An article from Islam Online about the Amir Salamat Hashim Documentary Film of catch my attention. Read the 1st paragraph of the article or i just quote it here:
Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike will soon be able to explore the life story of Salamat Hashim, one of the eminent modern-day leaders of the Bangsamoro people
(Filipino Muslims)who sew the seeds of and championed the struggle to reclaim the southern island of Mindanao, Islam’s birthplace in the Philippines.
I know the author of the said article and i right away send him a text msg (SMS). I said to him that if he will write an article again please do not equate the label Moro to a Filipino Muslims because it’s misleading the public.The late Amir Salamat Hashim never used the label Filipino Muslims to describe us Moro. This labeling is misleading and it gives the impression that we surrender our elusive dream of getting back once again the Independence of Moroland.
I remember the time when someone ask questions to the Amir Salamat Hashim in the Filipino/Tagalog vernacular and he don’t bother to answer it or he just reply on English, Arabic or to some Moro dialects (i.e. Maguindanaon, Meranao and Iranon). In my opinion it’s like he hates so much the filipino language.
My late grandmother (mother side) doen’t know the name our bisaya/christian helpers (maid) thus she call them by the name of Filipino. I keep hearing this during her lifetime and i really wonder and think that why she keeps calling non-muslim as Filipino? aint she a Filipino? a manifestations that we are not Filipino.
When the Spaniards arrived, there are 2 distinct people – the Moro and the Indios (now Filipino). So you can’t label the two distinct people as ONE. – Moslemen M. Macarambon Jr.
The author of the said article replied that it’s all well noted after my SMS. The reason he use the label because some Moros loosely describe such. After this i hope he and other writers who try to write about us will never use again the term to label us. I also ask him to correct the said article and email his publisher or editor.
I need to react because i need to. It’s my responsibilities to defend our cultural heritage and history. It’s my responsibility to correct such wrong facts and to straighten our identity as a Moro people.
Authors note: If you want reply and comment, you need to register here. I don’t need cowards comment lurking anonymously. I required registration for this reason.
How do you define Bangsamoro then? If they’re not Filipino Muslims, who are they? Or who are Filipino Muslims, anyway?
It has been eons ago since the arrival and colonization of the Spaniards. I think you should change your perspective about who are the Filipinos now. Technically speaking, Filipinos are CITIZENS of the Republic of the Philippines. Whether you’re an atheist, a Christian, a Muslim, a Bisaya, Ilocano or whatever, you’re a Filipino if you’re a citizen of this country. Also the Filipino race is not a race of indios but a race rooted from various races.
Don’t you think that there’s still a pressure/tension against the Muslims, because like, you keep on emphasizing that you’re different and you want to be treated that way? One way to loosen such tension is to reach out and accept you’re a Filipino.
How come Muslims do not want to be called Filipinos? Ever thought that Philip is a shameful name. If you want to be called by your master’s name that’s fine. But Muslims don’t want that name. Filipinos embrace their spanish masters. Muslims fought them. We are not the same people. Our histories are different. Why should a people that have remained free accept a slave name. You Filipinos always say history happened long ago. Because you people don’t want to remember your great shame. History is not your friend. That’s why you choose to ignore it. By the way the people of this land are not made up of different races. That’s just garbage. Most of the people of this land are the same. Unless your Chinese. Some Spanish. Look in the mirror bet you dont look spanish.
Hi kars,
I’m glad you ask that question. I can’t explain all this though i’ll give you some links for further reading. Reading the links will help you enlighten in our distinct history as a people and different from the history of Filipino. Though some Moros use the term Filipino Muslims loosely to describe us Moro. I don’t agree with this.
Moro people is not defeated, conquered and subjugated by Spaniards unlike the Indios (now Filipino) are under the sphere influence and empire of Spanish crown. We are fighting and defending our Moroland against the Spanish colonizer for 377years! to Americans (40years) and until now against the Filipino colonizer.
Bangsamoro includes the 13 ethonolinguistic groups who are indigenous peoples of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan (MINSUPALA) and who embraced Islam as their religion.
Currently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is adding another dynamic to the term Bangsamoro by including all the Indigenous Peoples or Lumads in MINSUPALA region although they may not be Muslims but have instead retained their indigenous religions and belief systems.
For more info check Bangsamoro.com and Bangsamoro.info and also Bangsamoro.net copy of BANGSAMORO: A NATION UNDER ENDLESS TYRANNY, 2nd Edition, By Salah Jubair. I highly recommend this sites and book. heres the link of the book: http://www.bangsamoro.net/history/index.htm
I understand why you react such, you have little knowledge about us Moro. I suggest you read more of our history from the moro writers. Our history as a people is so much twisted and maligned in the books of filipino historian.
Check also the The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) Podcast of Nur Misuari one of the great Moro Leaders now jailed for rebellion and defending the fundamental sacred rights of the Moro people. heres the link of mp3.
thanks for the links.
If that is so, you want to re-claim MINSUPALA, then you (Bangsamoro people) should have proved that you can take care of that area. I guess, it would be very difficult for you managing all the aspects of development for that area, much for the Phil government.
It’s my outmost pleasure.
I hope you share the links to your fellow friends and collegues and networks of the links. Spreading the knowledge well help us understand more of each others identity.
i know my post somehow will provoke filipino people. the only way to heal and reconcial about our conflict is to accept and undertand with tolerance our differences.
hi! i’d like you to read my insight about EDSA. Thanks a lot.
Here’s the link:
http://kars.wordpress.com/2006/02/24/just-along-edsa/
===”# kars Says:
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:23 am
thanks for the links.
If that is so, you want to re-claim MINSUPALA, then you (Bangsamoro people) should have proved that you can take care of that area. I guess, it would be very difficult for you managing all the aspects of development for that area, much for the Phil government.”====
Salam alaikum to both of you.
that is what their tryin to do dont you think? their tryin indeed to do, they’re proving that they can take care the area. but the government would’nt give them a chance. the phil government is currupt thats why its hard for them. how can the phil government take care of the area if they live in the imperialist manila? mindanao has more resourses than luzon.
if the philippines would split apart. it would not be hard recognizing them between moro-muslim and filipino muslim. its just like Iraqi-muslim and Iranian-muslim. both are muslims but different. right??
if indeed it’ll split. I guess I’ll be calling myself filipino-muslim not as moro muslim since that im not from mindanao.
salam
As I am from Scotland (a nation of 5 million people within a nation [the UK] of 60 million, roughly the same ratio as Moros to the wider Philippines)I have sympathy with a lot of what you say. Still, I am a bit perplexed that you hold so tightly to the term “moro”. Wasn’t that the name given to southern Muslims by the Spanish (derived from “Moors”, i.e., North Africans)? If so, this is an externally imposed name, not something with any original indigenous meaning (though it may have acquired such meaning over the centuries). Am I right in thinking that your attitude towards a Manila-based Filipino Muslim would be that you would respect him or her as a co-religionist but that you would not see him or her necessarily as a part of the struggle for ethnic self determination in which you are engaged?
I hope you don’t take these comments as negatively — I am just a dayuhan trying to work these things out.
Incidentally, I came here because I recently posted something on Christian hegemony in the Philippines and my blog friend Dominique (Idiot Savant) suggested that I drop you a line to see what you thought it. The post can be found here: http://tornandfrayed.typepad.com/tornandfrayed/2006/04/christian_hegem.html#comment-16235686
hello there. i think you should start accepting from this moment on, no matter how hard it is, that Mindanao will never be an independent whatever from the Philippines. it is part of the Philippine archipelago and it is but vain for you to keep on believing that it will someday become an independent whatever. you should help your region by being the best that you can and the best that your place could be if you truly wanted to be of help for Mindanao. stop this foolishness and move your ass.
are moro muslim are in the state of rebellion? are moros needing/wanting something?
@ sohaib khan – yes. the Moros wants to regain back their Independence.
how do muslims,moro and indigenous people defined?
Indios and moro’s?
You refer to us as indio’s?
“US” meaning the non muslims.
Indio is a spanish word that described people that they enslaved. They called the people of this archipelago indios (meaning idiots) in the same way that they called the aztecs indios.
This archipellago that is now called the Philippines as named by the spaniards, is made up of diverse tribes separated not only by language, bodies of water and religion, but also by its many governments before.
The natives of this archipelago came from diverse parts of asia, as I have said before, and assimilated or were assimilated by the natives themselves. Our ethnical religion was paganic. It was never Christian or Islamic. Christianity was brought her by the Westerners. Islam was Brought here by the Middle Easterners.
You say that the moro’s and “INDIOS” are a separate group of people, I say you are wrong. If you wish to treat the people based on their ancient communities, then we are an archipelago of a thousand nations. To name a few, we have the Cebuano’s, Kapampangan’s, Illongo’s and such.
Are you telling me then that The European countries do not deserve to be called whole nations based on their racial lineages?
The situation in our country is even far more simpler than theirs. We are only divided by theology/religion but are united by common ancestry based on the 3 races that came to the country.
The reason why you “MORO’s” want to separate yourselves from your fellowmen is because the government is run by Christians and based in the Northern Island of the archipelago. But let’s cut it down a bit. You just want to be different because you are muslims. Plain and simple.
Based on ancestry – you fail to prove your point because the ancestral lineages that you have are linked to those of the other parts of this archipelago. Try DNA testing and you will see that. But if you want it simple, look at how you look in the mirror. Indones, Malay, Negrito… you came from one of these… if not all.
Based on religion – you fail to prove your point because before the arabs brought islam to this country, our ancestors worshiped the same diverse gods. Ex: Bathala.
Based on Ancient Governments – You want the old governments? Then we would have a lot of that. Return the barangays, sultanates and kingdoms… how many did we have back then? But who exactly are we all but of the same stalk of a tree?
Tell me then… what are the grounds by which you are not of this Unified Archipelago? Are you saying that We must have nations like Cebu, Maynilad, Davao, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu and what have you’s?
Pray tell… give me grounds that are not based on theological prejudice.
Pray tell?? Is that you Shakespeare. Who talks like that. Pray tell….me
The Bangsamoro People should be better off with have their own self determination; albeit, as a separate Nation state. But, I do not adhere to the fact of what the MILF is doing. They’re terrorizing people, not giving them true voices as to struggle for independence. In today’s modern world, its not right. It only applies for barbarians.
Thanks.
Viva la Estado Nacional del Moroanos.! 🙂
Wyzemoro,
Assalamu alaykum!
I appreciate your passionate blog about our fellow moros fighting for independence. And take note that I am not against this. However, as long as Mindanao is still known as one of the 3 major islands of the Philippines, technically, we are still Filipinos. Let’s not become antagonists againsts those who don’t share our vision. Most of the time, diplomacy is key in getting what you want.
Think about it – what nationality is written on your birth certificate?
Kudos to you brother Wyzemoro! After that bruhaha between Atty. Adel Tamano and Atty Musib Buat on the “ex-Moro” labeling, this page of yours has become a hot item again. I hope this page can be projected to the otherwise unenlightened “others” who have difficulty separating Moro from Muslim Filipino.
I am not a Filpino by choice. I am a Moro. By blood. By lineage. Not by a piece of paper following the dictates of a Republic’s constitution that is a mere baby compared to our “bangsa”. And I am damn proud to be a Moro.
More power to you.
A time for Change- A time for Unity and a time for Gretaness
The bangsa moro people is in grave peril, there is violence in the streets, hungers in the region-wide and poverty is everywhere
The moro region is far behind, in education, development and even in livelihood, because of massive corruption, thievery in the government, fragmentation of leaders, feuds in every barangay and lack of national representation’
Unless the moro do something, the ship of the moro will sink.
let us railroad the battle from ground to education, because knowledge is powerful than any killing weapons, Muhammad (pbuh) used knowledge in propagating islam, although there are battles between him and the desbelivers of islam, it is not the swords that convinced the non-muslims to embraced islam,
it was the kowledge of muhammad (pbuh) through dialogue that let the disbelievers to join the group of the prophet muhammad.
Let us try to be more united and support the brilliant moro
like the person of Atty. CB ( meaning crush ng bayan) adel tamano as our representative in nation building.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 2625
(Declaration of Principles Concerning Friendly Relations among States) advised that right of self-determination shall not be construed as:
“authorising or encouraging any action which would
dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial
integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent
States conducting themselves in compliance with the
principle of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples … and thus possessed of a government
representing the whole people belonging to the territory
without distinction as to race, creed or colour.”
However, this U.N. resolution reiterating the territorial integrity of states is made contingent on the government being representative of the whole people and non-discriminatory.
There is substantial debate as to the scope of “a government
representing the whole people”. Hannun, for example, is for the “limited requirement of non-discrimination only on the grounds of race, creed or colour.” But Buchheit “sees it simply as a component of a larger theory based on the premise that oppression legitimizes secession.”
Other commentators, like Musgrave, interpreted Resolution No.
2625 as implying that “international law permits secession as a legal remedy in certain circumstances”. He also contends that secession is also permissible “by virtue of the ‘oppression theory’ when part of a population suffers gross oppression: in these circumstances secession is permitted primarily to prevent the abuse of human rights.” In Allen Buchanan’s remedial right theory of secession, separation would be
acceptable if there are systematic violations of human rights or unjust annexation of territories.
There are attempts to resolve the conflict between demands for selfdetermination and the principle of the territorial integrity of states. Hannun puts forward the idea of autonomy as a “less-than-sovereign self-determination.” However, Musgrave says: “Some jurists contend that autonomy is not a principle of international law but a matter which falls within the domestic jurisdiction of a state.” He opines that “autonomy within an independent state cannot be part of self determination
for the purposes of international law.”
Essentially, right to self-determination is a right of a people to
choose their political status, and decide on their economic, social and cultural development. That right includes the right of a people who hold the right to self-determination to choose, through democratic and participatory manner, to form their own separate state if that is essential to the expression of their right to self-determination. The right to secede, although not being encouraged, is not prohibited particularly in a situation where the minority suffers systematic violations of human rights and gross oppression.”
(Source: Understanding the Bangsamoro Right to Self-Determination, Prof. Abhoud Syed Lingga)
My thoughts: The 1996 Final Peace Agreement is bound within the constitutional framework and calls for autonomy and is thus a form of “less-than-sovereign self determination”. That is a lesson learned that should not be repeated.
The MOA-AD and its eventual Final Comprehensive Compact would use the gains of the 1996 FPA as springboard to situate self-determination somewhere less than total independence (to accommodate Philippine sovereignty) but more than full autonomy (to more accurately accommodate the Bangsamoro issue), as was being negotiated by the GRP-MILF Peace Panels before their unjust axing. The interpretation of the MOA-AD, therefore, should have been through international laws, not through the Constitution.
My point: The Bangsamoro homeland and its people became part of the Philippines because, bottom-line, it and its people were added to the Philippines without “public consultation”, without consent and against the people’s will (Dansalan Declaration, Zamboanga Declaration, etc.). All this despite the fact that it is older than the Malolos Republic of Aguinaldo. Much much older.
Imagine how the Filipinos would react if China would just up and declare to the whole world by virtue of some piece of document signed by several gray haired old men that the Philippines is part of its national territory and all Filipinos are Chinese citizens. All this without your knowledge, your consent, and against your will.
That is the precise point and issue the Bangsamoro people are asserting for. The Bangsamoro Homeland and the Bangsamoro people should never have been part of the Philippines in the very first place.
That exact point is what its two fronts, the MILF and MNLF, have been working for by way of armed struggle (because the government and politicians for years never gave it much respect and attention through the decades). The two fronts have been mandated by the Bangsamoro people to protect and uphold its right to self determination. That is what the Moro civil society sector, most of them at least, is working for by way of open, civil and nonviolent means.
Napaka insensitive naman ng systema ng Philippine government kung basta lang nang angkin ng lupaing hindi pala sa kanya. At walang paalam pa!
Authentic dialogues kuno. That’s a century too late! E bakit pa sinusunod pa ito ng mga mamamayan nya kung hindi rin nila plano baguhin ang bulok na systema ng gobyerno na yan? Bakit ang Bangsamoro ang pinag iinitan samantalang hindi sya ang naggulo in the first place? Kahit sino pang presidente ang nakaupo jan, the oppressive and suppressive system that incidentally is anti-moro/ anti-minority or what have you, will remain. Kaya nga ayaw na ng Moro na direct na pinamamahalaan ng unitarian Philippine Republic na yan, eh. At huwag nyo sabihing may ARMM. Its a structure that has not functioned according to the 1996 Final Peace Agreement since it began operations. Ginawang stamp pad lng ng Imperial Manila ang ARMM. Kung matindi ba naman ang nadeliver ng ARMM on RSD, Moro justice, Shari’ah Law and Islamic way of life, eh di wala na sanang MILF. Common sense lang yan.
And the phrase, “Andyan na yan, e. Hayaan mo na.” simply cannot do. It can never do.
i am a filipino. and i am quite offended that you refuse to be labeled ‘filipino’. i believe that is very egoistic of you! and perhaps, you truly do not deserve to be called ‘filipino’!!!!!!
Don’t be offended. Some people don’t want to be labeled as slaves. If you want to be called Phillips that’s fine. Other people hate to be called Phillips. If you like it good for you.
To astoria. Im sorry but I dont think I am being egotistic by not wanting to be called a Filipino.. I mean who would want to be named after a lousy Spanish King (Philip II), anyway? It would only imply that Filipiinos are the slaves of this Philip. And if the kind of treatment the Bangsamoro people get from the Filipino is the same today as it was when the Filipinos got their freedom from the US (not by victory by the way), then I am thankful I am not interested in being called a Filipino one last bit.
I urge you to read again my statement above. AT least 3 times. You might undertand better the essence of what I am trying to drive at.
Thank you and more more power to you.