Monday, August 25, 2014

‘Noynoying’ about ISIS caliphate in Mindanao?


Are the Philippine military and national police “Noynoying”—or being lackadaisical—about news that some Moros have pledged allegiance to the Caliph of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and joined the campaign to make the Caliphate succeed in ruling the whole world?

One of our Mindanao correspondents, Mohammed I. Saadudin, has filed a report and a photo he took. The photo shows supporters of the Mindanao-based Khilafah Islamiyah Movement (KIM), holding black and white flags similar to the Islamic State (IS) banners, who joined the rally in July convened by Muslim leaders in Marawi City to condemn the Israeli bombing attacks on Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas rocket attacks on Jerusalem and other Israel cities.

Saadudin submitted his report under the heading “IS caliphate gains loyalty in Mindanao” with the subhead “Moro extreme jihadists pledge allegiance to IS caliph.”

The story tells of “videos being spread through social media websites showing that various group of jihadists in Mindanao have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has called Muslims worldwide to obey him after declaring himself the New Caliph of the IS in Iraq-Syria.

“Though the several videos uploaded are unverified, two of them are confirmed to be reliable.

“One of these videos shows Isnilon Hapilon, one of the most wanted leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Philippines, with a reward of US$5-million from the United States for his head, leading dozens of men reading their bayah or pledge of allegiance to al-Baghdadi.”

“Abu Misry Mama, an ethnic Maguindanaoan and the spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), also confirmed one of the videos and said the men shown vowing to be faithful to the IS and the Caliph al-Baghdadi are BIFF members.”

“In his recent announcement, Mama said the BIFF has entered into an ‘alliance’ with the IS for the establishment of the worldwide Islamic caliphate or Khilafah Islamiyah.

“Two other unverified videos were uploaded also to Facebook and YouTube by certain groups called Junudul Khilafah [Soldiers of the Caliphate] and Harakatul Islamiyah [Islamic Movement] in July a week immediately after al-Baghdadi called on all Muslims to follow him. Men in the video hold the black flag of the IS and hailing the IS Caliph and the IS for establishing the Khilafah Islamiyah in large areas of Iraq and Syria.

“The Philippine military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala has reportedly dismissed the video clips saying those are just ‘propaganda.’

“Sources, who asked not to be named for security reasons, told the Manila Times that members of the Khilafah Islamiyah Movement (KIM), also known as Khilafah Islamiya Mindanao, have been campaigning for the establishment of Islamic States in the Philippines for three years.

“The KIM opposes human-made laws, democratic forms of government including the proposed Bangsamoro government to be set up by the MILF, the sources said.

“They are even declaring other Muslims, who are working with the Philippine government, as enemies of Islam, the sources added.

“According to a police intelligence officer, the radical jihadist movement has links with other brigand groups, like the ASG, the BIFF, the Al-Khobar Group and the Rajah Solaiman Movement, which are well-known for bombing, kidnapping, extortion and beheading atrocities in Mindanao.

“The police said some KIM members are affiliated with the Southeast Asian militant Islamist terrorist organization Jema’ah Islamiya (JI).

“There are reports that JI leaders in Indonesia, including the jailed former JI head Abu Bakar Bashir, have also pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.”

Reports in Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries
Reports similar to this have appeared about jihadists in Malaysia and Indonesia in the local media of these two neighbor countries of the Philippines. Agence France Presse has also published such reports.

Iraq and Syria based reports and analysis have also mentioned that Muslim fighters from Southeast Asia have been joining the IS Caliphate’s armies.

In both Malaysia and Indonesia, however, the police and military are not “Noynoying” about the movements of IS Caliphate adherents.

The difference in attitude must be the reason the peace and order and crime situation in both Malaysia and the Indonesia is not as bad as in our country.


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