MANILA: The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos to cooperate in research and the training of religious leaders and scholars.
The NCMF is the body governing Muslim affairs in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, where Muslims make up about 10 percent of the country’s nearly 120 million population.
The commission’s secretary, Sabuddin N. Abdurahim, led a Philippine delegation as part of an official trip to the Kingdom this week, which included meeting Dr. Awad Al-Enezi, the Saudi undersecretary for Islamic Affairs.
Abdurahim and Al-Enezi signed the new agreement in Makkah on Wednesday to strengthen cooperation in Islamic affairs between the two countries.
“The memorandum includes cooperation in exchanging research, books, and scientific publications on Islamic affairs in various languages,” the Saudi ministry said in a statement.
It also includes “coordinating visits by imams of the Two Holy Mosques to the Philippines; organizing scientific conferences and training seminars to qualify preachers, orators, imams, and muezzins.”
The memorandum of understanding further seeks to strengthen Saudi-Philippine cooperation in the construction, restoration and maintenance of mosques, including through exchange of expertise on the field, the ministry added.
Abdurahim also visited Jeddah as part of his visit to Saudi Arabia, where the NCMF signed an agreement with the Makkah Construction and Development Co., as part of preparations for the Hajj pilgrimage in 2027, according to the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah.
This year, about 5,300 Filipino Muslims went to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
In a statement on Thursday, the Philippine consulate general said the signing was “an important step toward ensuring the orderly, safe and well-coordinated participation of Filipino pilgrims” next year.
