Bangsamoro and the Moro Problem Essay Example

domain is crucial for them is vital. The judgments within the Muslim culture contribute to a collective consciousness that operates independently of the rest of Filipino culture.

It is clear that Muslims and Christians blame each other for conflict due to their differing perceptions, leading to interpersonal issues. In "The Bangsa Moro: Fighting for Freedom During the War on Terror: The Muslim Independence Movement of the Southern Philippines," Bob East discusses why negotiations have failed in achieving peace, identifying internal and external friction as main obstacles.

The root cause of friction within Mindanao can be attributed to both internal and external factors. Internal friction arises due to the conflict between the MNLF and MILF, while external friction exists in the form of insincere and opaque governance. When viewed through the lens of Marx, the MNLF-MILF conflict can be seen as the thesis and antithesis that must be synthesized to resolve the conflict. As agriculture is the primary mode of production in Mindanao, issues concerning ancestral domain become crucial since whoever holds the rights to these domains also holds the right to till and reap benefits from the land.

"Looking into the Future of Moro Self-Determination in the Philippines" by Rizal G. Buendia discusses how Mindanao's products benefit Luzon and the Visayas, causing Mindanao to not prosper from its own products. This has led to a sense of alienation, where Mindanao cannot even afford the products they produce. The concept of the right to self-determination is applied to the case of the Bangsa Moro. The article argues that it is unlikely for the state to grant autonomy as it inherently protects its territory.

The state seldom gives up

its territory, as history shows that states aim to safeguard the minimum and extend the maximum boundaries. Nathan Quimpo elucidates diverse conflict resolution strategies in his scholarly article, “Options of the Pursuit of Just, Comprehensive and Stable Peace in the Southern Philippines”. He critiques power-based resolution, which is inadequate, and rights-based resolution, where only one side is given priority. Instead, he advocates for an interest-based approach, which addresses the interests and concerns of all parties and proves to be cost-effective as well as efficient in resolving conflict. The government's act of waging war transforms it into a figurative iron cage, undermining its responsibility to ensure peace.

According to Rizal Buendia's "The State-Moro Armed Conflict in the Philippines: Unresolved National Question or Question of Governance?", the conflict in Mindanao arises from two opposing concerns - the Moro separatist movement's assertion of self-determination rights and the affirmation of territorial integrity by the Philippines. This conflict has a micro perspective, contained within the region, but also affects how Filipinos are perceived internationally. War reduces people to statistics and disregards intersubjectivity, ultimately failing its intended purpose and those it was created for.

According to the article, Muslims want to leave the Philippines mainly because of inadequate governance. The government considers Muslims as a disease and handles them accordingly in an effort to address the "Moro issue." However, this narrow focus leads to neglecting proper governance, resulting in additional problems from this ailment. Under Maxian ideology, preserving state integrity is the government's stance while granting Bangsamoro freedom represents an opposing perspective.

The article by Jamail A. Kamlian titled “Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Southern Philippines: A Discourse on Self-Determination, Political

Autonomy and Conflict Resolution” examines the history of the Moro Problem and its connection to the present demand for autonomy by the Bangsa Moro. It emphasizes the importance of achieving a synthesis or resolution, rather than treating Mindanao as solely serving the centralized government, which can dehumanize Muslims and turn the government into an iron cage.

The article addresses the problem of the Abu Sayaf and suggests an alternative solution to resolve conflicts through the Bishops-Ulama Forum (BUF). Established on July 16, 1996, BUF is currently the primary organization for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogues in Mindanao. Members of BUF include bishops from both Catholic and Protestant churches in Mindanao along with members of the Ulama League of the Philippines. BUF is considering inviting religious leaders from the Lumad indigenous communities to join their organization. However, there are some members of the Ulama group who do not support this as they believe that Lumad leaders are not "people of the book" since they practice traditional religious beliefs.

In this paper, we explore the diverse currents of Islam that led to the formation of the MNLF, MILF and Abu Sayaf. This highlights the subjective interpretation of social issues, resulting in divergent beliefs within the same community. The application of Ethnomethodology is beneficial in this context as it considers multiple perspectives, leading to an agreed-upon social construct. As per Asghar Ali Engineer's article, "The Moro Struggle Seen in a Wider Perspective," the Marcos dictatorship is responsible for exacerbating the Moro Problem. The regime attempted to create a divide between Christians and Muslims, ultimately causing irreversible harm.

Despite the fact that the semi-Fascist group Ilaga has the full support

of the military, numerous Christian priests have actively pursued Christian-Muslim dialogue in response to conflicts between Christians and Moros. The Moro people are often viewed as criminals by the Christian community, while Moros see Christians as enemies of their religion. However, there are notable exceptions such as Father Dong in Davao city, and Father Jun Mercado and Father Lito Bayao in Cotabato city, who are highly respected by both Moro Muslims as well as young radical Muslims for their efforts in promoting unity between the two faiths.

Jun Alonto, a Muslim from Marawi, took the lead in promoting Christian-Muslim unity. In November 1984, he organized a conference in Iligan city highlighting the importance of this unity to strengthen the oppressed masses' fight against the Marcos dictatorship, backed by the US. The dictatorship's abuses dehumanize the Mindanao people, demonstrating the negative consequences of treating the Moro issue as a curable disease. The government's ineffective peace mechanism turned into an iron cage, resulting in two conflicting streams of consciousness at war with each other.

The significance of peace negotiations is discussed in Colonel Roland C. Amarille's speech titled "Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front Peace Talks: A Bold Move to Counter Terrorism." He emphasizes the necessity for the success of these talks, as it will ultimately bring about a sustained state of peace and prosperity in the country, while also restraining terrorism that is prevalent in Southeast Asia.

The outlook for successfully concluding the negotiation appears promising. Several factors contribute to this positive prospect, including Malaysia's involvement in promoting peace discussions between the GRP and the MILF, monitoring of the peace process by members of

the Organization of Islamic Countries, significant aid commitments from the U.S. and allied nations in the event of successful talks, and involvement from civil societies and non-governmental organizations to enforce ceasefire agreements. Overall, peace negotiations serve as a means for synthesizing the Republic of the Philippines and the Bangsamoro.

The article by Willhem Wolters, "Muslim rebel movements in the southern Philippines: recruitment area for Al-Qaeda terrorists?" examines the impact of the September 11 attack on the Mindanao conflict both locally and internationally. It delves into ethno-linguistic discussions, exploring the unity and diversity as well as the causes of Muslim rebellion. The article also highlights the emergence of transcendental national terrorist networks and their relationship with terrorist actions in the Philippines. Additionally, it connects the Moro problem with the formation and disintegration of the MNLF. Overall, it presents contextual judgments of rationality and subjective understanding of the social issue between the two parties.

The article examines the various branches of Islam globally and their links to both the Abu Sayaf and MILF factions. The Philippine government alleges that the MILF has communicated with al-Qaeda, trained foreign militants within its camps over a decade, and should be added to America's list of terrorist organizations. However, the MILF leadership denies any association with terrorism or al-Qaeda while engaging in peace negotiations with the Philippine government. Military officials suspect that despite their peaceful intentions, they may not have complete control over their ground troops.

The article discusses the link between the Philippines and the global community, with a focus on evidence of transnational terrorist groups. Rizal Buendia's paper, titled "The Politics of Ethnicity and Moro Secessionism," explores the ethno-political origins

of the Moro Problem. According to Buendia's analysis, while state deficiencies have contributed to ongoing separatist conflicts, they are not solely responsible; instead, these conflicts also arise from weak Bangsamoro identity and a lack of clear national direction.

The author asserts that the state can easily co-opt leaders of the movement and undermine their legitimate efforts towards self-governance and political autonomy due to their weakness. The struggle for self-determination among the Moro people has been transformed into a means of preserving their aspiration for nation-statehood. To resolve the conflict in Mindanao, it is crucial to not only reinforce state power but also strengthen Moro national identity. The author proposes that by reinforcing both these strengths, the process of building the Philippine nation-state can be expedited, and mechanisms for co-governance can be established to ensure that despite its diversity, the country remains united.

The significance of ethnomethodology in resolving conflicts is demonstrated by this. Although the articles have covered frequently discussed topics, including the history of the Bangsamoro, the role of the US, ancestral domain disputes, and the reasons for failed peace talks and conflict resolutions, much of what has been discussed pertains to why and what, while neglecting the crucial question of how. More attention ought to be given to resolving differences in religious beliefs and cultural practices.

According to the Quran, Christians and Muslims are considered close brothers, as stated in the following quote: "You will find your most affectionate friends will be those who say, 'we are Christians'." - Mohammed Bibliography Amarille, Col. Roland C. (2006, March 15).

Unpublished master's thesis from the U. S. Army War College Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania 17013 explores the Government of the

Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front Peace Talks as a bold move to counter terrorism.

The URL "http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/ksil267" was accessed on September 25, 2008. The information was retrieved from this web address. The content is presented in the form of an HTML paragraph tag.

In the Philippine Political Science Journal (vol. 29, issue 52), there is a PDF article from 2008 by Rizal G. Buendia discussing the possibility of Moro self-determination in the Philippines.

The URL for the citation of "Looking into the Future," a publication from 2008, is https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/5318/1/ppsj2008-looking_into_the_future.pdf. Another article by Rizal Buendia in the Asian Journal of Political Science from 2005 explores whether the Moro Armed Conflict in the Philippines is an unresolved issue of governance or a national question.The text retrieved from https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/4362/1/AJPS13-state_moro_conflict_in_the_philippines is located on pages 109-138 and was accessed on August 30, 2008. The original have been preserved.

Buendia, Rizal (2007) authored a paper titled "The Politics of Ethnicity and Moro Secessionism in the Philippines" which was published by Asia Research Centre as Working Paper No. 146. The paper can be accessed through the URL http://wwwarc.murdoch and was retrieved on August 30, 2008.

The article titled "The Bangsa Moro: Fighting for Freedom During the War on Terror: The Muslim Independence Movement of the Southern Philippines" by Bob East was presented at the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference at QUT, Brisbane on October 28, 2005. The article can be accessed at http://eprints.edu.au/wp/wp146.pdf and was retrieved on August 30, 2008.

The Economic and Political Weekly article "The Moro Struggle Seen in a Wider Perspective" by Engineer Asghar Ali on November 30, 1985 can be found at usq.edu.au/840/1/East.pdf.

The

retrieval of a document with the details of Volume 20, No. 48, pages 2113-2114, can be found on the website http://www., accessed on September 25, 2008. This information is enclosed in HTML paragraph tags.

Within the website stor.org/stable/4375053, Myrthena L. Fianza's 2004 article titled "Contesting Land and Identity In The Periphery: The Moro Indigenous People of Southern Philippines" can be found.

The 10th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property was held in Oaxaca, Mexico and can be viewed at http://dlc.dlib. The retrieval date for this information is August 30, 2008.

The contents of "Contesting_Land.pdf" by Jamail A. Kamlian (published on November 4, 2003) can be found at indiana.edu/archive/00001673/01/.This passage pertains to a lecture titled "Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Southern Philippines: A Discourse on Self-Determination, Political Autonomy and Conflict Resolution," which was presented as part of the Islam and Human Rights Fellow Lecture series at Emory University's School of Law in Atlanta, GA. The lecture can be accessed through the website http://www.law.emory.edu/ihr/worddocs/jamail1 and was retrieved on August 30, 2008.

The article "Options in the Pursuit of a Just, Comprehensive, and Stable Peace in the Southern Philippines" was written by Doc Quimpo and Nathan Gilbert and published in Asian Survey. It appeared in Volume 41, Issue 2 and spanned multiple pages.

The citation for Wolters' (2002) article is "

271-289. Retrieved September 25, 2008, from http://www. jstor. org/stable/2691598 Wolters, Willem (2002).

".The Focaal - European Journal of Anthropology suggests that the Southern Philippines' Muslim rebel movements could be a potential recruitment area for al-Qaeda terrorists. The journal's issue no. 40, on pages 149-16, discusses this topic. The article can be accessed through http://www.focaal

and was retrieved on August 30, 2008. The text is enclosed in

tags.The content within the is a link to the PDF file "wolters" located on the box.nl website in the previous folder.