Bangsamoro: Past, Present and Future

Bangsamoro is composed of Muslim minority groups that are predominantly located in Southern Philippines (i.e. Mindanao). It has distinct milieu of history, traditions, mores, knowledge system and socio-political environments guided by their normative and cultural interpretations of Islam. Although, it is contested whether their past is part of the historical memories of the Philippines since the inception of the Malolos Republic in 1899 or represented, for example, in the national flag and emblems. While some argued that Bangsamoro should form part of the Philippines’ political foundation in order to address historical injustices committed against them.

The Moro peoples are continuously shaped by their Islamic faith, customs, social identities, laws, political affiliations, interactions with non-Muslims, decades-long negotiations with the national government, operations and implementation of the ARMM, and contemporary international image of Islam mostly represented by Middle Eastern countries. They faced utmost challenges of poverty, lack of educational support, non-existing political leadership and will (i.e. initiative or determination), graft and corruptions of their political elites, scarcity of economic resources, crimes (particularly the business of kidnapping), rampant illegal drugs, warring factions of dominant clans (or rido), and the incessant human, environmental and territorial conflicts including insurgencies from disparate armed groups.

Despite these challenges, most are hopeful for a progressive society imbibed with their cultural expressions and Islamic orientation. They aspired for asymmetrical political representation in the national government (e.g. through BBL or federalism), aimed to receive fair and equitable distribution of wealth including educational, health and social services, and hoped to attain that elusive ‘peace’ in order to have prosperous livelihood and better future for succeeding generations. However, there are still some elements that cling to secession for they believed that it is only through full independence and freedom that they can establish a just Moro society.

The project welcomes proposals, but not limited to the following themes and topics:

  • Pre-Islamic Bangsamoro;
  • Sate of Bangsamoro during the Pre-Colonial Philippines;
  • State of Bangsamoro during the Colonial Philippines;
  • Bangsamoro under the Independent Philippines;
  • Critical studies on Bangsamoro (e.g. why the word ‘Moro’ was adapted as manifestation of nationalism despite its pejorative origin?);
  • Emergence, evolution and present status of MNLF and MILF including their differences and prospects for union or collaborations;
  • Negotiations with the Philippine government and its signed agreements so far (e.g. MoA on Ancestral Domain, FAB, CAB, and BBL);
  • The dominant political Moro clans/elites and their impact to a future Bangsamoro polity;
  • Socio-political relations between and among the Maranaos, Tausugs and Maguindanaons;
  • Socio-political relations between the Moros and Lumads (indigenous peoples in Mindanao);
  • The role(s) of international community (OIC, ASEAN, UN, EU, etc.) in Bangsamoro;
  • The role(s) and relations of Malaysia, Indonesia, and other foreign countries with the Bangsamoro;
  • Issue areas such as shari’ah, Islamic jurisprudence, roles of Moro scholars and public intellectuals, Islamic state/polity, food security, finance, education, health, environment, climate change (global warming), women, youth, LGBT, human rights, extremism, terrorism, among others;
  • Prospect of future insurgent groups similar to MNLF/MILF;
  • And, prospect for future Bangsamoro polity within the context of their political arrangement(s) with the Philippine’s executive/legislative/judicial branches of government.

This is arguably the first-ever edited collection featuring 09-20 articles which will be available online and in paperback versions at a very minimal cost via the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). Through Amazon it will be available in book stores worldwide so as to ensure the widest dissemination.

I anticipate to receive abstracts of around 250 words sent to contact@nassef.info by 30 April 2016. The abstract must contain your research questions, supporting details and methods in answering those posited questions, and conclusion. Please also send me a brief author biography via an attached CV or a link to your academic webpage.

The guide length of commissioned articles will be between 7000 and 8000 words inclusive of footnotes and bibliography. Notification of results will be made within four weeks after the submission deadline. Sales of this edited book will be equally distributed to all authors via transparent and regular updates provided by Amazon’s KDP.

See similar call at H-Nationalism.

Scholars* interested in joining the project are:

  • Dr. Rizal G. Buendia is Independent Consultant/Researcher in Southeast Asian Politics and International Development in London, UK.
  • Dr. Mohor Chakraborty is Assistant Professor in Political Science, South Calcutta Girls’ College (affiliated to Calcutta University), Kolkata, India.
  • Dr. Maripaz C. Abas is Associate Professor at Cotabato City State Polytechnic College.
  • Dr. Ombra Imam is the President of National Association for Bangsamoro Education, Inc. and Assistant Professor at Cotabato City State Polytechnic College.
  • Dr. Abdul M. Lantong is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Cotabato City State Polytechnic College, Cotabato City, Philippines. He earned both his Master’s and Ph.D degrees (Master in Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Ph.D. in Islamic and Other Civilizations respectively) from International Islamic University Malaysia.
  • Sohayle M. Hadji Abdul Racman is PhD candidate in Islamic Civilization and Contemporary Issues at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
  • Aya Watanabe is PhD student in Comparative Politics at Waseda University, Japan.
  • Kamaruddin Bin Alawi Mohammad is researcher at the Institute of Islamic Studies and PhD student in Philippine Studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
  • Almahdi Alonto is graduate student of Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom and former Assistant Professor at the Mindanao State University an De La Salle University.

 *The list is regularly updated.

Abstracts Received: