FALSE

A viral claim on Facebook that the construction of the Manila Golden Mosque in the 1970s was fully funded by the Marcos regime is false.

Facebook page Muslim Christian Solid Alliance (Mucsa) claimed that Manila Golden Mosque was fully funded by Marcos, Sr., with its construction under the supervision of then First Lady Imelda Marcos.

But the construction of the Manila Golden Mosque, also known as Masjid Al-Dahab, in Quiapo, the largest in Metro Manila, was funded through foreign donations according to at least two publications.

In the book entitled “The Islamic Voluntary Sector in Southeast Asia (Islam and the Economic Development of Southeast Asia)” published in 1991 by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Carmen Abubakar wrote that “in Metro Manila, where Muslim communities have established themselves in modern times, seven masjid can be identified. One of the biggest and most beautiful is the Blue Mosque at Maharlika Village, located in Taguig. Another is the Golden Mosque at Quiapo.”

“These two masjid were constructed through foreign donations, notably from Libya and Saudi Arabia,” wrote Abubakar, who was then an associate professor and acting dean of the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of the Philippines. https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=btrIBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA172&lpg=PA172&dq=saudi+arabia+and+libya+funded+Manila+Golden+Mosque&source=bl&ots=WFHMEccSvP&sig=ACfU3U22xA8WKqlDCZIeBUDeEC2xjH3cWg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj21qnvg6L2AhVWEHAKHfU1B70Q6AF6BAgxEAM#v=onepage&q=saudi%20arabia%20and%20libya%20funded%20Manila%20Golden%20Mosque&f=false

Read the full story on MindaNews.

MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism. It is composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice people empowerment through media.

mindanews.com