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Ustadz Habier Malik has called for “jihad.” Malik
is one of the MNLF leaders who have become prominent after Chairman
Nur Misuari’s arrest. A graduate of the Islamic University of
Medina, he has a following as a religious leader. Loyal to Misuari,
he and Commander Kaid Ajibon have managed to hold the AFP off. Since
2001, there have been sporadic hostilities between these MNLF groups
and government troops. The media have generally reported these
encounters as ASG-related events.
To better understand the
implications of Malik’s call, we need to understand the meaning of
jihad. Jihad is crucial in the lives of Muslims. An Arabic word, it
is best translated as “a sincere and noticeable effort [for good];
an all true and unselfish striving for spiritual good.” An
internal struggle, it involves changing one’s self and mentality
to follow the teachings of God.
According to Islamic scholars,
Jihad should not be confused with Holy War. The latter refers to the
Holy War of the Catholic Crusaders. It does not exist in Islam. War
is allowed in Islam if it is in defense of the faith or the
faithful. It is allowed if it is against an unjust or oppressive
regime. But it is never described as “holy.”
Thus, Malik’s call for a jihad
is not holy; it is a war against oppression and injustice, as many
Moro leaders have described the situation in ARMM. Tausug natives
who have been living on the edge since military operations began in
August may be easily lured, especially since their lives are worse
than before. Ten years after the signing of the Final Peace
Agreement and all they can look forward to is more conflict and
politicking, more poverty, more hopelessness. Innocent civilians,
forced to flee because of the fighting, unable to return to their
farms and homes, have been left to their own devices by an
unresponsive government. Today, there are 50,000 more.
Do the ASG operations qualify as
jihad? Most certainly not! Even in war, Islam prohibits what we now
classify as terrorism when carried against innocents, against
civilians. Thus, terrorists are murderers in Islam and must be
punished by the Islamic state. Islam prohibits harming civilians,
women, children, elderly and clerics or the religious. The beheading
of the six uninvolved workers by the ASG is absolutely un-Islamic.
We need to bring sanity and order
back to Sulu. The chaos brought about by the merging of the war
against terror (hunt for the ASG) and encounters with the MNLF will
spiral out of control if government continues on its present
military path.
I am not blaming government
alone, although certainly government leaders bear the major share of
responsibility. We urge MNLF Chairman Misuari, running for Sulu
governor, to step in. Is this situation not a perfect opportunity
for him to show his leadership?
It is time to stop the blame game
and deal with the deteriorating situation. Government and the
civilians have the most to lose. Yet government, entrusted to work
for the people, is unwilling to accept the offer of the OIC for the
talks. Obviously, the military and the hawks have control over Mrs.
Arroyo. (The hawks probably fear that negotiating with Malik’s
group makes the state appear weak.)
The very first thing to be done
is to immediately establish a joint monitoring team; similar to the
one established for the MILF areas. As the ‘96 Agreement
stipulates, a joint-monitoring committee should be convened
consisting of representatives of the OIC, GRP and MNLF.
Representatives of civil society should also be included. The joint
monitoring committee should be empowered to act as a vehicle for
mediation, apart from a grievance mechanism where the parties
involved will be able to articulate their concerns on the gaps in
implementing the peace agreement and agree on parameters for
deciding what policies can be successfully implemented.
Mrs. Arroyo has conveniently
forgotten her 2004 inaugurational address. She predicted that long
before she steps down: “peace will have come to Mindanao. All
insurgents shall have turned their swords into plowshares. They will
have become so absorbed into one society that the struggles of the
past will be just a stuff of legend.” Yeah right!
That legacy, already tarnished by
accusations of electoral fraud, extrajudicial killings, corruption
and scandals involving her relatives, will become more difficult to
reach if she allows the violence and suffering to persist in Sulu. 
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