Recently in Philippines Category

Apparently they are not satisfied with the "broad autonomy" that the Philippines granted last year for the creation of a Sharia enclave.

"Muslim militants ambush Philippine army patrol on southern island, wounding 7 soldiers," from the Associated Press, January 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine military says Muslim militants have ambushed an army patrol on a restive southern island, wounding seven soldiers.

Regional army commander Col. Charlie Galvez blamed al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants for Tuesday’s ambush on Basilan Island. He says the attackers want to sabotage the peace process between the government and the main Muslim rebel group, which last year agreed to lay down arms in exchange for broad autonomy.

Basilan is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for bombings and kidnappings. There is hope that the peace deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front would isolate the Abu Sayyaf and help U.S.-backed Philippine troops finish off the militants....

Maybe the people on the bus had put up "Islamophobic" ads. "Bus bomb injures 7 in southern Philippines," from the Associated Press, December 30 (thanks to Twostellas):

ISULAN, Philippines — A powerful bomb exploded in a passenger bus and wounded at least seven people in the southern Philippines in an attack by suspected extortion gangs, police said Sunday.

The homemade bomb exploded in the rear portion of the bus as it traveled late Saturday in Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat province, damaging the vehicle and sparking a brief fire but causing no injuries among the vehicle’s passengers and crew, police Chief Superintendent Rolen Balquin said.

The force of the blast, however, shattered the windshield of another passenger bus nearby, wounding its driver and two passengers. Four bystanders along a roadside were wounded by shrapnel from the blast, Balquin said.

The bombing occurred despite a security alert over possible attacks by armed extortion gangs, which have targeted passenger buses in the south in the past.

Balquin said his men captured a member of the notorious Al Khobar extortion gang who detonated a roadside bomb last month in Sultan Kudarat’s Tacurong town and later told investigators the attack was part of an attempt to extort money from a bus company. The bombing prompted the provincial police to go on full alert with intensified patrols of public areas and road checkpoints.

Intelligence agencies also went on alert Sunday, the anniversary of five near-simultaneous bombings by al-Qaida-linked Filipino extremists that killed 22 people and wounded about 100 in Manila on Dec. 30, 2000. Police said they have not monitored any specific terrorist threat, but added that intelligence and counterterrorism agencies traditionally intensify their monitoring on dates when terrorists have staged major attacks.

Christmas is coming, after all. And you know how it offends Islamic supremacists. "Hubby planned to bomb bus in Philippines, wife tells cops," from the Associated Press, December 18 (thanks to Al):

MANILA: A suspected terrorist killed by Philippine police snipers after he threatened to detonate a powerful bomb may have been targeting a church or foreign aid workers helping typhoon-devastated provinces, a senior police official said Monday.

SWAT snipers killed Mohd Noor Fikrie late Friday while he threatened to set off a bomb in his backpack outside a crowded park in southern Davao city.

After months of surveillance, military and police intelligence officers had tracked the Malaysian to a budget hotel in the city last week.

Their efforts to capture him peacefully failed when he evaded police, held up a cellphone and threatened to use it to set off a bomb.

"I was just waiting for the blast," said police Senior Supt Ronald de la Rosa. "I thought I would never see my family again."

Intelligence officials had received information that Muslim extremists were planning to bomb foreigners in Davao, said de la Rosa, who heads the police force in Davao, a bustling city about 980km south of Manila.

Fikrie's wife, who was arrested, told investigators she and Fikrie had wanted to bomb a passenger bus for extortion, but de la Rosa said there were signs that the two had really wanted to target foreign aid workers.

Aid workers are using Davao as a hub to provide assistance to nearby provinces recently devastated by Typhoon Bopha, which left more than 1,000 people dead.

The target may also have been a Roman Catholic church, de la Rosa said, adding that two of five major bomb attacks staged in Davao city by Muslim militants in the past have targeted churches. Fikrie was discovered shortly before the start of popular pre-Christmas dawn Masses that pack churches nationwide with huge devotees, he said.

Police say Fikrie, 26, was a Middle East-trained bomb-making expert and close associate of fellow Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, who uses the nom de guerre Marwan and is one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted terror suspects....

Islamic law forbids non-Muslim men to marry Muslim women. That would be haram. But shooting such couples is pleasing to Allah. "Christian man and Muslim girlfriend shot in Zamboanga City," from the Mindanao Examiner, November 29 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 29, 2012) – Police is searching for two motorcycle gunmen who shot a Christian student and his Muslim girlfriend shortly after they stepped out of a motel in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Police said the attack had killed the 21-year old man while his girlfriend remains in serious condition. The duo had just flagged down a tricycle when the gunmen opened fire and escaped after the shooting.

The tricycle driver said he ran to take cover after hearing the volleys of fire. The motive of the attack is still unknown, but police is investigating whether the ambush was connected to the personal relationship of the victims.

The relationship between a Muslim woman and a Christian man is considered ‘haram’ or forbidden among many Muslims in the southern Philippines.

Will the Islamophobia never end? How did this man who had devoted his life to preaching Islam misunderstand its message as having something to do with killing? "Muslim extremist nabbed for deadly kidnap," from AFP, August 27 (thanks to Jacob):

ZAMBOANGA - Philippines police said they had arrested a Muslim preacher on Saturday for taking part in a mass kidnapping by Muslim extremists in 2000 in which a Catholic priest was killed.

The suspect, Abdul Jandul, an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group, was arrested by police and military agents on the troubled southern island of Basilan, a police statement said.

Jandul, who also worked as an Arabic teacher in an Islamic school, had a bounty of 350,000 pesos ($8,400) on his head for his alleged role in the kidnapping of 29 teachers and students that resulted in three deaths.

The Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants seized the teachers and students including a Claretian priest, Father Rhoel Gallardo, in Basilan in March 2000.

Most of those captured were freed but Gallardo and three teachers were killed by the Abu Sayyaf. The priest was reportedly tortured before he died.

The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history, including bombings and mass kidnappings of foreigners and Christians.

The group set up in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network is based on remote southern islands, including Basilan.

The number of Abu Sayyaf fighters has dropped from roughly 2,000 a decade ago to a few hundred today, according to security analysts.

However they remain a threat in the south, capable of kidnapping locals and foreigners, as well as bomb attacks, partly due to support from members of local Muslim communities.

One group of jihadists (the Moro Islamic Liberation Front) concluded a ceasefire with the government, amid substantial concessions to the Muslims; another faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), continues the armed jihad -- kind of a Hamas/Fatah arrangement. "6 Muslim rebels killed in clash in Maguindanao," from Xinhua, August 18 (thanks to Maxwell):

COTABATO, Philippines (Xinhua) - At least six breakaway Muslim rebels have been killed in fresh fighting last night in Maguindanao, a military official said today.

Col. Prudencio Asto, spokesman for the military's 6th Division, said the skirmish erupted after elements of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) harassed a military detachment in the town of Guindulungan in Maguindanao on Friday.

A firefight ensued, according to Asto, leaving six dead on the enemy side.

The military also said BIFF rebels behind a series of recent attacks on military detachments in Maguindanao last week are being coddled by their former colleagues in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)....

Will the Islamophobia never end? "Rebels armed with chainsaws attack Philippine towns," from Radio Netherlands, August 6 (thanks to David):

A breakaway group of Muslim rebels armed with chainsaws and guns launched simultaneous attacks across 11 towns in the southern Philippines on Monday, leading to clashes with troops.

Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked an army detachment, touching off gunbattles in the southern province of Maguindanao, the army and police said.

At least one soldier was wounded as sporadic fighting raged into daybreak, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Marcelo Pintac.

The rebels had cut down electrical relay posts before dawn, plunging several towns into darkness....

How symbolically fitting.

Once again the media characterizes a jihad attack and a defensive response as a "clash," as if both sides were morally equivalent. One must imagine the Philippine army descending without warning upon peaceful, innocent Muslims, weakened from Ramadan fasting -- and when you do imagine that, you've understood the perspective of the mainstream media. "Clash with al Qaeda linked group kills 11 in Philippines," from AFP, July 26 (thanks to Kenneth):

MANILA: Philippine forces clashed with Muslim extremists on a southern island Thursday, leaving seven soldiers and four militants dead, the military said.

Elite rangers battled members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group on the troubled southern island of Basilan, with three soldiers and two insurgents also wounded in the clash.

“Firefight is ongoing as of this report,” the military statement said.

It was the latest in a series of deadly clashes in the heavily-forested island of Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.

The group was founded in the 1990s with seed money from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Another day, another jihad massacre. Yet the real problem is "Islamophobia." "Suspected Islamist gunmen kill six in Philippines attack," from AFP, July 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

Gunmen suspected to be Islamic militants ambushed a convoy carrying farm workers in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing six and wounding 22 others, the Army said.

The four-vehicle convoy, which also carried armed security escorts from a Government militia, was on its way to a remote rubber plantation when it was attacked, Army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc said.

"The (militia) members who escorted the civilian workers managed to return fire, forcing the lawless elements to retreat in different directions with their own casualties," Major Cabunoc said in a statement.

Six workers were killed, while 22 others, including two militiamen, were wounded, he said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack on Basilan island, although local police and the farm cooperative's manager said they suspected the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

Taha Katu, the cooperative's manager, said prior to the attack they had received extortion letters purportedly from the Abu Sayyaf demanding payment of over $1,000 a month, in exchange for not being harmed....

Muhammad mandated death for apostates, and that is still part of Islamic law. At least three other pastors were killed as well. Will the Islamophobia never end? "Philippines Pastors Face Death for Ministry to Muslims," by Gary Lane and Lucille Talusan for CBN News, April 11:

MINDANAO, Philippines - The Philippines is a mostly Christian nation, but in the south, Muslim fundamentalists are trying to build an Islamic state.

Christians there face persecution and even death.

The island of Mindanao on the southernmost part of the Philippines is predominantly Muslim. The area's most remote parts are a haven to terrorist groups linked to al Qaeda that carry out attacks and kidnappings in the region.

Strong Persecution

Because of this, persecution against Christians is strong. This year, at least four house churches closed down after their pastors and lay leaders were killed by Muslim extremists.

Pastor Mario Acidre was one them. His wife, Mayang, was distraught over her husband's murder, which took place right in their home.

"My husband staggered into our bedroom and I was shocked because he was full of blood," she recalled. "I brought him to the hospital right away. He was operated on for eight bullet wounds, but did not survive."

Pastor Acidre was a former Muslim who converted to Christianity. He boldly shared the gospel to his Muslim relatives and neighbors.

Despite threats to his life, he was not afraid to hold Bible studies in his home, which he eventually converted into a house church.

Sharing the Gospel

Witnesses say that just a few hours before he was killed, Acidre agitated some Muslim vendors when he told them he did not believe in the amulets they were trying to sell him.

Pastor Edilberto Beira is the coordinator of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines in the Muslim region.

"I admire Pastor Mario's commitment to the Lord. He tried to share the gospel to the Muslim vendors," he said.

But Beira added that, "This incident triggered threats to other Muslims who converted to Christianity, and that is why the house churches closed down."...

Pamela Geller points out that "the jihadists get rewarded for this relentless violence and murder. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been granted “observer status” in the talks between the Philippine government and the jihadist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Muslim terrorists slaughter and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) "mediates." The Philippines (former American protectorate and 95% Catholic country) has had to give up territory and "share wealth" with these jihadi rebels. Pay the jiyza and they rule your land....under the supervision of the OIC."

"Jungle bomb planted by suspected Muslim militants wounds 22 Filipino troops, 5 critical," from the Associated Press, April 10 (thanks to David):

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ military says troops on a jungle patrol hit a trip wire planted by Muslim militants. It wounded 22 soldiers, five of them critically.

The bomb exploded on southern Basilan Island on Tuesday near a camp of Abu Sayyaf rebels that troops captured during fighting last month....

Several hundred Abu Sayyaf fighters in the southern Philippines have been blamed for bomb attacks and ransom kidnappings despite battlefield setbacks dealt by U.S.-trained Philippine forces....

PETALING JAYA: Zulkifli Abdul Hir, born in Muar in 1966, was a telecommunications engineer trained in the United States.

Zulkifli, whose aliases included Marwan and Musa, was believed to be the head of the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), accused of being a senior member of the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and blamed for multiple bomb attacks in the Philippines.

He was a protege of JI bomb expert Dr Azahari Hussin, a Malaysian killed by an Indonesian anti-terrorism unit on Nov 9, 2005.

He was wanted for his role in leading KMM in a Southern Bank robbery in Petaling Jaya in May 2001, and the murder of Lunas assemblyman Dr Joe Fernandez and the bombing of a Hindu temple in Pudu, both in 2000.

He fled to Indonesia where he was believed to be involved in the Bali bombing in 2002, which claimed more than 200 lives. It is thought that he then escaped to Jolo Island in Southern Philippines in 2003.

In the Philippines, he cooperated with Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to attack and bomb several American interests and military bases there.

This led him to being placed in the top 10 list of the world's most wanted terrorists with a US$5mil (M15mil) bounty on his head.

He was also high on the Philippines police's wanted list after two of their personnel were killed in a clash when they attempted to approach his hideout near Manila in August 2006.

Marwan had also been accused of helping to secure funds and weapons for Abu Sayyaf from foreign donors.

In March 2010, the Philippines marines launched an assault against Marwan, killing at least seven al-Qaeda linked militants in a raid at Laminusa Island, off southern Sulu province.

However, he managed to escape.

In October last year, Marwan fled from a military assault by the Philippines, which killed three Abu Sayyaf commanders and two other militants near the Indanan town in southern Sulu province.

His brother-in-law, Taufik Abdul Halim, was caught when he tried to set off a bomb at Plaza Atrium in Jakarta in 2001.

However, he ended up losing part of his right leg when the bomb exploded prematurely.

MUAR: The mother of Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli Abdul Hir, who was killed in a raid by the Philippine authorities, wants the body of her long-lost son brought home for burial here.

Aminah Abdul Aziz, 64, who lives in Kampung Jeram Masjid in Bakri, said if it was indeed true that her son had been killed in the Philippines, she wanted the Malaysian and the Philippine authorities to help bring his body back.

“I was shocked to be informed of his death as I have not received any news or heard from him since he left home over 12 years ago.

“He was an engineer with a telecommunications company in Kuala Lumpur. But one day, he came home with his wife and three children. He told me he wanted to send his family to Kluang. Soon after that, he disappeared,” she said at her house.

Zulkifli, also known as Marwan, had a RM15mil bounty on his head and was among those killed during a raid in a militant camp on a southern Philippine island yesterday.

Aminah, who now lives with an Indonesian maid, said she had prayed every day for Marwan's return, hoping that her son would leave the Jemaah Islamiyah struggle.

She said she had been told by relatives and some police personnel that her son had joined the regional terrorist network some years back and was living in the Philippines.

“If it is true that he has died, please bring his body home to Muar,” she appealed.

The intrepid mujadehin, keeping the world safe from joy: the hotel was packed with wedding guests. "Wedding tragedy: Hotel bomb kills 3, wounds dozens in Philippines," from MSNBC, November 29 (thanks to Kenneth):

MANILA, Philippines — Suspected Islamic militants detonated a powerful bomb that killed at least three people and wounded 27 others in a budget hotel packed with wedding guests in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.

Investigators believe the blast and ensuing fire that gutted the two-story Atilano Pension House in downtown Zamboanga City late Sunday was a terrorist strike and that it was not linked to the wedding, city police director Edwin de Ocampo said.

Nothing personal, just blowing up your hotel.

Still, many of the victims were from a group of more than 20 people who occupied six of the hotel's 35 rooms for a planned ceremony Monday.

Citing witnesses, the BBC reported that the explosion destroyed the upper levels of the hotel.

"We should not show that we're panicking because that is what these troublemakers relish to see," Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat told The Associated Press by telephone. "We have good leads. We will get all of them."

TNT powder

The blast was believed to be one of two simultaneous bombings planned by al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaff militants. The other would have been on nearby Basilan island, where two explosives were separately found and safely defused by authorities in Isabela city on Sunday, de Ocampo said.

The hotel blast, caused by about 22 pounds of TNT powder, was one of the most high-profile bombings this year blamed on the Abu Sayyaf.

The blast was so powerful it caused much of the second floor to collapse, blew off the hotel's roof and shattered glass panes and windows from nearby buildings, Lobregat added.

Two of the wounded were in serious condition and more than a dozen others remained confined in a hospital, he said.

Volatile region

Zamboanga City, a predominantly Christian trading hub 540 miles south of Manila, is located in a volatile region long troubled by a decades-long Muslim insurgency, extortion gangs and kidnap for ransom syndicates.

Was this the target, or a possible "work accident?"

The blast occurred in room 226 on the second floor of the hotel, instantly killing two people staying in two adjacent rooms, which were devastated by the blast. A third body was found Monday on the ground floor, pinned by the cement slabs that collapsed from above, Lobregat said....

MILF wants a "no go zone" of its own, even as it still plays at negotiating with Manila. "Philippine Muslim rebels ready 'to fight' if attacked," from Agence France Presse, October 31:

Muslim rebels in the Philippines are ready to "fight back" after the government warned it would go after them if they sheltered outlaws, a spokesman said Monday.

Fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are prepared for a possible assault, their spokesman Von al-Haq said, adding the group remains committed to peace talks with the government.

"We have already ordered our men on the ground to be in defensive positions. But that is over the apprehension that there may be an attack," he told reporters.

"If we are pushed to the wall, we have to fight back. That's very clear."

His warnings came after the military said the MILF could be targeted if it continues to shelter "lawless elements" -- despite a ceasefire to end a decades-old rebellion that has left 150,000 dead since the 1970s.

Over recent weeks, military and police pursuit of outlaws in the southern Philippines have turned into pitched battles with MILF-linked forces that left as many as 40 soldiers, police and civilians dead.

While the MILF eventually disowned some of those being pursued, it has admitted responsibility for the killing of 19 soldiers in the southern island of Basilan, saying they intruded on rebel territory.

Military spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said that despite the MILF's fears, a ceasefire mechanism was still in place that would prevent violence between the two sides.

He also said upcoming informal talks between the MILF and the government in early-November would hopefully ease the tensions.

"Tensions." Now, there is an overused euphemism in the mainstream media, sounding as if perhaps a spa day might clear all of this up.

"We will wait for the feedback from what happens in the peace talks in November," Burgos said.

Accidental? Sure, the army just happened to get in the way of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's bullets. Later, the captive soldiers' necks happened to get in the way of their machetes.

Yeah. That's it. These things happen. "Philippine leader says no offensive despite Muslim rebel killing of 19 soldiers; army grieves," from the Associated Press:

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III said Thursday he would not resort to ordering an army offensive against Muslim guerrillas who killed 19 army soldiers in the southern Philippines despite a clamor for tougher government action.

Tuesday’s intense fighting on southern Basilan island between army special forces and members of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front killed 25 combatants, including six guerrillas. It was some of the deadliest fighting since 2008, when peace talks bogged down and ignited widespread clashes that killed hundreds and displaced 750,000 people.

A cease-fire guarded by a Malaysia-led peacekeeping contingent had held until Tuesday.

The rebels have waged a bloody insurgency for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region, the homeland of minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines. The conflict has killed more than 120,000 people in nearly four decades.

The military and the guerrillas accused each other of instigating Tuesday’s clash. Both planned to protest before a government-rebel truce committee.

Army officials, angered by their heavy loss, also publicly disagreed with officials handling peace talks with the Moro rebels. Government negotiator Marvic Leonen said the clash was accidental and peace talks would proceed.

“Maybe in his perspective that was a misencounter because he doesn’t treat the rebels anymore as enemies,” army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade told DZRH radio.

Parlade said six of the soldiers ran out of ammunition while the gunbattle raged and were taken captive by the guerrillas. They were later found dead with hack wounds, sparking anger in the 120,000-strong military.....

It sure sounds like the MILF jihadists are really committed to peace, doesn't it?

You'll never guess why the churches are now constant guard. "Christians dispossessed and silenced in Mindanao," from Asia News, September 29:

Manila (AsiaNews) - In Jolo, Marawi, Basilan and other areas of Mindanao, the Christian minority is suffering harassment and pressure from the Muslim population, AsiaNews' sources in Mindanao say. Government officials are forcing Christians to sell their land to make room for Chinese industries.

According to sources, the climate of impunity, the abductions, the continuing clashes between the army and extremist Islamic groups and the economic crisis have created an unbearable atmosphere for the Christian population, who are afraid to express their faith in public.

"Jolo Cathedral", they explain, "is located at the center of the city, and has always been a symbol of unity and friendship between Muslims and Christians. Until a few years ago, the main door was open at all hours, but due to the continuous episodes of vandalism, the Cathedral can now be accessed only through the side entrance. The churchyard is guarded day and night by military and police."

Sources say that the situation is the same in Basilan and Cotabato. Here in recent weeks both churches were hit with paper bombs that damaged the part of the walls and windows. These acts provide publicity for the young extremists, who learn intolerance against Christians from unscrupulous preachers, often funded by foreign countries, who aim to spread a restrictive and fundamentalist vision of Islam. "The situation is very difficult", AsiaNews sources explain, "Christians are not permitted to react. The only alternative to escape is to suffer these abuses in silence."...

They want a "substate" arrangement that would require changing the country's constitution. It would be a win-win situation for the jihadists: all of the benefits of sovereignty, without the full responsibility of acting like a real state. And they would be in a position to continue to move the goalposts on conditions for peace with the central government, changing demands for resources, for borders on the territory, and of course, insisting on the right to impose all the Sharia they please. Again, blackmailing Manila is cheaper than war.

In the current proposal, MILF would also have to disarm. A disarmed jihadist movement would be a contradiction in terms. An update on this story. "Muslim rebels reject Philippine peace proposal," by Oliver Teves for the Associated Press, August 23 (thanks to Twostellas):

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group rejected a government proposal for autonomy in the country's south as inadequate but said Tuesday they will continue talks.

Representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front insisted on a substate for minority Muslims, chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen told reporters in a video conference from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the talks were held.

The government position omitted the word "substate" because that would require a change in the Philippine Constitution, Leonen said.

He said the government proposal contained autonomy but the rebels believed it did not go far enough.

Rebel vice chairman Ghadzali Jaafar told ABS-CBN television that the government proposal "does not address the real issues."

It's about dominance, and Sharia.

"We want to first address the political issue," he said. "This is a political problem, not an economic problem. We are not talking here about economic reforms, which are nothing if they are not given a political solution."

The rebels earlier gave up their demand for a separate state and said they are willing to work with the government on protecting Muslims' rights in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation.

Leonen said the government's 20-page peace proposal included "three components for one single solution."

"It seeks to not only provide just and lasting peace to the troubled south but more so to improve and uplift the lives of the people who have long suffered from the brutality of decades-long armed conflict," he said, adding it was "principled, realistic, and practical proposal."

He said the three components include massive social services and economic development to break the "cycle of poverty" in areas already under an existing autonomous Muslim region.

Speaking of contradictions, it should seem just a bit hypocritical to demand political autonomy from the very entity from which one is requiring "massive social services": leave us alone, and pay us. And for that matter, autonomy didn't solve the problems the last time, but, let's try it again. And throw more money at it, please.

It also included a political settlement under a peace accord with the Moro rebel group that would create a commission to push Congress to pass a legislation to strengthen the Muslim region, and an acknowledgment of Muslim contributions to the Filipinos' historical struggles to facilitate the "healing of the wounds created by war."

He said he could not yet disclose the details of the government proposal. However, any proposal would require "the consent of the governed and is within the bounds of our national sovereignty, territorial integrity and the Philippine Constitution," he said....

On the condition that they disarm. Complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament is well nigh impossible; after all, "war is deceit."

But there is a much larger issue: the imposition of Sharia law on any inch of the Philippines' territory. If they get anywhere on disarmament, we'll likely see the usual claims about Sharia: it isn't really that bad, the nasty parts of Sharia can't/won't happen here, it's flexible and adaptable to our rich multicultural tapestry, and so forth.

The observable effect of Sharia is quite different than the vaporware, academic-exercise brand of "authentic" Sharia that is wandering around Yellowstone National Park with Bigfoot. Wherever there arises a renewed interest in enforcing Sharia, tolerance goes down, harassment goes up, and civil liberties disintegrate, whether in Aceh or Britain's Tower Hamlets. "Philippines offers autonomy to Muslim rebels," by Mark Navales for Agence France-Presse, August 22 (thanks to Twostellas):

The Philippines on Monday offered Muslim rebels waging a decades-long insurgency the prospect of autonomy, but warned they must first lay down their arms and a peace pact was likely years away.

The offer was contained in the government's proposal for peace with the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) at the start of three days of talks in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

"This proposal presents the possibility of a more empowered, more workable and thus, more genuine autonomy of a Bangsamoro (Filipino Muslim) region," the government said in a statement summarising its offer.

The government did not make public all the specific details, but hinted the area could expand and improve the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which groups five Muslim provinces in the country's troubled south.

The ARMM was created in the 1980s to accommodate the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), then the country's largest Muslim rebel group from which the MILF splintered in 1978.

"Splitters!" Speaking of which, was there any comment from BIFF?

The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996, and its leader was made the head of the ARMM, but the government statement described it as a "failed experiment".

The proposal also includes "a system of cooperation" by which the government and the MILF could share revenue from natural resources exploited from the region.

However, for any final peace deal to take place, the government demanded that the MILF disarm and allow its fighters to be rehabilitated into society.

And while describing its proposal as "politically comprehensive", it indicated the most sensitive issues would not be addressed immediately.

"The proposal works with what is available and doable within the next few years. It does not start with contentious and divisive issues whose resolution may not be realisable as yet," the statement said.

Monday's proposal was the first by the government since the Supreme Court in 2008 outlawed another proposed autonomy deal that would have given the MILF control over 700 towns and villages in the south, including some Christian areas.

In retaliation, two senior MILF rebels launched attacks across the south that left about 400 dead and displaced 750,000.

An estimated 150,000 people have died in the conflict, which began in the 1970s.

At an earlier round of peace talks in Kuala Lumpur, the MILF outlined its demands, including the creation of a "sub state" and the larger share of profits from exploiting the region's resources.

MILF spokespeople were not immediately available to give their reactions to the government's latest proposal.

And now, the BIFF vs. MILF update you were waiting for.

This report says the jihadists are fighting for "an independent Muslim homeland that would liberate minority Muslims from crushing poverty and neglect." Therein lies an assumption that the cause of poverty in the area is a one-way street, and that poverty is the underlying cause for the jihad, downplaying the role of ideology.

We have seen case after case where jihad causes poverty, and frequently kicks vulnerable populations and economies while they are down.

There can be no stable society, and therefore, no prosperous society, when violence is so easily provoked in the name of honor, or for the imposition of Islamic law. There can be no lasting, sustainable investment and development when there is the constant risk of seeing those investments destroyed. The conditions to create wealth do not exist where there is perpetual insecurity, as jihad creates, blackmailing a population to give up liberty for security. Nor do they exist where there is not freedom of conscience and inquiry (and access to education outside the madrassa for girls as well as boys), or where the fear of being killed for ideological crimes keeps people quiet and thinking inside the (pine) box.

After decades of a jihadist insurgency, the situation is nowhere near as simple as the report describes. "Philippine guerrilla forms new Muslim rebel group," by Jim Gomez for the Associated Press, August 18:

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A renegade commander said Thursday he has split from the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group and formed a new group with hundreds of fighters to wage a war for a separate homeland.

Ameril Umbra Kato told The Associated Press in a cellphone interview from his jungle hide-out in southern Maguindanao province that he would not return to the main Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has threatened to expel him after he led a mutiny in December.

Kato denied allegations by Philippine security officials that he has links with al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's volatile south and was involved in deadly bombings and terrorist attacks.

He said his new group would be known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Front. Its guerrilla wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was organized in January, a month after he broke off from the main Muslim guerrilla force over differences with insurgent leaders.

"This is the true jihad, the true revolution," Kato said.

Kato, who has about 200 to 300 fighters according to his former comrades, did not give details about his combat force or say what next steps he would take.

Kato, who is in his late 60s, said he left because his former group chose to "waste time" by deciding to negotiate with the government for expanded autonomy instead of waging a battle for an independent Muslim homeland that would liberate minority Muslims from crushing poverty and neglect.

"We've been going around and around wasting money and look where the peace talks have brought us," Kato said. "The roots of the conflict have not been solved."

The infighting within the main 11,000-strong rebel force underscores the complexity of the Muslim unrest that has claimed more than 120,000 lives and stunted growth in the impoverished but resource-rich south of the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

The main guerrilla force currently led by Murad Ebrahim split in 1978 from the former Moro National Liberation Front, which dropped its secessionist bid for autonomy and signed a landmark peace accord with Manila in 1996. Murad's group dropped its bid for independence last year but demanded a more powerful type of autonomy with greater control over wider territory.

Murad's group said Kato, who used to head one of its largest and most battle-tested commands, resigned last December, citing his age and poor health. But Kato then formed a breakaway group and accused Murad's group of betraying the Muslim cause by going for autonomy instead of independence.

Life imitates Monty Python: "Splitter!"

"They did that without consulting the Muslims. They cheated," Kato said.

Philippine officials have expressed concern over the infighting, which they say casts doubts about the main rebel group's ability to enforce any future accord in peace talks brokered by Malaysia.

As the old saying goes, My brother against my brother, but both of us against our cousin. Rival jihad groups MILF and BIFF (ah, you can't make this stuff up) duke it out in the Philippines: "Hundreds flee Philippines violence," from Reuters, August 10 (thanks to Twostellas):

Hundreds of people fled their homes on a southern Philippine island after fighting erupted between rival Muslim rebel groups, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, raising concern peace talks with the government planned later this month could be affected.

Six people were killed and an undetermined number of fighters from both sides wounded in sporadic clashes on Mindanao island since Saturday, said Colonel Prudencio Asto.

The fighting erupted between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a separatist group which has been negotiating with the government to end a long-running insurgency, and the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The BIFF has rejected the peace process....

Von al Haq, a MILF spokesman, said they have been trying to get the warring groups to withdraw their forces.

"This fighting was purely because of land conflict and has nothing to do with the peace process," al Haq said in a statement posted at the rebel website www.luwaran.com.

"We are confident the peace process will not be affected."

Nearly 400 families had fled the fighting, with most of them temporarily housed in school buildings at the town centre.