Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

INTERMINGLING OF CONTINUITY AND DISCONTINUITY89informants agree that Islam offers solutions to all theproblems of Filipino Muslims. They are quite passionateabout their advocacy for an Islamic state. The languageand aspirations of leading Islamic fundamentalistmovements in the world have filtered into theconsciousness of the ordinary Muslims interviewed.At the discursive or rhetorical level, the Muslimsinterviewed manifest the fundamental characteristicsof Islamic fundamentalism as mentioned by Salvatore(1998): the view that Islam will solve individual andsocial problems (Islam huwa al-hall), making it necessaryto fuse religion (Islam) and the state.In practice, however, key informants differ in theirviews of how to achieve the goal of an Islamic state.In a sense, the fundamentalist rhetoric on an Islamicstate is associated with different approaches dependingon the ideological tendency or school of thought of therespondent. The worldwide interest in fundamentalismis due to its political implications in terms of the strugglefor control over the state. However, for the Muslimpolitical movements in Mindanao, the call to arms inthe context of the historical struggle of the Moros is putas a “jihad’s call” to defend communities threatened byvarious actions of the Philippine government. It is a callfor the preservation of the religious and cultural valuesof Filipino Muslims, as well. The three observed formsof Islamic fundamentalism are summarized below.Armed struggleThis form of Islamic fundamentalism wants to establishan Islamic state based on the belief that Muslims in thePhilippines will only prosper through the establishmentof an Islamic state. To be independent from thePhilippine government is considered a religious duty.Based on their history of being free as Bangsamoro andtheir experience of unjust treatment by the Philippinegovernment, they consider armed struggle to be just.This kind of fundamentalism can be seen from the earlystage of the MNLF-MILF movement.Although there are some admirers and former membersof the MILF or the MNLF among the key informants,none admitted to advocating armed struggle, that is,to a political, economic and military approach towardthe achievement of an Islamic state in response to thestrong reaction of the Philippine government againstdemands for an independent Bangsamoro state. Thiskind of fundamentalism was gradually given up due tothe realization that this idea may be utopic.Involvement with the Philippine governmentKey informants see the formation of an Islamic stateeither as a possibility under an autonomous Muslimregion within the Republic of the Philippines or a futurepossibility when, with an increase in the number ofMuslims in the country, the Islamic way of life becomesingrained in other parts of the Philippines.About ten percent of the key informants were oncemembers of the MNLF or are supporters. Followingthe MNLF position, they consider the establishment ofan independent Bangsamoro Islamic state too idealistic,if not utopian. Under prevailing circumstances, criticalcollaboration with the Republic of the Philippines isseen as the most realistic option, given the historicalstruggles of Filipino Muslims. The creation of ARMM(Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) is thefocus of the movement.Although the MNLF and its sympathizers among theQuiapo key informants have chosen to participate inthe governance of the ARMM, their idea of Islamicpolitics remains unchanged. The view that Islamcannot be separated from the state is still the politicalprinciple they believe in. The creation of the ARMMis viewed as a means to be autonomous, allowing theMuslims in the region to live in accordance with theirway of life, culture and, at the highest possible level,with the Shariah, the Islamic law. The difference inviews between the Mindanao Muslims, on the oneside, and the Philippine Government, on the other,on the legal framework that would govern the ARMMhas been a source of political conflict in recent years.Nevertheless, key informants in Quiapo think that theimplementation of the Shariah can be applied rationallyand gradually within the framework of ARMM,considering that a significant number of Christians alsolive in the Bangsamoro homeland.Cultural struggleThe influence on Muslims in Quiapo of an emergingapolitical movement that emphasizes a culturaland peaceful struggle toward an Islamic state is animportant finding of this study because it qualifies theirfundamentalist tendencies. If Islamic fundamentalismis defined as the intensification of Islamic religiosity onindividual and societal levels, this third movement is anindividual and inward-oriented religious intensification.Because of its focus on the individual, the movementis apparently apolitical and its implicit approach topolitics appears moderate.Asian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows