Partly we, Muslims, should be blamed…

Ihave read a lot of articles – perspective, opinion, commentary, research, policy and historical reviews, and on line reports – regarding the root causes of the rise and spread of Islamic militants in southern Philippines; and most recently, the influence of ISIS brand of ideology among the local Islamic militant groups, as well as the migration of, and infiltration by,foreign ISIS fighters in southern Philippines. On the same vein, I heard lots of interviews, both in local radio and TV stations in our country, of prominent Muslim leaders, scholars, clerics, and politicians, postulating and opining the rationale behind the Marawi siege.

The end of the Marawi siege, which spelled the defeat of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf ISIS-affiliated militant groups, is a way to remind us all that while ISIS is being defeated militarily, however, the ideological threat from radical Islam to which it subscribe will continue to spread.

All these mediums of public information have common denominators in their synopses as to the rise and spread of Islamic jihadists and extremists in our country i.e., they are due to poverty, economic deprivation, historical injustice, unequal treatment, anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim policies, discrimination, neglect by the government, the failure of the passage of the MILF-crafted BBL, among many others.

As a Filipino-Muslim, I have to stand up and express my thoughts when my fellow Muslims have a tendency to use Islam and being a Moro for political purposes.But it becomes worst when their motive is to put fear into the hearts of a nation, which are predominantly Catholic, and to divide our country.

I detest my fellow Muslims if we don’t accept responsibility and embrace our own mistakes, especially the mistakes, wrongdoings and malpractices of our Muslim leaders (politicians, clerics, civic leaders etc.). Instead, just because we are Muslims, and perhaps in order to protect our image (as a fearless warrior and living in a world of Ummah) in the psyche of the nation, we have these apparent tendencies to deflect and avoid these kinds of issues besetting our tribes. Real issues, which actually is one of the major causes and underlying reasons why our fellow Muslims have been influenced, and being influenced, by the ideology of the Islamic jihadist and the ISIS ideology.

Does it make us less of a Moro if we publicly admit our mistakes and assume responsibility for a wrongdoing we have committed? Does it make me less of a Muslim, worst a traitor, if I criticize our Muslim politicians or leaders for being corrupt and incompetent? Does it make me a “kafir” if I argue and criticize the teachings and ideology of our local Muslim clerics (mufti’s, ustadz’s and imam’s), including the Arab missionaries? Actually, this fear, this restraint on us, has made Islamic extremism and the ISIS ideology appealing to our disappointed and frustrated Muslim brothers.

As a Filipino Muslim, I find it hypocritical and shameful if we rant, rave and complain of our being less privileged when we are the most privileged in a nation of 105 million Filipinos, with 21 ethnic groups, 18 other tribal groups and 110 ethno-linguistic groups. Unlike the non-Muslims, and in a country that is predominantly Christian (Muslims only comprise 5% of the total Philippine population), we have our own laws (Code of Muslim Personal Laws); our own judges and courts (Shariah); our own national office (National Commission on

lim Filipinos); Muslim legal holidays (even more than the country’s numberof legal holidays!); prayer rooms in airports and public places; “halal” menus in certain restaurants; Madrasa’s (Islamic schools); and having our government (Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao), among many others. All these institutions even use public funds, which arguably could even be considered to be in violation of the Separation of Church and State doctrine under the Philippine Constitution. Moreover, we have Muslim Filipinos appointed in all the levels of government and in all the three branches of government. These “affirmativeaction” types of benefits and privileges that have been given to us is in no way considered Islamophobia that would justify or cause some of our Muslim brothers to gravitate towards ISIS and Islamic extremism. On the contrary, it is because Muslims leaders who are in powerbecomes corrupt and greedy and they tend to neglect the plight of their own people that they are supposed to serve.

Having said that, it is about time for us, Filipino Muslims, to be true to ourselves and to be honest to the Filipino Nation that we should be partly to be blamed for the rise and spread of Islamic extremism in the Philippines and the affiliation of local terrorist groups with ISIS