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أمة الله حنان

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  • أمة الله حنان
    أمة الله حنان published a new article : Beaucoup d'informations sur la REELLE situation à Mindanao & Sulu:

    Why no Muslim should support the 'Comprehensive Agreement on
    Bangsamoro'



    In the last week a
    peace agreement was signed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine
    government. This agreement is known as the Comprehensive Agreement on
    Bangsamoro (CAB) and has been in the works for almost 2 years, amidst various
    negotiations and promises by both sides in the agreement. The Philippine government and the MILF have hailed the signing of the
    peace deal and many media sources have gleamingly praised the agreement,
    presenting it as an amicable end to 490 years of fighting between the Muslims
    and the Christians in Mindanao. None but a fool however would believe this, and
    the Philippine government first and foremost knows that this agreement itself
    changes nothing in the real world, nor is it an end to conflict but only a new
    stage in the Moro Jihad which has lasted for almost 5 centuries.



    As Muslims we must be concerned with what is taking
    place between the Muslims and the Philippine government as it affects us all as
    an Ummah, especially the Muslims in Mindanao and the surrounding areas. The sad
    reality however is that most Muslims outside of South East Asia pay little
    attention to what is taking place here with their fellow Muslims and due to
    this many tend to take most of their information from the occasional piece by Aljazeera
    or headlines from the mainstream news agencies. It is because of this scarcity
    of proper information from a true Islamic perspective that many seem to have a
    very warped understanding of what this peace treaty actually means, so much so
    that I actually had some Muslims messaging me congratulating us here as if the
    Jihad had somehow ended and we had gained victory over the disbelievers! Inna
    lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un...



    For those who are unaware of what is actually
    happening, or even those who have some idea but do not understand things in
    great detail, I will try to present the correct understanding of what this
    'peace deal' really is in light of recent history and from an Islamic approach.



    The first thing to understand is that this peace deal
    is not the first of its kind, in fact it is almost a carbon copy of the last
    peace deal that was made in 1989 between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the
    Philippine government. This former deal was the first peace agreement made
    which granted Muslims autonomy, it was this deal that created the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
    (ARMM), the region which comprises 95% of what the current Bangsamoro
    autonomous region to be created under the new peace deal consists of. The new
    deal only adds a few cities and small villages to what has already existed for
    20 years.



    So why did the former peace deal collapse, why the
    need to formulate a new peace? The reason why is because the former peace deal
    was a load of 'tae ng toro'. The deal was never meant to last and it was
    designed from the beginning to offer nothing to the Muslims. In the beginning
    it was promised that vast areas would form the ARMM, but in the end it was cut
    down to an area so small that even the regional capital was not even included
    in it! Yes, that meant that the ARMM leaders were not even given control the
    area that they assembled in. The whole deal was a farce, it began with grand
    promises but quickly devolved into the trap that it was always meant to be - a
    deal that favoured only the Philippine government. It was therefore no surprise
    that the MNLF pulled out of the deal and resumed fighting for independence from
    the Philippine nation, as they had seen first hand that there could be no
    negotiations with a nation that had been at war with Muslims since its
    inception and had shown that it had no intention at all to grant the Muslims
    what we had been fighting for. The ARMM was taken over by politicians that
    sided with the presiding government, and corruption and mismanagement became so
    widespread that none could take the ARMM seriously any longer.



    The Philippine government was at loss during this
    period, as the MNLF had withdrawn from its truces and resumed fighting for
    independence, and the MILF who were based in Central Mindanao also continued to
    demand independence. The MNLF and the MILF were formerly united and were under
    the leadership of Nur
    Misuari, the father of the Bangsamoro uprising in the 1960's, however
    one of his commanders named Salamat
    Hashim refused to accept the peace deals that were being made with the
    government and so he broke off and formed the MILF which promised that it would
    not settle for autonomy, but rather continue to fight for full independence.
    Salamat Hashim vowed that anything less than independence was treachery and
    selling the rights of the Muslims. It is rather ironic then that after Salamat
    Hashim passed away (may Allah have Mercy upon him), his successor Murad Ibrahim began to
    work with the government on making a new peace deal that would place him as the
    new leader of an autonomous region. Was it because of the want of power that he
    betrayed the goals set by the founder of the MILF? We do not know.. However it
    became clear that Murad Ibrahim was ready to throw away all of the ideals set
    by the group and offered to lay down its arms so long as the Philippine
    government negotiated with it, letting it take power of the ARMM and turning it
    into the slightly different Bangsamoro autonomous entity. In a turn of events,
    the MILF became the ones to be hand in hand with the Philippine government, and
    the MNLF swore that it would fight only for an independent Islamic state, and
    it indeed took the first steps towards doing so by again declaring Bangsamoro
    independence in July 2013.



    As Muslims we do not need to get caught up in names
    of groups, nor do we need to rally behind personalities. Whilst some, out of a
    sense of tribalism or personal preference may side with the MNLF or the MILF,
    or even side with another group or choose to remain neutral, the correct approach
    that we should have as Muslims is to first understand exactly what the Shari'ah
    of Allah teaches us in regards to matters of Jihad and rule over our lands, and
    then to see who is upon this correct way in order to know who deserves our
    support and who does not. In fact as Muslims this should be our primary concern
    placed over all other matters, and this means that as Muslims our allegiance is
    not to any one group regardless of what they do, but rather we have a united
    goal that we must fight for, and if any group adheres to this correct method
    then we support them, and if any group strays from it then we cannot support
    them. Indeed the path of Islam is a straight path, and anyone that strays from
    it and abandons it cannot be followed, rather we remain dedicated to the goal
    of Islam, whether the majority be upon it or even if it is only a handful of
    Muslims who are guided upon it.



    The first and most important goal that we have as
    Muslims, as stated by Allah in the Qur'an is to expel the disbelieving invaders
    from our lands:



    وَأَخْرِجُوهُم مِّنْ حَيْثُ أَخْرَجُوكُمْ وَالْفِتْنَةُ
    أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ

    Expel them from wherever they have expelled you,
    for fitnah is worse than slaughter.



    Allah commands us as believers to fight those who
    have fought us and driven us out from our lands that we ruled over. This means
    that we as Muslims MUST fight the Philippine government as they are the ones
    who have taken control of our lands from us and instituted un-Islamic laws upon
    us. Manila was ruled by Muslims under Rajah Sulayman, and he was fought and
    expelled. Mactan was ruled by Datu 'Kalipulaku and later his descendants were
    expelled. ALL of Mindanao was under the rule of the Sultanate of Magindanao and
    ALL of Sulu was under control of the Sultanate of Sulu, yet we were driven out
    of most of Mindanao and much of Sulu was taken from us and un-Islamic laws were
    put in place and our lands were claimed as part of the Philippines. Therefore
    as Muslims we are commanded to reclaim every last inch of land that was taken from
    us, and Allah reminds us that fitnah (in this case meaning shirk/polytheism and
    disbelief) is worse than slaughter, meaning that it is far worse to allow
    disbelief to remain than to be killed. No Muslim can be content knowing that
    the cross of the Crusaders is raised over OUR lands and that our children are
    forced to pledge allegiance to a nation of disbelief. Rather it is our duty to
    continue the Jihad that has been going on between the believers and the
    disbelievers for 490 years.



    The next point to understand is that it is an act
    of disbelief and treachery to ally with the disbelievers against the Muslims. It is agreed by all Muslims that
    anyone who assists the disbelievers in fighting the Muslims is an apostate and
    has left the fold of Islam, therefore our unity and alliance is ONLY
    with the Muslims and can never be with the disbelievers. Due to this it is
    clear that the MILF and its leaders have left the fold of Islam as they have
    allied themselves with the Philippine government to fight against the Mujahideen.
    Only a number of months ago the Philippine Army (AFP) attacked the Mujahideen
    of the Bangsamoro Islamic
    Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the MILF supported the AFP and deemed the
    operation necessary in order to ensure the success of their peace treaty. The
    BIFF were a group lead by Commander
    Kato (may Allah protect him) who left the MILF when they saw that the
    MILF had abandoned their demand for independence and began to make deals with
    the Philippine government. Whilst the BIFF Mujahideen continued to fight the
    AFP, the MILF in a great act of betrayal demanded that they cease fighting the
    Philippine government, and when the BIFF refused, the MILF allied with the AFP
    in a joint attack on the Mujahideen. This act of the MILF is one of the
    greatest and most horrible actions ever witnessed in the Moro Jihad, it was
    witnessed that they took the disbelievers as their allies against the believers
    and they spilled Muslim blood without valid cause, all because of their quest
    for power.. The AFP raided the bases of the Mujahideen and they removed the
    flags of Tawhid and replaced them with flags of the Philippines, and the MILF
    supported them in doing this. Therefore every Muslims must understand that the
    MILF, despite being founded by a true Mujahid, have become a group of sell-out
    apostates who are allied to the Christian Philippine nation and NOT to the
    Muslim Ummah.



    Further to this act of treachery in siding with the
    disbelievers, the MILF sold any claim it had to call itself 'Islamic' when it
    signed the peace deal only days ago with the Philippine government and it
    declared via its official spokesman a pledge to support and establish democracy
    in Bangsamoro, and to accept Philippine law as being superior to Islamic Law.
    The MILF openly stated that it supports democracy which is a system of
    disbelief, as such they again made it clear that they are not at all Islamic
    but are rather servants of Malacañang (the Philippine presidential residence)
    and not representatives of Allah's Religion. Their further insult to the
    Muslims in affirming that the ultimate law of the Bangsamoro region would be
    the law of the Philippines only made it clearer that they have sold their
    religion entirely for whatever power they think they will gain from this peace
    deal. This stands in contrast to the goal of Salamat Hashim who said "The
    ultimate aim of our jihad is to make supreme the Word of Allah." Indeed
    the MILF are traitors to their founder, to the Muslims of Bangsamoro and to the
    whole Muslim Ummah.



    So now with the new peace agreement between the
    MILF and the Philippine government, who are the Muslims that are left upon the
    Haqq (truth)? It has been a blessing in disguise that via this peace deal the
    true intentions of each group and each person has been shown. Some of those who
    posed as Muslims have shown that they are in fact traitors, and those who are
    steadfast upon the truth have remained so. Among the believers who are still
    fighting Jihad in the Path of Allah are the Mujjahideen of the BIFF who despite
    the heavy attacks they faced continue to fight the disbelievers with an
    intensity like no other group in Mindanao. Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah, better known to many as Abu
    Sayyaf also remain dedicated to the establishment of an Islamic State
    and refuse to compromise or negotiate with the disbelievers, and they too
    remain active in the Sulu archipelago as well as western Mindanao. There
    remains a close relationship between the BIFF and Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah and
    there is no doubt that these 2 groups are the most open supporters of the
    Islamic goal of Bangsamoro. The third group which can be said to be on the
    correct path is the Misuari-led
    faction of the MNLF. Since the foundation of the group almost half a
    century ago, their methodology has evolved from being somewhat socialist/secularist
    to becoming progressively more Islamic, and most recently with splits in the
    group occurring, the faction which has remained under the control of Misuari and his advisor Abdul-Khabir Malik have
    demonstrated that they no longer pursue peace deals with the government but
    demand nothing short of full independence for the Muslims. However, there still
    remains tensions between the MNLF and Al-Harakat Al-Islamiyyah and this is an
    obstacle to a greater unity of the Mujahideen. The Misuari faction remains allied
    with the BIFF, however its past history with Al-harakat Al-Islamiyyah has
    proven to be a hard obstacle to overcome, and we pray that in time there will
    be a unity between the 2 groups that is based upon the right path of Islam.



    Along with the groups mentioned, there is a new
    generation of Moro youth who have been inspired by the Mujahideen of our era
    and who listen to figures such as Anwar Al-'Awlaqi and other prominent
    English-speaking preachers who openly teach about matters of Jihad and Khilafah
    that many Imams in Bangsamoro are simply too afraid or too weak to mention.
    This younger generation have become fed up with the power-seeking elders who
    shamelessly ally with the disbelievers and they wish to see an Islamic revival
    in Bangsamoro just as they see happening all across the world. They have
    abandoned the flags of the Moro groups that came before them and have adopted
    the black banner of Tawhid as their symbol, and from my experience those who
    belong to this movement in this generation are so great in number that all they
    need is a unified movement and a charismatic leader that they can unite under
    and we will see insha'Allah a great force that will realise the dream of Moro
    independence and an Islamic State in Mindanao.



    I pray that all of those in Mindanao and the
    surrounding areas pay attention to what is taking place and they realise that
    those who are selling their religion to Malacañang are not our example nor even
    our brothers, they are traitors who we do not look to for guidance. Rather, we must
    remain steadfast upon the way of the Prophet and the commands of Allah and not
    compromise our identity ever, we must continue the fight for Islam and the
    establishment of Allah's Religion in our lands. Do not despair brothers and
    sisters, whether you be in the islands of Tawi-Tawi, in the marketplaces of
    Sulu or Zamboanga, in the masjids of Marawi, in the madrasahs of Cotabato..
    Rather remember that we are united as one Ummah by Islam, and our identity as
    Muslims unites us with the strongest unity that there is, and with the Help of
    Allah we will be successful, do not stop asking Allah in your prayers for the
    victory of the Mujahideen in our lands and across the globe, do not stop
    praying for our unity and success, do not stop praying for the establishment of
    Islam and the Khilafah, and do not stop praying that you will be of the first
    ones who help to fight in the Path of Allah for this noble cause.

    By Musa Cerantonio