(August 16-22)

It is not a joke or a picnic to start a revolutionary, nay jihadic, struggle. It is a lifetime job and commitment that only the most dedicated and iron-willed can stay through to the end.  Even then, these are not the only prerequisites for staying on and succeed. Those in the MILF had it started in 1972 (with the MNLF) and to this day they still have a long way before they can claim the MILF is strong and ready to engage the “enemy” in a final showdown.

We do not know whether the leaders of the so-called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) and its military arm, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have ever studied one, two or several revolutionary struggles in the world before they bolted from the MILF and formed their own group. The most obvious answer is that they did not, or else they would have stuck it out with the MILF and contented themselves in struggling within to correct imagined or real errors in the organization.  However, if ever they did study these struggles, then their end game is not really to seek victory for their struggle, but something else, say to get outright “martyrdom”, which is not an assured certainty, because it is not for men to determine whether one is a ”martyr” or not. Only Allah has full knowledge of that, and this will be known in the Day of Judgment. Not in this world!

For a revolutionary movement to succeed, or at least survive the onslaught of the enemy, there are at least five prerequisites: 1) a rallying point, say an ideology that everybody including the people is willing to die for; 2) They must enjoy popular support, because a guerrilla warfare, especially in the initial stage, cannot be waged without the support of the people. Some call this as “popular appeal; 3) Ability to sustain a protracted warfare. This involves all aspects of the revolutionary organization especially a well-knit leadership, logistics, popular support, etc.; 4) Experienced and dedicated leadership; and 5) The breakdown of the opposing regime. The other factors include foreign support.

Does the BIFM/BIFF have all of these factors at the moment or in any immediate future?

The answer is that they have very little of them. They say that they are fighting for Islam, but are not most of the ulama (pl. of aleem who are learned in Islam) in Mindanao on the MILF side? The BIFM/BIFF interprets Islam radically, similar to the ways of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They have very small popular support, which is only limited to a small part of Maguindanao, who are mostly their relatives. However, their ability to wage a long war cannot be determined now; it depends on their determination, how they manage their organization, and foreign support. Do they have experienced leaders? The answer is that they lack this, because even Ameril Omra Kato, who can hardly speak due to a stroke, only joined the MILF in 1996, whereas the core of the leadership of the MILF has been in the forefront of the struggle since 1972. Muhammad Ali Tambako, Kato’s lieutenant, is an entirely new face in the Moro struggle. He had just returned from Sudan where he obtained his degree on Islamic studies.

The role of a leader or a strong central leadership is crucial in a revolutionary struggle. The leader is the ideologue and provides direction to the movement. He also serves as inspiration of the group. Without a leader or central leadership, any organization can be open to manipulation. Worse, it invites power struggle within.

Given this situation, it is better for the BIFM/BIFF to conduct an honest-to-goodness evaluation of themselves and their organization. The door of the MILF is still wide open to those who are not responsible for the recent attacks in Maguindanao. After all, they are our brothers in Islam and were our comrades in the MILF. We welcome them with open hands!