KEEP THE FLAME BURNING By Sunny Rasheed Lucman Pacasum
KEEP THE FLAME BURNING By Sunny Rasheed Lucman Pacasum
Malacanang seems to be under the impression that military operation is the only solution in solving the Bangsamoro problem. I’m not surprised that they didn’t even consider its repercussions on the Muslim civilians living in the areas of conflict. The whole issue is under discussion. We, Muslims, must find a better way to protect ourselves. Most of the civilians who live in the houses destroyed by the military are Muslim civilians that have nothing to do with the MILF. Incursions that often leave Muslim civilians dead or wounded, with their homes in ruins, constitute the military’s excessive use of force. These incursions serve as a collective punishment meant to cripple the Bangsamoro quest for independence in Mindanao. I simply reject what the military is doing; it is destroying our lives, our dreams, and our future. Memories of my stay in Bayang and Baloi still haunt me. Most of the houses I stayed in had bullet holes on their walls. Ancestral homes were burned and many properties were damaged. I remember crying all night after hearing horrible stories about military abuses during the Martial Law up to the present. I asked myself what crime have we committed except the ambition to see ourselves free? This was probably the lowest point of my life. That night surely changed my views in life. Memories of Martial Law and the Marcos Regime in Muslim Mindanao are still fresh in the minds of every Muslim. These were among the tragic events in the history of the Bangsamoro people and to our family. Martial Law fueled so much anger and frustration among the Filipino Muslims. And its injustices gave birth to the founding of the Islamic resistance movement, led by my grandfather Sultan Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, Gen. Salipada Pendatun, and Datu Udtog Matalam. They fought against the Japanese occupation armed with almost nothing but courage during their younger years. They pledged their fortune, their lives and their sacred honor against the Marcos Regime. ***** Most Mujahideens hate the government, and I don’t blame them. With the neglect and the corruption they infuse to our people, the government has done nothing to us but fill up their bellies for their personal interests. These crimes are causing so much hate triggering our emotions to push ourselves to sacrifice our lives, families and our future in the jungles of Mindanao, defending the honor of the Bangsamoro. Mujahideens are the real heroes of today. Fighting for our cause, our beliefs and aspirations, they have proven their sincerity more than enough. I’m a personal fan of Commander Bravo who is still fighting the abusive military armed with his beliefs and the shield of his convictions. He continues to inspire me to stay committed to the Bangsamoro struggle. If our Mujahideen brothers decide to leave the struggle I will not blame them. But I don’t think they will. As a Muslim we should be fighting for our historical rights and survival. It is the very symbol of our existence as the true people of Mindanao. The government can never change our customs and traditions. They can never succeed in bringing us to an understanding and appreciation of their Christian methods. The rule of Shariah must prevail in the Muslim provinces. The concept of the separation of Church and State in the Philippine constitution does not apply to Islamic communities in Muslim Mindanao. Temptation in my view is something to be eradicated from this world by rules. Not something to resist thru personal discipline. That’s why I go for an Islamic state because in such a state there would be no x-rated movies, prostitution, drugs, stealing or cheating. Rules would have to be stringent so that people would be afraid to violate them. All the women will be dressed in such a proper Islamic way. Nobody will commit sin and society will be perfect. If you remove temptation, there will be no sin. Our Mujahideens have shown the military first hand why the Bangsamoro fighters are the most feared in the tropics of Mindanao. Our Mujahideen brothers have mastered the art of guerilla warfare and are in one spirit and deed to defend Islam and our Motherland to fight for independence. The military should know that as long as they inhibit our lands and attempt to abuse our innocent Muslim brothers, our Mujahideens will always assault them. The military is asking for it. I’d like to point out however that Islam doesn’t like aggression committed either by Muslims or non-Muslims, whether done by individuals or states. Islam prohibits Muslims to declare war against peaceful non-Muslim neighbors! But Islam urges its adherents to go to war only in self-defense and especially when they are driven out of their homeland! Islam doesn’t allow Muslims to initiate war and aggression, but makes waging war a duty in the case of self-defense or restoring our land. The Qur’an states the rules of war as follows: 1) one should not kill women, children, the elderly, armless civilians; and 2) one should not kill, torture and humiliate captives. These were the orders of the Prophet Muhammad to Mujahideens 1400 years ago, long before the so-called Geneva Treaty was implemented. Islam abides by the principle of mercy even in time of war. At present, the government has been poor in preventing the limit of damage in the Mujahideen conflict. The recent wave of bombings in Manila and Davao are merely preliminaries. The government can’t do anything about it. As time progresses, our economy will suffer more and more. Mujahideens claim that the military has destroyed thousand of Muslim houses and killed a thousand more innocent civilians in countless raids into camps since the uprising broke out way back during the Martial Law era. The lousy military would say that our Mujahideen brothers continue to use Muslim civilian houses to serve as camouflage for tunnels used to smuggle weapons in from nearby camps, and stage attacks on military positions. What I’m trying to point out is that the military solution to the Mindanao conflict will never work. The solution to the Mindanao problem lies in our rich history, geography and culture - and not through the barrel of a gun. The military will never win against us. My sole purpose is to preserve, protect and defend the Bangsamoro nation and Islam. ***** Most young Muslims in Manila and Visayas - if not all - are ignorant about their history. They may know much about Filipino history but lack the basic knowledge of what transformed the Bangsamoro history into what it is now. I had the opportunity to talk to some of them. And most of them are indifferent about our religion and culture. I mean why worry about the Bangsamoro problem when there are more salient matters to think about such as what will happen next in Meteor Garden? However I have also met some young Maranaos with brilliant minds. I believe that the future of the Bangsamoro struggle will depend on the kind of education our youth will be getting. We should equip ourselves with quality education. I continue to hope that the education our brothers and sisters get from public schools will make them strong enough to eventually break the crippling bonds of poverty. My parents decided to send me to an exclusive school like La Salle because they believe that a private education is the best legacy they could give me. Considering the stiff competition these days, one can’t help but notice companies requiring applicants from exclusive schools like La Salle. Only when children are sent to private schools or to specialized government schools like MSU will parents be assured of their children’s competitive edge upon graduation. But students studying in public schools like UP and MSU also have advantages. From them I learned the value of resourcefulness, perseverance and hard work. These qualities enable me to measure up and be competitive with products of private schools. How I wish our politicians will expand our poor Muslim brothers and sisters’ access to basic education and reverse the declining quality of our public school system. It isn’t possible for the children in Bayang, one of the remotest municipalities in Lanao del Sur, to read anything after sunset. How in the world can you concentrate doing your homework under a dim kerosene lamp? I bet if they were given electric facilities it will improve their performance in school. There are talks that the government is planning to build makeshift classrooms for schools in remote areas like Lanao, but we all know it’s all talk. ***** I remember when I was in kindergarten in UP Diliman Learning Center, a kid in school would always go up to me and ask me why I didn’t have a tail on my back? I guess people in Manila had the impression that Muslims were monkeys or something. But that question bothered me a lot during my younger years. It bothered me so much that I had to ask my Uncle if it was true that Muslims do grow tails. The last thing I remember was that my Uncle forced me to beat the hell out of that kid. And that was just the start of it. When I transferred to La Salle, I always got into fistfights every time a schoolmate would shout out “boy Muslim” or “boy Moro.” And there were only four Muslim students in La Salle during my stay there from grade 1 to 4th year high school. I was only in grade 7 when my grandmother, Princess Tarhata Alonto Lucman, explained to me that I should be proud when called a “Moro” because the Spaniards, Japanese and Americans never conquered us. There were times that I felt so proud of my Bangsamoro blood that I would refuse to stand up during flag ceremony simply because the Philippines was named in honor of Philip II of Spain. I never felt I was Filipino. And now with our corrupt politicians, mafia policemen, hoodlum judges, massive unemployment, poverty, and our ever-popular military, who wants to be a Filipino? I have always been pessimistic about the fate of the Filipinos. But I remember one time I gave in to the nationalistic spirit during high school and college years when I was influenced by La Salle’s thrust of molding us to an image of a true “gentleman” with a Filipino heart. It was the only point in my life that I was proud to be Filipino. But thanks to this government’s all-out war policy, I have come to my senses. I started to see things in a clearer perspective when I transferred to MSU. I witnessed how military abuses took place and how deprived Muslim provinces are compared to neighboring provinces. It’s really frustrating to see how this government could treat us like second-class citizens. I bet you’ve witnessed the never-ending checkpoints in Muslim areas here in Mindanao. And you know what’s funny? Malacanang wouldn’t permit the military to set up real checkpoints in NPA-infested areas in Luzon and Visayas. Malacanang has become the symbol of everything that is bad in a Filipino. When will the government be sincere in its provisions of public service? No solution to this country’s problems is ever permanent! The government is always cramming for temporary measures and is incapable of handling even the simplest misfortune. It is the responsibility of the government to protect the entire nation. But it seems the government is always short of solutions. We have problems with coordination, red tape, and infighting. Politicking more often than not derails the potent capacities of these solutions to permanently safeguard the public. The government should stop making those costly disaster policies and provide real solutions to the Mindanao problem. The real disasters come when public service takes the backseat for politics. Thanks to the government’s stand for an all-out war policy, I got back my pessimism. Now more than ever I’m firmly convinced that the Bangsamoro can never co-exist with this government. A clear example to justify my stand is the government’s announcement that Mindanao is the country’s food basket. Yet why is it they continue to declare an all-out war policy against us? To give you a bird’s- eye view, government records show that 14 of the 21 poorest provinces in this country are in Muslim Mindanao. All the Muslim-dominated ARMM provinces belong to the top 5 poorest. The government should also stop insulting our intelligence when they claim that our economy is growing because of the increase in our gross domestic product. Let me ask you readers if there is real economic growth in this country? I challenge any politician and economic expert to answer that before our Muslim brothers who suffer in poverty. Common sense tells us that there is economic growth when there is food on the table and jobs for those willing to work. My point is that the real situation of our economy is pitiable. This government should fix it first before saying it’s improving. The government should also stop bragging about the Americans giving us “aid” because their “aid” is actually tantamount to a “loan.” Our government should learn the vocabulary of American imperialism. Its officials should take a crash course on economics 101 to inform them that there is no such thing as free lunch. The government should stop forcing us to see things their way. It must give us all the leeway necessary to use our imagination in search for answers. They must govern with truth and without deceit. It should comply with its promises to the Bangsamoro. It should adapt to our culture and growing needs. The government cannot blame us for being wary because we haven’t seen a concrete demonstration of its sincerity other than empty promises of peace and development. The Bangsamoro has contributed so much for the greatness of this country. Mindanao is the land of the Bangsamoro - a fact attested by historians around the world. I don’t care what my critics will say. This is our land and we want independence. The government ought to know by now that their all-out war stand will never work. It’s just a matter of time when the government will realize that it cannot eliminate a rebellion fueled by passion and the Qur’an’s inspiration that claims dying for a holy cause is the birthright and the destiny of all the believers of the Almighty Allah. The Bangsamoro will get freedom by all means necessary. I have no doubt that someday our people and this government will put an end to the Mindanao conflict and both parties will commit to an agreement that will not fall short of the aspiration of every Moro - our own Islamic state. Inshallah, the Mujahideens’ ideological conviction for the establishment of a Bangsamoro homeland and an independent Islamic state in Mindanao will not be far. The challenges that we are facing today will only be met and overcome if each of us will realize that the fate of one is the fate of all. WASSALAM!
Sunny rasheed 23, is an economics graduate of MSU. He plans to join politics some day
About the Author: Sunny rasheed 23, is an economics graduate of MSU. He plans to join politics some day
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