Abu Misry Mama, BIFF spokesperson says, 'There was also a time that they directly communicated with Abu Bkr al-Baghdadi,' the self-proclaimed head of state of ISIS
NOT ISLAM'S
VOICE. An Indonesian journalist holds flowers as she sits in front of a banner
during a protest against the killing of journalists by the Islamic State (ISIS)
militant group, in Jakarta ,
Indonesia
Using the Internet through social networking sites, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters claim it is in constant communication and has formed an alliance with the Islamic State in
Abu Misry Mama,
spokesperson of the BIFF, said they also used mobile phones in their first set
of talks for an alliance with ISIS in July
2014.
Mama said BIFF
vice chairman for political affairs Sheikh Ismail Abu Bakr and the group’s
Islamic Supreme Council chair who was identified only as "Kuti"
directly communicated with ISIS .
“There was also a
time that they directly communicated with Abu Bkr al-Baghdadi,” Mama said.
Al-Baghdadi is the self-proclaimed “caliph” or head of state of ISIS . He has also been claiming that he is a descendant
of the Prophet Muhammad.
“In the alliance,
we have agreed that we are brothers under the same sky. That if one finger is
hurt the entire body will feel the pain,” Mama said.
Training in
the Middle East ?
But this
alliance, according to Mama, does not mean they have sent members to join the
training and fighting in the Middle East .
“There is no
truth to the reports that we have sent fighters to Syria
and Iraq Mindanao
are enough already,” Mama said.
Earlier, former
president Fidel V. Ramos disclosed in a TV interview that around 100 Filipino
Muslims infiltrated Iraq
“In fact, there
are also no foreigners in our camps to train us because we can train on our
own,” Mama said, brushing off allegations by the military that the BIFF is
coddling members of the Jemaah Islamiyah. (READ: Senior Abu Sayyaf leader swears oath
to ISIS)
Military sources
claimed that Malaysian bomber Zulkifli Bin Hir, who is more commonly known as
Marwan, is hiding in BIFF territory in Maguindanao.
He was reported
earlier to have been killed in an airstrike, but military officers said Marwan
was seen again somewhere in Central Mindanao .
On Facebook
Similar to
al-Qaeda, ISIS , and JI that use social media
to recruit fighters, the BIFF has also stepped up its campaign on the Internet.
Several Facebook
accounts claiming to belong to members of the BIFF surfaced, with pictures of
masked men and women raising their index fingers, some of them carrying
automatic rifles.
One of the
accounts that claimed to belong to Abu Maida'n posted photos and videos of BIFF
gatherings and even their military operations.
The Maida'n
account also posted the video of men garbed in soldiers' uniforms who pummeled
and peppered with bullets a man believed to be the uncle-in-law of suspected
bomber Abdul Basit Usman.
And most
recently, a "new committee" called the Union Overseas-Bangsamoro
Islamic Freedom Movement has been creating a buzz among BIFF supporters on the
Internet.
Funding
A source in the
BIFF said members of this committee are overseas Filipino workers who expressed
support for the creation of an Islamic state in Mindanao
and volunteered to carry its cause online.
With ISIS now known as one of the richest armed groups in the
world, the BIFF denied they are receiving foreign funding for their operations.
“If we will ask
them for money they might send us millions but we are not asking for any,” Mama
said.
The BIFF said
their funding comes from "donations" from “supportive businessmen and
politicians.”
“They believe
that we are fighting the right war that is why they support us financially,”
Mama said.
Aside from the
funds from businessmen and politicians, Mama said civilians in the communities
are also "donating" money and even food for the rebels. He however
refused to call this taxation buta "charity contribution” by the
communities to “fund the jihad.”
“For example, if
you till the soil and you harvest 10 sacks you give one sack to the
mujahideens,” Mama said.
Judicial
process
And with the
reports of ISIS forces cutting hands and beheading people in Iraq and Syria
“You cannot just
cut hands and heads because you wanted to. It is being done as part of a
judicial process. Your hands will only be cut if you steal and the beheading is
only done to those who killed people as a crime,” Mama said.
This
“implementation of justice,” Mama said, is part of due process under the
Shariah system. “It is just like any ordinary criminal justice system. The only
difference is that the penalties are stiffer,” Mama added.
Mama said one of
their original leaders and a member of the central committee was expelled for
“dishonoring the due process of law.”
In September
2013, two men were found dead near a rice field in Midsayap, North
Cotabato . One of the bodies recovered was that of 31-year-old
Ricarte Dionio who was also beheaded by members of the BIFF.
The military said
the men killed were ordinary farmers who were taken as hostages of the rebels,
while the BIFF claimed that both men died in an actual encounter.
Mama said Dionio
was a policeman but explained that the beheading was inappropriate and was a
violation of BIFF rules.
He said former
BIFF vice chairman for political affairs Muhammad Ali Tambako, who ordered the
beheading, was found guilty of committing the transgression and was immediately
kicked out of the BIFF.
“The man was a
legitimate target but the beheading was unnecessary. What was worse was that
the man was beheaded even if he was already dead,” Mama said.
He said the order of Tambako was disrespect for a man who bravely fought in a gun battle. “We do not want that to happen again,” Mama said.
He said the order of Tambako was disrespect for a man who bravely fought in a gun battle. “We do not want that to happen again,” Mama said.
But people in the
communities, especially those who oppose the BIFF, continue to fear that
similar incidents would happen in the future.
Terror
organization
The military and
the local government vehemently condemned the atrocities and even labeled the
BIFF as a terror organization.
The BIFF, led by
former 105th Base commander Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato, splintered from the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front after serious disagreements on the conduct of the
peace negotiations with government.
Given present
progress on the peace process, the government and the MILF have repeatedly
appealed to the BIFF to give peace a chance and to be included in the new
political entity that will be crafted.
An autonomous
state under the Philippine government, the BIFF explained, is a big compromise,
given the original claim for Bangsamoro independence. (READ: Philippines
condemns, vows to help 'thwart' ISIS)
"What we
wanted is an independent Islamic state. We do not care if it is as small as a
barangay as long as it is ours," Mama said.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/69590-biff-isis-connection-social-media
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