Muslim leaders call for patience toward anti-Islam film

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Muslim leaders and local clerics want the local communities to be sensible rather than be sensitive and emotional in dealing with the mounting indignation over the controversial “The Innocence of Muslims” film, which has been perceived as a means to malign Islam.

Acting Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Mujiv Hataman said that he is convinced that the film’s having been uploaded to the video-sharing site, YouTube, could be a ploy to stir violent reactions from among Muslims and, as a consequence, destroy the image of Islam.

Hataman said he is confident that while ARMM residents look up at the issue as an affront to the Islamic faith, they will deal with it according to the value of saba’r, the Arabic for patience and endurance.

Islam strictly prohibits retaliations against groups or communities for an offense supposedly done alone by a solitary individual.

“Under Islamic principles, one cannot force Pedro to do reparation, or be penalized for an offense done by Juan,” said Ustadz Esmael Ebrahim, a commissioner in the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos.

Patience and perseverance

“Now is the time for us to exemplify what Prophet Mohammad had taught us, to be patient in addressing challenges that come our way,” Hataman said.

Even officials of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which crafted a peace pact with the national government on September 2, 1996, agreed that reacting violently to the controversial

YouTube video will only unduly glorify the anti-Islam film and its producer.

Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, also chairman of the largest and most politically-active of the three groups in the MNLF, said preachers in their ranks have been tasked to educate their followers on the need for them to be patient and forgiving in dealing with the issue.

Sema said Islamic history books tell of the examples on how Prophet Mohammad opted to “swallow pride,” accept humiliation and opt for reconciliation to end conflicts; initiate the settlement of disputes peacefully and promptly, instead of witnessing any violence.

Sema said many of them in the MNLF are convinced the anti-Islam YouTube film happened for a purpose; to put into test the sobriety and perseverance of Muslims in confronting any affront against Islam.

“We, Muslims believe that sometimes we stumble and fall today, purposely for us to rise and bounce back as better, peace-loving Muslims the next day,” Sema said.

“Reacting violently on that YouTube movie will only create a bad image of Islam,” he added.

Impregnable

For Hataman and Sema, evil motives must not prevail over good and affect peaceful coexistence among followers of the world’s great religions.

“It is not easy to destroy the image of Islam, by any form of media, unless Muslims themselves do wrong and destroy themselves,” Hataman said.

Hataman said the book, “The 100: A List of the Most Influential Persons in History” by Michael Hart has retained in its No. 1 slot the name of Prophet Muhammad, 37 years after its first and only edition was written.

Members of the newly-launched provincial party chapter of the joint United Nationalists Alliance-Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan have called on Muslims in Maguindanao to be sober and avoid instigating any unruly reaction against the YouTube publication.

The party’s figurehead in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat Mayor Tucao Mastura, who is running for governor of Maguindanao in next year’s elections, and his running mate, former Talayan Mayor Datu

Ali Midtimbang, both asked preachers to remind Muslims about how Prophet Mohammad used diplomacy in addressing attacks on Islamic communities.

Mastura and Midtimbang, who were sworn in, along with dozens of their followers, into the PDP-Laban by Vice President Jejomar Binay and the party’s secretary-general, Jose Peping Cojuangco, Jr., in Manila last week, are both keen on introducing “religious awakening” as a platform for propagating Muslim-Christian solidarity in the province.

Mastura and Midtimbang, who are both close to clerics in the province, and members of their newly-launched political group, all acknowledge that any sectarian animosity among Mindanao’s Muslim and non-Muslim folks can stifle the Southern Mindanao peace process.

From:

John Felix Miciano Unson

MNLF warns MILF over allegations of BIFM association

COTABATO CITY, Philippines- The Moro National Liberation cautioned on Tuesday the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for its insinuation that the MNLF aided the group of bandit gang leader Ameril Umbra Kato in its violent incursions in five Maguindanao towns early this month.

The MNLF signed on September 2, 1996 a final peace pact with the national government, which paved the way for the integration of some 10,000 former guerillas into the Armed Forces and the police.

The truce, according to the MNLF, also ushered in the assimilation into the political mainstream of several MNLF leaders, some of them now actively involved in local governance and in helping manage the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as members of the ARMM cabinet and the 27-seat Regional Assembly.

“Those imputations, obviously not supported by evidence, are not good for the Bangsamoro people, to where these two fronts belong,” the general secretariat of the largest of three factions in the MNLF said in a statement.

The largest of the three MNLF groups also pointed out that it cannot comprehend why the MILF has dragged the MNLF into the “dirty foray” instigated by Kato’s Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM).

The MNLF said the issue of its alleged “cooperation” with the BIFM cropped after an unnamed MILF source revealed to reporters that certain politicians, among them Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, were aiding the bandit group.
Mangudadatu has denied having any link with the BIFM and even branded as “unfounded and an absolute fiction” an August 11 published report claiming he is coddling the criminal gang for political objectives.

Mangudadatu said he is even ready to shell out a reward in exchange for information that would lead to the arrest of all members of the BIFM’s top leadership core, including Kato and his spokesman, Abu Misry Mama.

The MNLF said such assertions also came at a time while it was trying to reaffirm, through regular press communiqués, its religious compliance with its final peace pact with the national government. The group said it will not be a stumbling block to a successful conclusion of the now 14-year GPH-MILF talks.

The issue surfaced after peace activists, some of them involved in foreign-funded peace-building projects complementing President Aquino’s Mindanao peace process, expressed apprehensions on possible effects of president's final peace accord with the MILF, while the tripartite review of the GPH-MNLF peace accord is still underway.

“It is not a wise move on the part of the MNLF to cooperate with the BIFM/BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters),” the MILF said in an article posted on its website luwaran.com.

The three-way tripartite review, which involves representatives of the Aquino administration, the MNLF and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, is to enhance the weak provisions of the peace agreement and to resolve misunderstandings on the implementation of some of its sensitive provisions.

The MNLF earlier said a total of “42 consensus points” have already been reached by the three parties, mostly all parallel, or “synonymous” with what the GPH and MILF panels have agreed on wealth-and-power sharing, management of natural resources in Moro-dominated areas, education, regional security and the setting up of a more politically and administratively empowered self-governing Southern autonomous government.

“What logic is there in helping the BIFM perpetrate violent attacks in Maguindanao when we in the MNLF are busy strengthening our peace agreement with the national government through a peaceful tripartite initiative? That would be too counter-productive,” the MNLF said.

The MNLF said it is “not at war with the MILF” and that most of its members in Maguindanao are now peacefully thriving as farmers in their government-acknowledged camps and in 3,000-hectare enclave in Bago Inged in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, where they are operating a newly established rubber tree seedling facility and orchard plantations. 

from: John Felix Miciano Unson journjohn@gmail.com

PCID JOINS THE NATION IN GRIEVING THE LOSS SECRETARY JESSE ROBREDO
August 27, 2012  |  Quezon City


The Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID) joins the nation in grieving the loss of Secretary Jesse Robredo, an outstanding political leader, steadfast in his conviction that leaders are accountable to their constituents; an exemplary public servant, firm in his commitment to transparency in governance; and a friend and brother to the Muslims, a pillar of support for reform in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

He was seen as the icon of genuine reform as exemplified by his several campaigns for good governance, such as the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP) that requires absolute transparency in the reporting of expenditures by local government units, a move that gained him deeper admiration from his peers.

Secretary Robredo will be remembered for his hands-on approach to dealing with peace and conflict issues in ARMM by being very visible and vocal about the challenges in the region. He welcomed regular dialogues with local leaders in the most conflict-stricken provinces and even convening the provincial peace and order council in Basilan following recent incidents of violence.

Muslims in Mindanao and in the rest of the country have indeed lost one of the most important advocates of their cause who had high hopes that the region would realize its full potential through long-term and genuine reform programs, such as the Seal of Good Housekeeping Award, which Secretary Robredo personally initiated.  Thirteen of 116 ARMM municipalities have succeeded in gaining this award, thru Secretary Robredo’s encouragement and support.

His death removes a crucial pillar for the reform movement of the ARMM, led by Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman.   It is our hope that the President honors the late Secretary by appointing a servant-leader who can adequately fill the shoes left by Sec Jess as the next Secretary of the Interior and Local Government. 

From: MKFI PCID mkfi.pcid@gmail.com

Maguindanao residents still face security woes

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines -Thousands of evacuees dislocated by recent attacks by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao are reluctant to return to their villages due to threats of retaliations following the Army’s takeover of BIFF camps last week.
Public officials said they would rely on security assessments by the Maguindanao police, the provincial peace and order council, and the local government units (LGUs) of the five troubled towns, to determine when to start returning evacuees to their residences.
The apprehensions of the evacuees languishing in squalid evacuation centers escalated Saturday with the BIFF’s bombing of a detachment of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) in Barangay Labo-Labo in Maguindanao’s restive Datu Hoffer town.
Riding in separate motorcycles, one of four BIFF bandits that launched the attack casually pulled over near the detachment and lobbed a fragmentation grenade to the CAFGUS inside, wounding five of them - Suiti Salik, Tata Salik, Kamad Guialudin, Dante Ali, and Tautin Upaw.
The incident came following the Army’s closure for about four hours of a stretch of the Cotabato-Gen. Santos City Highway in Datu Unsay town Friday after bandits came close and fired at nearby Army detachments.
The acting governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Mujiv Hataman, said the ARMM’s peace and order council has to build consensus first with Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu on how to return displaced villagers to their conflict-stricken barangays.
The violent incursions by the BIFF, which started midnight of August 5 with its simultaneous attacks on military positions along stretches of the highway straddling through five towns forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate to safer areas for fear of their lives.
Mangudadatu already ordered last week the LGUs of the affected municipalities to convene their respective disaster mitigation councils to formulate measures for the return of the evacuees and ensure their protection from the BIFF’s continuing attacks.
BIFF gunmen plundered farming enclaves, carted away farm animals and water buffaloes of fleeing peasants, and burned down abandoned houses as they escaped from pursuing soldiers in their weeklong attacks early this month.
Hataman and Mangudadatu both said the newly-installed provincial police director, Senior Supt. Jaime Pido, the ARMM’s social welfare department, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDDMC), and Army units on the ground would be recommending security measures to prevent any recurrence of the BIFF attacks.
Mangudadatu acknowledges the “complexity” of the security situation in areas the BIFF subjected to violent attacks owing to the group’s being not covered by the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The MILF has disowned the BIFF and declared it an “open game” for the police and military, after trying thrice to convince its chieftain, the ailing Ameril Umra Kato, to disband his gang and rejoin his former organization.
Kato, a cleric trained in Saudi Arabia, started as chief of the MILF’s 105th Base Command, but was booted out two years ago for various offenses, including insubordination. His ouster from the MILF prompted him to launch his own group, comprised largely of rogue Moro guerillas.
Kato’s spokesman, Abu Misry Mama, told ABS-CBN in Cotabato City last week they will stage more retaliatory attacks, warning residents in barangays where there are military detachments and camps to start evacuating to prevent from getting caught in the cross-fire.

by: John Felix Miciano Unson journjohn@gmail.com

Military accused of using mosques as camps

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A human rights group on Friday accused the military of turning some mosques in Maguindanao into temporary camps at the height of the clashes with Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

But Colonel Prudencio Asto, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, denied the allegation saying it was the BIFF fighters who occupied the mosques.

Bai Ali Indayla, secretary general of Kawagib (Rights), said her organization had gathered enough evidence and witnesses to support the filing of charges against the military before the United Nations Human Rights Council.

She said under UN war conventions, places of worship should always be spared in times of conflict.

Indayla said that according to witnesses’ accounts, soldiers occupied mosques in Guindulungan and Datu Unsay towns as they launched operations against BIFF members responsible for the Aug. 5 attacks in Maguindanao. Soldiers also occupied civilian houses during the operations, Indayla said.

“The encampment by the military in the houses and mosques was non-adherence to international laws,” she said.

But Asto denied the claim.

“It’s not true. Our troops know their limit…that’s a violation of international law. The ones who occupied the mosques were the enemies. Our men weren’t able to fire their weapons at some BIFF forces because they hid in the mosques,” Asto said.

As this developed, Asto said the bullet that killed a four-year-old Asnaira Usman  inside an evacuation camp in Datu Unsay on Tuesday had been fired by a BIFF sniper.

He said two days later, BIFF snipers in Pikit, North Cotabato, also killed Anwar Langalin on suspicion he was a military agent.

BIFF forces continued to harass civilians outside of Maguindanao, another military officer reported.

Lt. Col Adolfo Espuelas Jr., commanding officer of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, said BIFF forces have occupied four villages in Maitum, Sarangani, and driven away 200 families to evacuation centers.

Espuelas said the military could not easily drive away the rebels because they also brought with them their families and were using them as human shields.

“They resort to using their own family members as shield whenever they are under attack. So, our soldier can’t do anything except to stay put,” he said.  With a report from Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao

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