CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Forensic investigators are preparing to exhume hundreds of bodies from in Marawi City to identify victims of the five-month siege that devastated the city, a task made possible by a rare religious ruling from the Bangsamoro region’s Islamic advisory body.

The ruling by the Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta, issued in Cotabato City, covers the Maqbara public cemetery in Barangay Papandayan Caniogan, where more than 470 remains of civilians and ISIS fighters were buried following the 2017 Marawi siege in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The fatwa permits the exhumation of over 1,000 victims in Marawi believed to have been killed during the five-month conflict.

Each grave is marked with a number on its headstone, but only a few have been identified by name by the Philippine National Police Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The fatwa, issued by Bangsamoro mufti Sheikh Abdulrauf Guialani, allows forensic experts to extract DNA samples from the exhumed bodies.

“The original ruling on exhuming graves is prohibited (haram) as it violates the sanctity and dignity of the human being. However, when justified by valid reasons, it becomes a nuanced matter in Islamic jurisprudence requiring a balance between the sanctity of the deceased and the rights of living relatives,” read part of the ruling.

Islamic law generally prohibits exhuming graves as it violates the sanctity of the deceased.

The Darul-Ifta said the fatwa was issued following a request from the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Philippines, which has been assisting government agencies in identifying the victims.

Allison Lopez, communications manager for ICRC Philippines, said the religious ruling, made in November, would bring closure to hundreds of families of victims whose fate remains uncertain.

The ICRC has been providing technical support to government agencies in the identification process and helping families identify those killed in the Marawi siege.

Lopez said at least 300 graves at Maqbara cemetery have yet to be identified by authorities.

Police said that of the 470 graves at Maqbara cemetery, only four bodies have been identified by relatives who provided DNA samples at the SOCO crime laboratory in Cagayan de Oro. – Rappler.com