim neighbors. The Philippines, a largely Catholic country in Southeast Asia, proudly advertises its dominant faith even in the southern region of Mindanao, where an estimated 20 percent of the population is Muslim. But Marawi City is an exception. This ramshackle city of wooden shacks and shabbily elegant mosques is around 385 miles (620 km) south of Manila, but it's a world apart for many Filipinos. Marawi is the spiritual center for the Maranao, the most devout of three major Muslim groups in the Philippines. A quick glance at the streets of Marawi make it clear that this is a city of the crescent rather than the cross. “Gift of Allah” rather than “Gift of Jesus” is the sign blazoned across the city's pedicabs, the local bank is Islamic and women are veiled. Unique to Marawi, Muslim moral rules are part of the city code. “At home with the family we can do karaoke but we do not allow it in public,” said Camid Gandamra, one of the province's numerous sultans and also secretary of transport and communications in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), a homeland for Muslims established in 1989. Marawi, which overlooks the Philippines' second-largest lake, is not threatened by local extremist group the Abu Sayyaf and has avoided the bomb attacks that have scarred other parts of the south from their campaign. But many Filipinos avoid the city, fearing the unfamiliar and the worst. The city was the scene of fighting in a Muslim-Christian struggle in the 1970s. Relations, however, are smoother today. Father Soganub says local Muslim leaders include him in community discussions and he is constantly having to dissuade locals from trying to find him a wife. Catholics account for around 1 percent of Marawi's 160,000 population and Soganub is lucky if he gets 8 weddings a year. Islam was practiced in the Philippines before the Spanish converted many to Catholicism in the 1500s. Mindanao remained largely Muslim and its religious balance was tipped in favor of Christianity only due to resettlement programs started during the US colonial period in the early part of the twentieth century and accelerated after World War II. Muslims in the south, known as Moros, do not consider themselves Filipino. The Maranos are no exception. They are also deeply suspicious of US activities in the south. Hundreds of US special forces are advising the Philippine military on operations against militants in the southwestern tip of the archipelago and signs reading “US troops out” are dotted around Marawi. Proud of their devout city, Marano do not think others should adopt a similar code. In many ways, their strong adherence to Islam is an important differentiator from the two other major Muslim groups; the Maguindanao and the Tausug. Marano brassware, ceremonial bolos or swords and the local habit of hanging streamers banners around the city to celebrate family members' educational achievements and Haj pilgrimages are other distinguishing items. But for children, the biggest difference of all are the holidays. In addition to Christian festivals such, schools in the city get the entire month of Ramadan off. “That was done to assert our identity, to show that we are different,” said Paladan Badron, the city's acting administrator. “It's nice to be a pupil here.” __
