Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps;
Esteemed Co-Workers in Government, particularly in the Department of
Foreign Affairs; Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Friends:

Good evening.

Assalam’ alaikum.  Peace be with you.

A distinct mark of Muslims all over the world is the exchange of this greeting when people meet or take leave from each other.  It shows the innate desire of Muslims for peace and for goodwill among all men. It also reveals the great importance attributed to peace in the Islamic way of life.  The word Islam, in fact, comes from the word salaam, which means peace.

I am very happy to inform our Muslim brothers and sisters that Christianity and other great religions also regard peace most highly.
When Jesus Christ was born, the angels sang:  “Peace on earth; goodwill to all men!”

In the Christian liturgy, the greeting “Pax vobis” (“Peace be to you”) precedes every common prayer of the faithful.

Peace should naturally reign--among all men and deep in every person’s heart--throughout the year.  But more than any other time of the year, peace is evident during Islam’s holy month of Ramadhan, the month when the  holy Qur’an was revealed to mankind, through the prophet Mohammed.

During Ramadhan, Muslims  fast from sunrise to sunset.  They sacrifice their desires--including their desire for things needful, like food and drink. They humbly submit themselves to the will of the Almighty.  Ramadhan is a period for self-purification, for prayer, for meditation and reflection, in order that the faithful may better realize the essence of Islam: submission to the will of God.

I am  happy to inform our Muslim brothers and sisters that seeking and following the will of God are also important canons in the Christian way of life.

How similar, in essence, are our beliefs!

Ramadhan teaches us that all men are equal in the eyes of god.  All Muslims--men and women, rich and poor, powerful and lowly--exercise the same privation, abstaining from material needs.   Thus,  Ramadhan  forges  the virtues of  humility and compassion.  It encourages people to be  considerate and forgiving.

It is but fitting that after a month of meditation and  soul-searching,  of sacrifice and prayer,  we celebrate with the hope that
our efforts, with the grace of the Almighty, may result in a renewal of spirit, in a renovation of life, so that such renewal and such
renovation may be apparent in our lives from day to day, from moment to moment.

I join the entire Filipino nation in congratulating our Muslim brothers and sisters for the successful observance of the month-long fast.  I join the Filipino nation and the Muslim ummah  (the community of the Islamic faithful) in praying for peace in the world and harmony among the diverse peoples and cultures. I join the rest of the world in praying for understanding and goodwill to reign supreme in the hearts of men.

Thus, as we rejoice together this evening, let us greet one another Salaam! Peace!

Thank you.

Wassalam!

Mabuhay!