For many Filipinos, the fight being waged by Islamic militants to re-establish a Muslim caliphate across vast swaths of the Arab world in North Africa and the Middle East has remained a mere peripheral issue. Recent events however have revealed disturbing insight into how much of the events over there may be resonating among the southeast Asian Muslim community.
Recently, it’s been reported that the Mindanao-based Islamic militants Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters in Iraq and Syria.
“We have an alliance with the Islamic State and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama told Agence France-Presse by telephone on Friday, referring to the brutal jihadist group’s leader.
Misry confirmed that a YouTube video uploaded on Wednesday, showing a purported BIFF leader flanked by armed men reading a statement of support for the IS, had come from his group.
It is interesting to note that the BIFF is a splinter group from the terrorist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with which the Philippine Government under President Benigno Simeon ‘BS” Aquino III and the Malaysian Government have been negotiating a peace deal with in exchange for greater “autonomy”.
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Philippine security officials have reportedly outright dismissed the threat and have called the local media to be “circumspect” in their coverage of this matter…
“It can be claimed by anybody who wants to take (advantage) so they can become more notorious, so that they will be feared more since they have links (with IS),” [Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan said], noting that a wrong idea will only give way to their criminal activities.
Tutaan also refused to recognize videos posted on YouTube showing the groups pledging support for the IS.
“We do not dignify (videos on) YouTube… A lot of things can happen on YouTube… We are just being careful on our pronouncements before the media because we dont want to cause undue alarm… These (linkages) are unverified,” he said.
The Malaysian government, on the other hand is less-complacent when it comes to Islamic militancy. Reports of escalated activity in Malaysia have been revealed by security officials there and establishments and activities in Malaysia widely-regarded by hardline Islamists as anti-Muslim in nature may be at risk of being attacked by terrorist groups.
Ayob Khan told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the group, all Malaysians, had visions of establishing a hard-line Southeast Asian Islamic caliphate spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, and planned to travel to Syria to learn from Isis.
A caliphate is an Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph – i.e. “successor” – to Muhammad. The succession of Muslim empires that have existed in the Muslim world are usually described as “caliphates”. Conceptually, a caliphate represents a sovereign state of the entire Muslim faithful, (the Ummah), ruled by a caliph under Islamic law (sharia).
The caliphate reached its zenith in ancient Arabia under the Rashidun Caliphate of the Umayyads from 661-750. Under the Umayyads, the Caliphate grew rapidly in territory. Islamic rule expanded westward across North Africa and into Hispania and eastward through Persia and ultimately to the western lands of Indus Valley, in modern day Pakistan. This made it one of the largest unitary states in history and one of the few states to ever extend direct rule over three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia). Although not ruling all of the Sahara, homage was paid to the Caliph by Saharan Africa, usually via various nomad Berber tribes. However, it should be noted that, although these vast areas may have recognised the supremacy of the Caliph, de facto power was in the hands of local sultans and emirs.
Muslims in southeast Asia, however were never subject to the rule of the caliphs as large organised sultanates spanning what are now Borneo, Mindanao, and big parts of the Indonesian archipelago were already in existence there at the time. Indeed, it is quite ironic that Islamic militants in southeast Asia now look to ISIS as a model for their own plans to re-conquer their lost realm. The original sultans of southeast Asia are known to have refused to recognise the authority of the Arab caliphs and took pride in their respective kingdoms’ sovereignity.
[NB: Parts of this article were lifted from the Wikipedia.org article “Caliphate” in a manner compliant to the terms stipulated in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License that governs usage of content made available in this site.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
True enough. In the Philippines, most of our disaffected peoples join organisations like the NPA, Abu Sayyaf and BIFF not for religious or and/or ideological reasons, but because they’re hungry. However, these local jihadists have allied themselves with transnational terrorist groups who have definitively stated that committing genocide is a fundamental objective. Any legitimacy they desire is contingent on their perpetrating a campaign to exterminate non-Muslims. Do we now wait until the mass murders being conducted in Israel, Syria and Iraq start in Manila before we take notice?
LOL, the ‘mass-murders’ in Gaza are being perpetrated by a Massively Armed Military(IDF) who are bombing defenseless Men Woman & children that have no weapons(missiles that cant get airborne and have no warhead/explosives don’t count).’Hamas’,completely outnumbered, is the equivalent of a street gang fighting a real Military w/Tanks & modern warfare weapons & Nuclear missiles(IDF).
Your comparison is completely idiotic.
The Hamas charter quotes Islamic religious texts to provide justification for fighting against and killing the Jews, without distinction of whether they are in Israel or elsewhere. Their stated goal is genocide — the extermination of a segment of the human race premised on the idea that the Arab–Israeli conflict is an inherently irreconcilable struggle between Jews and Muslims, and Judaism and Islam. With regards to other religions, the group’s professed stance is tolerance as long as Hamas’ efforts are not blocked. This generally means that anyone practicing a belief system that is not Islam — Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, anyone who is different — may be considered as ‘challenging’ the Muslim faith and consequently a legitimate target of jihad. And while Hamas’ political arm has claimed it has adopted a more secular attitude and a willingness to coexist with Israel, its paramilitary wing has consistently used ceasefires to build up its military capacity. The latest effort involved the construction of underground tunnels into Israel, for the purpose of infiltrating and conducting military strikes in the Jewish homeland.
It is extremely stupid to dismiss an organisation that, for nearly thirty years, has had an unwavering commitment to destroying their perceived enemies. It is highly disingenuous to portray terrorists, who use women and the elderly as human shields, and indoctrinate children into becoming human bombs, as victims. It is a bald faced lie to claim that Hamas has no weapons when the organisation publicizes that it has launched hundreds of rockets and mortar rounds into Israel.
Actually. …. Almost all religions reject each other. That includes Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism.
If god / pangu / prajapati created the world… Who are these weird people who insisted Their god/gods Are real?
When Buddhism entered China. The Buddhists / Hindus did not considered China as converted but rather the Chinese have accepted dharma and became dharmic
It meant they considered their views of the cosmos as correct only they did not bothered to argue over it
“Actually. …. Almost all religions reject each other. That includes Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism.”
This is going off topic now. Stick to the issue — intolerance as a fundamental part of the ISIS/ISIL belief system and genocide as its means of implementation. And this is the organisation the BIFF professes allegiance to.
However Christians, Buddhists OR Muslims in the twenty-first century manifest their religion, whatever criticisms you may have of believers, is ultimately irrelevant. The reality is that ISIS/ISIL commits mass murder and revels in the act. In the face of that kind of uncompromising conviction, and the possibility that Philippine jihadists might emulate ISIS/ISIL practices to accomplish their objectives, it is foolish to dismiss the BIFF pronouncements out of hand.
@johnny saint, LOL, NO…YOU are extremely stupid to even think ‘HAMAS’ is even a threat to anyone but the Palestinian people.The rockets they launch usually travel less than a football pitch and more often than not have no explosives in them.To further exacerbate your idiocies you fail to see that it is the Israeli’s that are perpetrating the genocide in the Gaza strip right now.Or do you also not know how to read?
and likewise the Abu-sayaff or any other of the rag-tag idiots running around the bushes in Southern Minadanao.Your exact quote is that these groups pose a ‘grave threat’ and that is where your stupidity shines the most.Like a typical Filipino that can never admit the idiocy of her own mis-speaking’s you fail to see that these groups have absolutely no possible means of effecting a political change in the country.Metro-Manila could well get hit by a grenade or two but in the big picture of things they are capable of very little.
So go look in the mirror and say the word idiot again.At least when you do that you will be right.
‘Hundreds of mortar rounds’,LOL…where did you hear that one? on Tel-Aviv radio? Haaretz News?
The Jews would refer to you as a PUTZ.
blabber mouth blabber mouth go hide under your bed.the terrorists are coming,LOOKOUT!!!
OMG, I am terrified! they are a grave threat, to what?
@VLAD
Your defense of HAMAS (Did you forget PLO?)shows your true colors. I ask you this… Who built tunnels to enter Israeli territory? Who fires random rockets and Mortars into Israeli populated territory? Who executes by beheading innocent Israelis and even Christians and non-Muslims? Who uses Palestinians as human shields? Who wants to genocide the state of Israel? Israel was attacked again and again. Are you clueless? It is you who are completely idiotic.
Who stole the land in the first place and keeps on building on occupied territory? Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention clearly states that transfer of population to occupied territory is illegal under international law. Despite this, about 500,000 Israeli settlers live illegally on occupied Palestinian land with the support of Israel’s government. Which country holds the record by far for the most UN resolutions broken? Israel! Who invented modern terrorism by bombing the King David Hotel killing 92 and wounding 58? Which country has effectively legalized torture despite being a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture? All prime ministers of Israel could be classified as mass murderers, but Ariel Sharon would come out with flying colors. He is known as ‘Butcher of Sabra and Shatila’ refugee camps in Beirut in 1982 for the murder of 3,000-3,500 innocent people.
Supporting Israel and it’s actions is deplorable and anyone who does is very misguided and misinformed.
Israel was born during more violent times. The concept arising from post ww1
The land here belongs to the ottomans by right of conquest. When the ottoman empire was dissolved everyone in the position to do so had a go. Those who had stronger armies tried to grab more. “stolen ” is a very Arabic view..
“they stole Arabic land! ”
Noticed how Israel did not cry about the Jewish people forced out from all the new Arabic nations and the properties confiscated?
The mistake Israelis made was to be too soft on the Palestinians and allowed their existence
Considering what happened to other states like Bangladesh (east Pakistan )
Hyderabad
Aceh. East Timor
Israel is too soft really. If they had annexed the land and kicked the Palestinians out by 1965 people would still bitch about it but no rockets would be flying into Israel.
The widely accepted consensus among Israeli and Palestinian historians is that the expulsion and destruction of villages played a major part in the origin of the Palestinian refugees. However, it is also documented (but less popularly believed) that when the region was partitioned between the Arabs and the Jews in May 1948, and the armies of seven Arab countries invaded Israel, most of the Arabs who fled left of their own accord or were pressured to leave by their fellow Arabs, despite Israeli attempts to convince them to stay and make an attempt to coexist in peace.
a lot of those tunnels are 1 metre wide and are used by Women to go shopping so they do not have to wait 3 hours to get thru a checkpoint that should not even be there to begin with.
and have you ever read the ‘TALMUD’? it pre-dates any Islamic/Christian or HAMAS text by centuries.If you ever read it you would know whose intent it is to commit genocide.So you too are just as big an idiot as this ‘Saint’ woman.
and what exactly do you think my true colors are? HUH? EXACTLY? I make two posts ad you know who I am? your a shithead.
Vlad, I agree with you 100%.
Listen to this ‘SAINT’ retard,’it is the widely accepted…’,LOL!!! ….these two, Jefferson and Saint are clueless.
You know that what is going on in Gaza/West Bank is really criminal shit.The Israeli’s are bombing civilian neighborhoods and acting as if they are justified because they dropped some pamphlets written in a language Palestinians don’t read(out of spite).And 2,000 dead civilians is justified because the Palestinians are accused of murdering 1 13yr. old boy.There are reports ,of course, that say it was the Mossad…but who knows.The truth is that Gaza and its coast is sitting on some pretty heavy deposits of Natural Gas/Oil and take a wild guess who wants it?
3,500+ yrs. ago THE JEWS murdered the Cannaanites and stole their land.There is a history lesson for those two idiots.The next lesson they are going to have find elsewhere and pay for.
I can smell the same typical Filipino lackadaisical attitude of doings things only when the deadline approaches or when necessity starts kicking their behinds into gear.
This has happened before with this country’s approach to dealing with territorial disputes with China in the East Philippine/South China Sea. So much time to prepare and to act on that problem before, so many decades of ooportunities lost. Now that China has become much more assertive and confrontational, and only now does the Philippines start buying old cutters and surplus equipment from the US military and appeals to its MDT with the US (after kicking them out of their bases in Subic and Clark a couple of decades ago), accompanied by childish displays of jingoism by its citizens and president whose actions don’t really contribute to anything other than to show China and the rest of the world how stupid and pathetic we look?
How does one country garner international respect and recognition with that kind of record and that kind of attitude.
So they’ll only start acting and preparing when these Islamist terrorist groups start killing people in the capital? Gawd…
When life is easy. Minimum work for a living.. Why make things difficult and work harder?
You have Willing females for sex.. Plentiful food. Minimum shelter.
Ignoring the slums.. This is a virtual paradise
You’re right. A virtual paradise. Emphasis on virtual. A Brave New World Huxleyeseque kind of paradise that as long as there are bread and circuses, people are content. Or the Matrix, where almost everyone here seems to be still plugged-in to the system.
ISIS in the Philippines with the local jihadists poses a very grave national security threat. These extremists are born to kill the infidels… namely us. They have no respect for human life and have been known to murder children! The AFP will have no choice but to go on total war to eradicate these killers and eject them from Mindanao or any other area that is infested with extremist Islam. BS Aquino has given all the advantages to the MILF criminal, bandit terrorist group. He has funded their operations. When and if ISIS comes into the picture and they become allied with the MILF will BSA support and recognize ISIS?
LOL, yes they are coming to your house to ask if they can borrow your car so they have something to pawn for some bullets,LOL!!!
There is a bridge for sale somewhere that is on-sale…cheep.
The Philippines Army?WHAT ARMY??is that the same thing as the Filipino Navy? LOL!!!
That aside:
Abu Sayaf and the MILF and the Dung-sa-morron Masturbation Front are rag-tag bands of shit-heads that,while they can detonate a bomb any teenager can make,are nothing for 100 million people to fear.They will not be waging a revolution to overthrow any government except their own…..and they don’t have one.
and on the off chance they did, just call your favorite Uncle,whats his name?
What is really going on? The creation of another ‘boogeyman’ to be feared?instead of the usual suspects? the sitting gov’t.?
The truth of the matter is that Filipino’s have much more to fear from a gov’t.that provides no social safety net,no modern rapid transit sytems in their cities, no modern medical facilities, no modern flood prevention programs and when a typhoon hits more people get killed due to a lack of effort by the current gov’t.’s total inaction than they do have to fear from all of these non-threatening ‘terrorists’. Filipino’s are more gullible than Americans.
LOL, the statements in this thread are beyond retarded.The average Filipino has a bigger chance of getting killed by a crazed ex-cop gunman on a hi-jacked tourist bus in Metro-Manila or because the poor filipino shows up at a hospital dying,but has no money to pay for medical svcs.than it has to fear being attacked by any of these ‘terrorists’.
WHAH WHAH WHAH WHAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!
@VLAD
Go to Mindanao in Abu Sayaff areas. Go to BIFF and MILF jihadist areas. These people are born to kill us. They stated alliances with the ISIS. Before you go there… get casualty insurance and wear a crucifix front and back. Relax as they butcher you. What I mentioned is now a reality in Mindanao.
So what? What are they going to do that poses such a ‘grave threat’to the entire nation of 100 million people?
BWAH HA HA HAHA !!!!
btw, I’ve been there. Not one person bothered me.
VLAD,
As of this writing, another bombing in Cotabato City occurred on Tuesday evening, August 19, 2014, injuring four. Basit Usman, a bombing expert with links to Abu Sayyaf and BIFF, is believed to be responsible. This follows a car bombing, also in Cotabato City, that occurred on August 2 of last year that killed 8 people. Remember that on September 2013, rogue MNLF elements seized parts of Zamboanga City and tried to declare an independent “Bangsamoro Republik”, culminating in weeks of fighting
that left dozens dead, hundreds wounded, and displacement of around 100,000 people.
It’s easy to talk trash when you’re living comfortably far away from these conflict zones and when you have no stake invested in these places. But what about those living there whose lives are constantly threatened by conflict, war and terrorism? Maybe to you they don’t matter, but to those living there it does.
Threats to their lives and safety are just as important as anyone’s and so when local terrorists swear allegiance to the IS, which even Al-Qaeda considers too extreme, we ought to be concerned.
When it comes to defense and security, the biggest mistake one can make is to underestimate one’s enemies. This is exactly the mistake the U.S. government made pre-9/11.
and you still think those guys with box cutters knocked down those bldgs.? WOW, you guys are really idiots.
You do not even know how many bldgs. were knocked won on 9/11,do you?
are all Filipino’s completey clueless about what is going on outside of their own country? HA, 13 years later and you think that two bldgs. were knocked down on 9/11?(what about WTC bldg #7? @ 5PM on 9/11/2001?) and that guys with box cutters did it?BWAH HA HA HA HAHA!!!
There is no hope for The Philippines,NONE!I just do not have the time to educate you, and I do not care enough about you either.
But if you think that jet fuel that burns at 750 degrees farhenhite was enough to malet re-inforced steel that doesn’t begin to weaken until 1500 degrees was enough to bring those buildings down, and you do not even know about bldg. #7 at the WTC on the same day came down w/in its own footprint…..
YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHO THE ENEMY IS!!!
Ah so you’re a 9/11 truther. Figures. And you also failed to address any one of my points.
@ jmac,,, W-W-W-What? U asked a question? where? and now you think I am a 9/11 truther, whatever that is.
if U believe that jet fuel burns hot enough that it can melt steel, I feel sorry for you.That is pretty obvious that jet fuel doesn’t burn/melt steel,no? AND what about the wreckage of the planes that crashed into the Pentagon and the hillside in Pennsylvania,USA? WHAT? They just vaporized? Titanium rotors just vaporized,HUH? OH, I see, again w/the heat generated from the jet fuel? OK,sure! WTG,NOT!
My original point was to Saint and his sister TJ, and that was that these rag-tag bandits are nowhere near being a ‘grave threat’ like that non-international view idiot Saint thinks they are.THAT IS ALL.
as far as living where the abu-sayyaf are? I have been there and no one bothered me.So, IDK what its like to be a long-term resident of Catobato, but I’d be willing to bet that if you go about your daily life and mind your own business that the odds of these guys bothering you are slim.BUT just like anywhere else in the world you should protect you and your loved ones at all times.
SO face facts:
they have no-tanks,no-aircraft,no real naval vessels and do not even have uniforms.They are not an army and are the equivalent of a violent street gang.
9/11 truther – conspiracy theorists who allege that 9/11 was an inside job by the U.S. government.
Since you don’t what that term is tells me you aren’t very well informed on the topic or you are new to this sort of thing.
Allegations regarding this matter have already been addressed, dealt with and debunked countless times before on numerous publications and studies, so I don’t have anything to say anymore on this matter. Conspiracy theorists like you are just going to keep on harping about it regardless of the evidence and arguments to the contrary, ignoring truths and facts that are inconvenient to your worldview.
You’ve been to Cotabato and no one bothered you but It doesn’t mean that the threat isn’t real. It’s your own singular subjective experience that does not amount to anything. I would rather listen to the expert opinions of security personnel and long-time residents who actually have a stake in those places, rather than a one-time tourist.
And the fact that Abu Sayyaf have no modern mechanized equipment or a regular standing army doesn’t mean they are not capable of committing acts of terrorism. The same could be said of Al Qaeda or any other terrorist group in history, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of committing atrocities.
None of what you said disproves the threat posed by Islamist militants.
@ JMAC LOL, just because IDK what a 9/11 truther is doesn’t mean IDK what I am referring to,it does not mean that at all.IDK what a slang term is and what you think?
How many bldg.s fell straight down that day(9/11)?
look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KXRALVtZgA
these bldgs. collapsed on top of themselves. the planes that ‘crashed’ into the penatagon and the hills of PA,USA had no wreckage!
titanium engines just vanished/vaporized?
but they found the hi-jackers passport?
LOL, u people in the S.C. Sea are a whacky bunch, good luck in your poverty
you believe that story you hear?
IDN say I was there once either, you see one statement and make judgements based on a limited view you get.
No wonder you believe what you heard about 9/11 and the ‘experts’,lol.Go ahead fight a war on terror with all the money the country has, do not cry to anyone else when a disaster strikes and your country has no money to come to your rescue.
you think I give a shit about you?fighting the war on terror is for dungheads like you, watch out!!! the terrorists are under your bed!
VLAD: can you substantiate your 9/11 claims with truths? If so, post those links here.
So, these are the people Aquino had given territories, out of the Mindanao Island. The Aquinos cannot fight…they collaborate with the enemies. Benigno Aquino I collaborated with the Japanese Militarists. Benigno Aquino Jr. , collaborated with the NPA. Benigno Aquino III, collaborated with the Islamic Radicals of Mindanao. He even had given them territories.
You cannot negotiate with Terrorists. You have to Kill them. That , Maj. Gen. Tutaan, should be Court Martialed. He is lazy to fight and protect the Filipinos from the Islamic Radical Terrorists.
it is not the outlaw bandits most Filipino’s need to get rid of.
I drove right past a band of NPA ‘soldiers’ on the Northern Highway outside of Surigao not too long ago.The NPA was collecting ‘taxes’ from every car that passed them.Knowing it could be a kidnapping waiting to happen,I just kept going 10KPH right past them and did not stop but rather waved at them and smiled saying ‘how ya doin’ as I drove by!Open mouthed by my behaviour they just waved back.There was no reason to pull out my .357 or get my German Shepherd dog riled up to bite them as they let me pass and even said ‘Hello’ to me as I passed.So the NPA is just fine in my book.Any time I got stopped by the NBI or the LTO I had to pay a ‘fine’,right then and there,of P200 or even more.
so it may be a good idea to let whoever wants to get rid of the ‘hoodlums-in-robes’ that have been robbing the people for the last 65+ years a chance to do so, and see what they can do for the people.I mean, Filipino’s already know what they have been getting from the current crop of scumbags that run the country.What do they have to lose if they give the ‘opposition’ a chance to run things? it might be the smartest thing the Filipino has done in the last 70 years.
and besides it does not appear that the average Filipino has much to lose by doing so.
I just watch some of the ISIS propaganda videos and I’m disgusted. They are pure evil. Reminds me of how the Ottomans treated us Hungarians for 300 years calling us Infidel dogs for being Christians and enslaving 3 million of my people while turning the country in to a wasteland. These thugs want to do the same and bring back the “glory” and recapture all the “lost Muslim land”. They issued a map of all the countries they want to retake in a 5 year plan and Hungary is included. As I was reading in the news some Filipino Jihadist are now joining ISIS. Ridiculous but it seems that Filipinos are going in to war against Hungary as part of the ISIS. lol They should just keep their ego back in the Philippines!
@Atilla
Bring back the fighting spirit of Attila the Hun…
We have Spain to thank that their colonization was a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, the Philippines would’ve been under a cancerous cult that spreads hate and hate people who doesn’t conform with your dogmatism.
It’s as if the various Christian sects (well, those that proselytize, anyway) didn’t do what the Muslim fundamentalists are now doing.
Yeah, keep thinking that.
Perhaps you intended to be ignorant of the fact that Christianity has at least went through revisions (New Testament, Enlightenment, Reformation) compared to one that has never changed since it’s inception in the 7th Century.
Yeah, keep yapping that.