[Al Jazeera] ISIS's Southeast Asian oblates may have failed at their first attempt to carve out territory here, but their defeat was by no means final.With the Philippine government delaying a peace deal that would give a predominantly Moslem southern region more autonomy, experts, rebels and even officials warned of possible attacks from several gangs that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS).
Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), told Al Jazeera, "Radical groups emerged whenever there were failures in the grinding of the peace processor. Leaders with radical ideologies exploit the people's frustration at these failures."
The MILF fought decades with the government of the Christian-majority country, first for independence and then for autonomy. It broke away from the original Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1977 when the MNLF settled for autonomy after years of fighting for a separate state.
Now, the MILF is steps away from sealing a deal that will expand the autonomous region and give its government more substantial powers.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte promised to sign the deal into law after his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, failed to do so. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
Duterte's allies in congress have not prioritised passing the measure.
"There is consistent prejudice against the Bangsamoro people," Ebrahim said, referring to the southwestern Mindanao region that is home to several Moslem ethnic groups collectively called "Moro".