Global Development and Human (In)security: understanding the rise of the Rajah Solaiman Movement and Balik Islam in the Philippines

Abstract

Over the past 30 years rapid advances in the realm of digital technology and the establishment of an ever expanding globally networked communications infrastructure have radically altered the infrastructure of the global economy. Combined with new rules for international finance, the de-regulation of capital and labour markets and the embracing of a ‘free trade’ ethos by most states in the international system, today's ‘information age’ bears little resemblance to the economic world experienced by previous generations. Rapid economic changes have been accompanied by the broad dissemination of social, cultural and political information to all corners of the globe, a phenomenon that has contributed to a number of important socio-political developments. Using social movement theory to frame our analytical narrative, we investigate how the demands and pressures of globalisation have helped to foment ‘Balik Islam’, a religious-based social movement concentrated among the ranks of returned overseas Filipino workers in the northern island of Luzon. These workers, having converted from Catholicism to Islam while employed in the Middle East, are beginning to reshape the political fabric of the Republic of the Philippines, sometimes in a violent fashion. To illustrate the possible extremes of Balik Islam, the article will chart the rise and fall of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a Balik-Islam group that was responsible for a number of recent terrorist attacks, and whose members, thanks to their ability to blend in with the dominant population, pose a special challenge to democracy.

Notes

The authors would like to acknowledge the critical contributions to this project made by our nps research assistant Jeremy A Bartel, without whom this project could not have been completed.

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2 See D McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930–1970, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1982; D McAdam, JD McCarthy & MN Zald (eds), Comparative Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Cultural Framings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996; D McAdam & DA Snow (eds), Social Movements: Reading on Their Emergence, Mobilization, and Dynamics, Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury, 1997; anad DA Snow, EB Rochford, SK Worden & RD Benford, ‘Frame alignment processes, micromobilization, and movement participation’, American Sociological Review, 51 (4), 1986, pp 464–481.

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5 A Undog, Balik-Islam Movement in the Philippines: A Special Report, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Quezon City, 2005.

6 National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (nica), ‘Special report’, Quezon City, 2007, p 2.

7 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

8 Internationla Crisis Group (icg), Philippine Terrorism: The Role of the Militant Islamic Converts, Brussels: icg, 2005, p 6.

9 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

10 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 4.

11 Bangko Sental ng Pilipinas (bsp), Annual Reports, available at http://www.bsp.gov.ph/publications/regular_annual.asp. accessed 9 January 2008.

12 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

13 Armed Forces of the Philipines (afp), ‘Special report on the arrest of Ahmed Santos’, AFP internal report, Quezon City, 2005.

14 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 197.

15 afp, Special Report: Rajah Suliaman Islamic Movement (rsim), Quezon City, 2006, p 221.

16 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 6.

17 Ibid.

18 RC Banlaoi, ‘The Rajah Suliaman Movement (rsm): origin, militant activities and current threat’, afp, Quezon City, 2006, p 4.

19 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 3.

20 Ibid, p 6.

21 afp, ‘Special report on the arrest of Ahmed Santos’, p 1.

22 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 6.

23 Ibid, p 7.

24 afp, ‘Special report on the arrest of Ahmed Santos’, p 15.

25 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

26 nica, ‘Special report’, p 1.

27 afp, Special Report: Rajah Suliaman Islamic Movement (rsim), p 241.

28 R Mendoza, ‘Radical Islamic reverts in the Philippines and their networks’, Philippine National Police, Quezon City, 2006, pp 6–7.

29 Ibid, p 113.

30 Ibid, p 116.

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35 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency.

36 Ibid, p 41.

37 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency; and Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 58.

38 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 42; and Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 59.

39 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 42; and Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 59.

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41 Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 58.

42 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 42; and Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 59.

43 Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 59.

44 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 42.

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47 Ibid.

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49 TM McKenna, Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Separatism in the Southern Philippines, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1998, p 141.

50 During the 1960s and 1970s several Filipino Muslims, including Salamat, received scholarship grants in Egypt as part of Gamel Nasser's education programme, and most studied at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. See ibid, p 141.

51 S Schiavo-Campo & M Judd, ‘The Mindanao conflict in the Philippines: roots, costs, and potential peace dividend’, Social Development Papers, 24, February 2005, p 2.

52 ML Gross, ‘A Muslim archipelago: Islam and politics in Southeast Asia’, National Defense Intelligence College, March 2007, p 183.

53 Vitug & Gloria, Under the Crescent Moon.

54 Gross, ‘A Muslim archipelago’, pp 185–186.

55 Ibid.

56 S Rood, ‘Forging sustainable peace in Mindanao: the role of the civil society’, Policy Studies, 17, East-West Center, Washington, DC, p 49.

57 Ibid.

58 M Cook & K Collier, ‘Mindanao: a gamble worth taking’, Lowy Institute Paper, 17, p 12

59 Gross, ‘A Muslim archipelago’, p 196.

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61 JP Magno & AJ Gregor, ‘Insurgency and counterinsurgency in the Philippines’, Asian Survey, 26 (5), 1986, p 506.

62 icg, Philippine Terrorism, pp i, 2.

63 Ibid, p 1.

64 Ibid.

65 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 42.

66 Ibid.

67 Ibid.

68 F Harris, ‘Something within: religion as a mobilizer of African-American political activism’, Journal of Politics, 56 (1), 1994, pp 42–68.

69 McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, p 60.

70 M Olson, The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965; and Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 60.

71 Harris, ‘Something within’.

72 CS Smith, ‘Correcting a curious neglect, or bringing religion back in’, in Christian S Smith (ed), Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social Movement Activism, New York: Routledge, 1996, p 9.

73 Banlaoi, ‘The Rajah Suliaman movement (rsm)’, p 1.

74 Undog, Balik-Islam Movement in the Philippines, p 3.

75 Ibid.

76 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 211.

77 Z Abuza, Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2003, pp 13–14. As of January 2003 at least 56 mosques have been constructed in Southern Luzon, 38 in the Visayas, 33 in metro Manila, 29 in Northern Luzon and 15 in Central Luzon. Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 211.

78 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 210.

79 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 6.

80 Mendoza, ‘Radical Islamic reverts in the Philippines and their networks’, pp 20–34.

81 S Go, ‘Recent trends in international movements and policies: the Philippines’, paper presented at a ‘Workshop on International Migration and Labor Markets in Asia’, Tokyo, 2005, p 4.

82 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 4.

83 Personal communication, 2–3 April 2008.

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87 Abuza, Militant Islam in Southeast Asia, p 5.

88 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

89 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, pp 210–211.

90 Personal communication with Mendoza, 3 April 2008.

91 Smith, The Emergence of Liberation Theology, p 61.

92 GE Robinson, ‘Hamas as social movement’, in Q Wiktorowicz (ed), Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2004, p 129. Robinson calls these ideological tactics ‘bumper sticker’ versions of a group's ideology.

93 Snow et al, ‘Frame alignment processes’, pp 464–481; and DA Snow & RD Benford, ‘Ideology, frame resonance, and participant mobilization’, International Social Movement Research, 1, 1988, pp 197–217.

94 Personal communication, 2 April 2008.

95 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 196.

96 Santos, ‘Evolution of the armed conflict of the communist front’, pp 1–2.

97 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 6.

98 Personal communication, 4 April 2008.

99 Banlaoi, ‘The Rajah Suliaman movement (rsm)’, p 1.

100 afp, ‘Special report: Rajah Suliaman Islamic Movement (rsim)’, p 244.

101 nica, ‘Special report’, p 2.

102 afp, ‘Special report: Rajah Suliaman Islamic Movement (rsim)’, p 245.

103 nica, ‘Special report,’ p 2.

104 afp, ‘Special report: Rajah Suliaman Islamic Movement (rsim)’, p 244.

105 Santos, ‘Evolution of the armed conflict of the communist front’, p 4.

106 TM McKenna, ‘Muslim separatism in the Philippines: meaningful autonomy or endless war?’, Asia Source, 2003, p 3, at http://www.asiasource.org/asip/mckenna.cfm, accessed 3 June 2008.

107 Ibid, p 6.

108 M Ressa, Seeds of Terror: An Eyewitness Account of Al-Qaeda's Newest Center of Operations in Southeast Asia, New York: Free Press, 2003, p 125.

109 icg, Southern Philippines Backgrounder: Terrorism and the Peace Process, Brussels: icg, 2004, p 3.

110 Mendoza, ‘Radical Islamic reverts in the Philippines and their networks’, p 9.

111 icg, The Philippines: Counter Insurgency vs Counter-terrorism, Brussels: icg, 2008, p 7.

112 Robinson, ‘Hamas as social movement’, p 129.

113 icg, Philippine Terrorism, p 3.

114 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 210.

115 Robinson, ‘Hamas as social movement’, p 129.

116 P Chalk, ‘jtic terrorism case study no 5: the super ferry 14 bombing, 2004’, Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre, 2006, at http://jtic.janes.com/JDIC/JTIC/search/printFriendlyView.do?docId=content1/janesdata/m, accessed 22 February 2008.

117 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 212.

118 afp, ‘Debriefing report on Pio De Vera’, Quezon City, 2005.

119 Banlaoi, ‘“Radical Muslim terrorism” in the Philippines’, p 212.

120 icg, Philippine Terrorism.

121 afp, ‘Debriefing report on Pio De Vera’.

122 RC Banlaoi, ‘The use of the media in terrorism in the Philippines: the Rajah Sulaiman Islamic movement’, paper presented at Sixth Biannual International Symposium of the Council for Asian Terrorism Research (catr), Kuala Lumpur, 2007, p 13.

123 D Borer & M Berger, ‘All roads lead to and from Iraq: the Long War and the transformation of the nation-state system’, in M Berger & D Borer (eds), The Long War—Insurgency, Counter-Insurgency and Collapsing States, London: Routledge, 2008. For a good intellectual and political history of al-Qaeda and the Islamic resurgence, see L Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, New York: Knopf, 2006.

124 F Zamora, ‘Bangsomoro to get own state’, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2 August 2008.

125 C Conde, ‘Rebel fighting in the Philippines intensifies’, New York Times, 26 August 2008.