There are 12m Muslims in the predominantly Catholic population of the Philippines The third-largest Muslim community in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia MANILA:President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined Filipino Muslims on Thursday in observing the holiday of Isra and Miraj, marking the Prophet Muhammad’s miraculous journey to Jerusalem. There are some 12 million Muslims in the nearly 120 million, predominantly Catholic population of the Philippines, according to 2024 data from the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos. They live mostly on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in Manila, constituting the third-largest Muslim community in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Malaysia. “In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, I join the Filipino Muslims across our country and the globe as you observe the Isra Wal Mi’raj,” Marcos said in a statement. “Let this occasion imbue us with increased courage and optimism as we collectively face and transform the future of our nation to be more peaceful, inclusive and progressive for all Filipinos to enjoy.” The Isra and Miraj are the two parts of the journey that Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad took during a single night on the 27th day of the Islamic month of Rajab around the year 621 A.D., and was transported from the Grand Mosque of Makkah to Jerusalem, from where he ascended into heaven. The rock in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, from which the ascension took place, is where the oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the 7th-century Dome of the Rock shrine, now stands. “The narrative also magnifies the glory and might of Allah who revealed, during this difficult and perilous journey, the virtue of pursuing righteousness and the incomparable prize that awaits us when we remain true and devoted to our faith and our convictions,” Marcos said. “As you commemorate this splendid miracle through your prayers and supplication, may everyone be reminded that your gatherings, daily worships, and the account of this miraculous event were given for us to hold on to for strength and reinvigoration in times of despair.”