Militant Islam’s Expansion in the Southern Philippines
Militant
Islam’s Expansion in the Southern Philippines
Anastasia Pentzakoff
The rise of militant Islam in the
southern Philippines
poses catastrophic consequences for the future of the Philippines and
the world in regards to the escalation of terrorism. Militant Islam plays a
major role in the southern Philippines,
terrorizing that region as well as the Philippine government. It is the purpose
of this paper to expose the gravity of militant Islam in the Philippines and
its significance in relation to the threat of terrorism. This paper provides an
underlying background of how Islam evolved in the Philippines, tracing its
development from the traditional religion of Islam to its present state and
practice of militant Islam. This paper discusses three militant Islamic groups
in particular that prompted the rise of militant Islam, thus creating a
welcoming environment for terrorist groups, namely Al-Qa’ida, to further their
terrorist goals. Included is an explanation of the specific factors that set
the Philippines apart from other countries, making the Philippines more
susceptible in playing a greater role in the acceleration of terrorism. Based
upon the information and arguments of many distinguished sources, my own
perspective regarding the severity of militant Islam in the Philippines is
incorporated as well. In order to understand militant Islam’s rise to power, it
is vital to explore its beginnings.
It is important to distinguish
between the traditional religion of Islam and the more popular ideology, which
transformed into the practice of militant Islam. The religion of Islam
literally refers to the submission to the will of God and seeks to teach humans
how to live in accordance with God’s will.[1]
Muslim traders from the Indonesian islands were among the first people to bring
the Islamic religion to the Philippines.
By 1500, Islam was established in Sulu Archipelago and spread from there to Mindanao; it also reached the Manila
area.[2]
A Muslim community arose throughout the Philippines; however, it remained
centered in the southern Philippines.
The people of this southern region are referred to as the Moro people. Over
time through their intermarriages, the Muslim population expanded and began
dominating. Naturally, the religion of Islam became the dominant religion.
However, problems with the Muslims arose when the Spanish came to colonize the Philippines.
One of their objectives was to convert the Filipinos to Christianity. The Spaniards
succeeded in occupying the islands; however, they failed to convert them
completely because of active resistance in the south.[3]
By means of intense fighting, the southern region managed to sustain its
Islamic religion. Spain’s
rule came to an end in 1898 as the result of the United States, which proceeded to
colonize the Philippines
soon after. The Americans did not try to enforce Christianity with violence
like the Spanish; instead they tried to impose it through the education of the
Moro rulers in the south.[4]
Not only did this prompt Muslim resentment to grow even more, but the education
also paved the way for Islamic rulers to enter into the political sphere.
Eventually, the Philippines
became an independent nation. The Philippine government has attempted quite a
few times to disperse its Muslim population by moving Christians into the south
from the north. Nevertheless, the south remains predominantly Muslim, while the
majority of the Philippines
is Catholic. The Muslims only comprise approximately five percent of the
population of the Philippines[5];
however, they have strong clout in the southern region, which accounts for
their strength in the Philippines.
The Muslims’ strength derives from
their defensive nature that they acquired during periods of colonization when
they had to defend their religion as well as region. The Muslims came together
as a community, strengthening their identification with Islam. This led to an
increased interest to the ideology of Islamism. Islamism is profoundly different
in that it is more of a political order with an emphasis on communities
aspiring to create a new order.[6]
This ideology took control over the south; and the Muslims became a central
element in the national policy-making.[7]
Islamism is a slightly radical form of Islam, where the goal includes promoting
Islam within the political influence. Specifically in the southern Philippines,
the goal consists of gaining an independent Islamic state by penetrating the
political field with its own Islamic members. From Islamism stems militant
Islam, which is a more extreme, fundamentalist practice of Islam that uses
combative force to further its agenda. In the southern Philippines,
the militant Islamic agenda includes using whatever means necessary to achieve
their autonomous state. The Filipino Muslims do not want to be ruled in a
secular form of government, rather they are pushing for independence so as to
have their own Islamic State, where Islamic law rules them. Many have turned to
the practice of militant Islam, using violent measures in hopes of attaining
their goal quicker. Militant Islam’s popularity is increasing at a rapid pace.
The southern Philippines
have become a site for violent terrorist actions by separatist Muslim groups,
including the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The disastrous actions taken by
these groups clearly define militant Islam. All three of these groups share in
the same separatist struggle in the southern Philippines; however, they do have
their unique attributes.
The
MNLF is an insurgent group that started out as a rebellion group that managed
to bring most partisan Moro forces into its framework.The MNLF fights and conducts guerilla warfare
for an independent Moro nation. Quite a few times, the MNLF engaged in talks
with the government over attaining an autonomous region, which eventually led
to the government’s offer of a fragmented four-province Autonomous Region for
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). They did sign a peace agreement in 1996 with the
Philippine government.[8]
The
other two groups have rejected the agreement signed with the government. The
MILF is a more moderately active militant group, primarily concerned with the
implementation of a fully Islamic State.
The MILF is
the vanguard of the Islamic movement in the Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao and the neighboring islands. It was formed in
1977 as it split from the MNLF.[9]
The MILF is taking advantage of the dissatisfaction expressed by many [Muslims]
in the MNLF and the ARMM. They view the agreement and the autonomous region
offered as not enough. The MILF is working through the political system,
influencing local politics and winning the local elections, then moving
upwards. They have continued to wage armed campaigns against the Filipino
military.[10]
The
Abu Sayyaf Group is by far the most violent of the separatist groups.
The leaders
of the ASG allegedly fought in Afghanistan
during the Soviet war and are students and proponents of radical Islamic teachings.
The group is largely self-financed through ransom and extortion; and it most
likely also receives support from Islamic extremists in the Middle
East and South Asia. Its
activities include engaging in kidnappings for ransom, bombings, beheadings of
missionaries, assassinations, and extortion. Over time, the ASG has geared more
towards using terror for financial profit. It is estimated to have 200-500
members.[11]The group reportedly has links to the broader
Al-Qa’ida network. The group espouses violent religious intolerance and the
elimination of Christian influence in Mindanao.[12]
ASG
is the smallest of the separatist groups, but it is the most vicious in
character. Their extremely violent behavior attracts other radical Islamic
groups internationally. These militant groups instill fear into the Philippine
government and the non-Muslim people through their activist means. The ASG and
MILF show no effort to compromise with the government as they continue to
deliberately terrorize people with their heinous acts. Reaching this state of
autonomy so as to implement an Islamic rule of law is of utmost necessity to
them. In the southern Philippines,
rampant poverty, the lack of government services, and the actions of the
military pushed more civilians to support the Abu Sayyaf.[13]
These factors along with other characteristics specific to the Philippines
explain the heightened attraction to the southern region.
These militant Islamic groups invite
an atmosphere for harboring terrorism. The Philippines proves to be an ideal
location for attracting other terrorist organizations, namely Al-Qa’ida. The Philippines is
not the only country in Southeast Asia deals
with militant Islam; however, it is the country that terrorist networks find
the most appealing. The Philippines exhibit unique features including the
physical geography, a long history of Muslim insurgent movements, domestic
groups with domestic grievances, few law enforcement constraints, and already
established links with Al-Qa’ida. The Philippine islands are located between
the Philippine Sea and the South
China Sea.[14]
The geographical setting of the Philippines
consists of thousands of islands located amid water on all sides. This allows
for easy access to the islands. The borders in Southeast
Asia, especially the state of the Philippines, are extremely porous.
It is simply not possible to police the maritime borders of these states.[15]
Terrorists can enter onto many islands without going through any sort of
immigration or police checkpoints. They can travel around unnoticed for the
most part. This gives the terrorists flexibility to proceed with their agenda
without being traced. The long history of Muslim insurgency movements dates
back to the Spanish rule. For centuries, the Moro Muslims faced foreign and
domestic forces that have tried to infiltrate their region. From these
experiences, anger arose and militant Islamic movements formed. Already having
such a strong history of resistance and fighting, the southern Philippines
invites sympathetic Islamic radicals that are eager to connect with them and
fight in the greater name of jihad, which refers to the central doctrine of
Islam that calls on believers to combat the enemies of their religion.[16]
The domestic groups [factions of the Moro Muslims] with their domestic
grievances are now forming international alliances in pursuit of their goals.[17]
These domestic grievances provide an opportunity for terrorists to prey on
them. Al-Qa’ida links up with these smaller groups on the basis of sharing in
their grievances. Al-Qa’ida has been able to exploit these local conflicts[18],
using them to further their own specific agendas.
Terrorist
groups are able to operate and plan attacks with little concern for their own
security. The Filipinos have no computerized immigration or tax databases.
Further, the intelligence services in Southeast Asia
are often overly politicized and engaged in fierce bureaucratic infighting.
Even if they are not corrupt, these forces are under-equipped and confronted by
well-armed rebels. Also, the importance of tourism on economy resulted in lax
immigration procedures and easy access visas.[19]
These
few law enforcement constraints provide the perfect circumstances for
terrorists to penetrate the islands of the Philippines. Another appealing feature
includes the already established links between the region and radical terrorist
leaders and groups. The region has financial ties through businesses, banks,
and charities with the Al-Qa’ida network.[20]
Al-Qa’ida
also has links in Southeast Asia through their
Afghanistan
connection and their radical teachings that spread throughout madrasas, Islamic
schools. The Afghanistan
connection refers to training camps in Afghanistan that many militant
Islamic Southeast Asians attended. Osama Bin Laden ran the camps; and they were
designed for preparation for later Holy wars. Southeast Asians also attended
madrasas throughout the Middle East and Asia. When they returned back to their home fronts, they
were committed to running jihads at home and recruiting followers. These
militant groups return from Afghanistan
and the schools ready to establish networks of madrasas as the base for their
operations and recruitment.[21]
These
terrorists prey on the Islamic peoples’ devotion to their religion. They turn
them into militant radicals, if they are not already, and they enhance their
fighting abilities, which gives them more reason to continue attacking. All of
these characteristics illustrate the “convenience”[22]
that the region offers in luring the terrorists. It also helps to explain the
rise in Islamic militancy, simply because the opportunity of convenience
persists.
The present state of affairs in the
southern Philippines
suggests that militant Islam will continue to increase in its magnitude. While
the combination of grievance and opportunity may explain the emergence of
Muslim rebel groups[23],
one must take into consideration the powerful effect that Al-Qa’ida has upon
these groups. According to a Congressional Research Service Report, Al-Qa’ida
has penetrated the region by establishing local cells, training Southeast
Asians in its camps in Afghanistan,
and by financing and cooperating with indigenous radical Islamist groups.[24]
It’s vital to note that the connection between militant Islamic groups and
Al-Qa’ida is very prevalent. The ASG and Al-Qa’ida have exhibited their
presence over the last decade. In January 2002, Philippine authorities
apprehended an Indonesian suspected of involvement in Al-Qa’ida plots against
American targets in Singapore.[25]
There have been many other cases in which Al-Qa’ida has been suspected of
connections in bombings, deadly attacks, beheadings, etc…with Abu Sayyaf, who
carries out the collaborated attacks. Most recently, the Asian Times reported,
A
bomb attack on a public market in the southern city of General Santos on Sunday December 12, 2004 killed at
least 14 people and wounded 59 others. Police sources say that they are looking
into a feud between two families with ties to separatist group MILF as a
possible motive. There had been a previous attack on General Santos in 2002,
where 14 people were killed in a shopping mall explosion later blamed on Abu
Sayyaf and MILF. The entire south has suffered from bloody terrorist attacks
and mass kidnappings in recent years that have been blamed on these Muslim
extremists.[26]
This
definitely portrays the current presence of these militant groups. They
continue to wreak havoc in the Philippines,
increasing in their severity and numbers. There is an intensified growth in
Islamic extremism, partially due to Al-Qa’ida’s penetration into the local
groups. Because of the American War on Terror,
Afghanistan
lost its secure base of terrorist fronts and camps in late 2001. This prompted
Al-Qa’ida to move, establishing Southeast Asia
as a “Second Front”.[27]
Many scholars and analysts now refer to Southeast Asia
as the “second front” of terrorism because of the shift in operations after the
fall of the Taliban. The terrorist network has expanded immensely throughout Southeast Asia; and the southern Philippines
play a specific role in providing a central location for them to conduct
operations.
I am in agreement that the southern
region of the Philippines
will be regarded as the “official” base for most terrorist networks. The region
is a breeding ground for future militant operations. Many of the people of the
region have come to embrace militant Islam in its practice. Terrorists migrate
to the south because of all the conveniences that it offers, namely loose
restrictions. They connect with the militant Islamic groups and form greater
communities with more radical ideologies. It is my perspective that since
militant Islam remains on the rise, it will only reach higher levels of
extremism with deadlier consequences for the world. The escalating tensions
between the Philippine government and the militant Islamic groups are nowhere
near subsiding nor coming to resolutions. I believe that militant Islam, in
joining with radical Islamic terrorists in the southern Philippines,
will produce a network base so large as never seen before. Al-Qa’ida has been
brilliant in its co-option of other groups…Bin Laden tries to ‘align with local
militant groups with country-specific grievances to increase his reach and
influence’.[28]
Al-Qa’ida has succeeded in rooting itself within these militant groups,
especially Abu Sayyaf. Not only will the south become the major operational hub
as stated by many analysts, but also I believe that terrorism will spread
drastically all over the world thanks to such an available flexibility that the
south provides. Right now the terrorism focus is on the Middle
East. Most people think of the Arab region of the Middle East when they hear of terrorists. This is a
classic example of Western thinking. It is precisely this conventional thinking
that led to the United
States’ surprise attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor. They didn’t think that the Japanese would
ever do such a thing; and it is precisely this mentality that I think will
surprise many when the next major terrorist attack to hit is orchestrated by a
Filipino per se. A deeper focus needs to preside over the southern Philippines. It
is my conclusion that this region presents the greatest danger in the face of
terrorism because of the factors mentioned previously. Southeast
Asia has become a haven for these terrorists (due to scattered
borders and loose immigration policy). Terrorism has put on a different face,
that of militant Islamic Filipinos.
The southern Philippines
hold a special position in the future. I would argue that it is the southern
region that is the most valuable to Al-Qa’ida; therefore, the political
decisions between the government of the Philippines and the militant
Islamic groups are imperative. They will set the pace for terrorist activities
for future generations to come worldwide. Clearly Southeast
Asia has become one of its [terrorism’s] key theaters of
operation, and we should expect continued attacks and operations in the region.[29]
The Philippines
need to take definitive measures immediately before militant Islam erupts into
an uncontrollable, firmly embedded state. Militant Islam has shown its face
many times over in the southern Philippines,
is beginning to rise to fame throughout Southeast Asia,
and I suspect that it will gradually be heard around the globe. The southern Philippines
have a crucial impact on the future of militant Islam’s spread and terrorism
abroad.
1“Islam.” Britannica Concise
Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service. 2004.
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[2] Dolan, Ronald E (Ed). Philippines-A Country
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Congress-Federal Research Division. 1993. (5).
[3] Dolan, 6.
[4] Dolan, 22.
[5] Maher, Joanne (Senior Editor). The Europa World Book 2004 Volume
II – “Islam”. London:
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[6] Pipes, Daniel. “Faith and Ideology”. The National Interest-Islam
and Islamism. Spring 2000.
<>.
(4).
[7] George, Thayil J.S. Revolt in Mindanao-The
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[8] Pike, John & Aftergood, Steven. “MNLF”. Federation of
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27, 2001.
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[9] Pike, John & Aftergood, Steven. “MILF”. Federation of
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[10] Abuza, Zachary. Militant Islam in Southeast Asia-Crucible of
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Lynn Reinner Publishers. 2003.
(46-48).
[11] Pike, John & Aftergood, Steven. “ASG”. Federation of
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27, 2001.
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[12] Abuza, 101.
[13] Ressa, Maria A. Seeds of Terror-An Eyewitness Account of
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[14] CIA World Factbook. “Philippines”. Central Intelligence
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<>.
[15] Abuza, 20.
[16] “Jihad”.Britannica Concise
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[17] Abuza, 4.
[18] Ressa, 104.
[19] Abuza, 19.
[20] Abuza, 20.
[21] Abuza, 11.
[22] Abuza, 18.
[23] Garrido, Marco. “The Evolution of Philippine Muslim Insurgency”.
The Asian Times. March 6,
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[24] Manyin, Mark (Coordinator) & Foreign Affairs, Defense, and
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[25] Council on Foreign Relations. “Terrorism Questions & Answers- Philippines”.
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[26] (Unknown author). “High Alert After Philippine Blast”. December 14, 2004. The
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[28] Abuza, 9.
[29] Abuza, 233.
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