RP, France complete Sulu mosque rebuilding
The rebuilding of the centuries-old Sharief Karim Al-Makdum Mosque in Tubig-Indangan on the island of Simunul, Tawi-Tawi was completed by the prestigious French Legion of Honor and National Order of Merit Association (FLH-NOMA).
FLH-NOMA announced the Tuesday the completion of the rebuilding project for the first Islamic house of worship in the country, at the same time said the group has re-elected its two co-presidents, French Ambassador Thierry Borja de Mozota and former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.
The French and Filipino leaders cited the significance of their group’s assistance for the mosque rehabilitation in Tawi-Tawi, a part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), saying the FLH-NOMA’s “modest Mosque project symbolizes Christian-Muslim solidarity in a strategic isle of the Sulu Sea where Islam began” in the Philippines.
Historical accounts on the mosque say that Sheikh Karim al-Makdum came to Simunul in 1380, about 141 years before the arrival of the first wave of Spanish conquistadores led by Ferdinand Magellan. The Arab trader and missionary started the propagation of Islam in the Philippine archipelago and later built the first mosque, of which its two massive posts have remained standing to date.
In a statement, the group said their “simple but historic project” was started in 2009 by the French Legion of Honor Association by then-French Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Chesnel, whom de Mozota succeeded, and De Venecia.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/261331/rp-france-complete-sulu-mosque-rebuilding