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Die philippinische Armee stellte am 23. Juli 2009 die seit August 2008 laufende Militäroffensive gegen die »Moro Islamische Befreiungsfront« (MILF) auf der Insel Mindanao ein. Als Auslöser der einseitigen Entscheidung sieht Rafael Seguis, Vorsitzender des Friedensverhandlungskomitees der philippinischen Regierung, die steigende Zahl der Binnenflüchtlinge (Internally Displaced Persons -IDPs) in der Provinz Maguindanao und die sehr schlechten Lebensbedingungen in den Flüchtlingslagern.

This article examines why the decades-old Moro insurgency in Mindanao, southern Philippines, has remained difficult to resolve, and how recent international developments, such as the jihadization of once secular ethno-nationalist movements and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have influenced it. The author argues that jihadism made significant inroads in the Moro nationalist struggle already in the 1990s, way before 9/11, and that since 2007, a more moderate Islamism has gained ascendancy. He argues further that the Moro insurgency has remained intractable because of grave errors committed by the Arroyo and Aquino administrations; recurrent outbursts of anti-Moro hysteria incited by demagogic politicians; and a continuing weak third-party role in the Mindanao peace process. He warns that the apparent collapse of the most recent peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) poses the danger of the possible rise of new ISIS-linked jihadist groups.

As a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Philippines enacted the Biofuels Act of 2006 (RA 9367). Signed into law in January 2007, it aims for the phasing out of harmful gasoline additives and/or oxygenates, and the mandatory use of biofuels with one percent biodiesel blend and five percent bioethanol blend for all diesel and gasoline fuels, respectively. This policy has led to frenzied development of biofuel plantations, particularly sugarcane, cassava, and sweet sorghum for bioethanol production, and coconut, oil palm, and jatropha for production of biodiesel. Mindanao has been identified as a major contributor in fulfilling the Philippine government's biofuel targets. The island's vast agricultural lands are thus giving way to monocrop oil plantations.

This article challenges the pervasive notion of rebel groups in the southern Philippines as non-state actors opposing the penetration of the state. Instead, through a historically informed analysis of local politics in two Mindanao provinces with a presence of Muslim and communist armed insurgents, respectively (North Cotabato and Compostela Valley), it will be demonstrated that particularly since the end of the Marcos martial law regime and subsequent democratisation and decentralisation efforts, local state and rebel structures have become increasingly intertwined. On the one hand, this observation can be explained with reference to particular historical-institutional trajectories, which led to the establishment of the local state as a vital instrument for accumulation and for political legitimation. On the other hand, the current situation can only be fully understood when considering the wider set of social structures that cut across the state-rebel divide, prime amongst which those defined by kinship.

Die Bedeutung von Religion als bestimmender Identitätsfaktor für die Entstehung einer nationalen muslimischen Identität in den Philippinen hat ihre Wurzeln in der Entstehungszeit der unabhängigen philippinischen Republik (1946), in der muslimischen Auflehnung gegen den Einschluss des mehrheitlich muslimischen Mindanaos in die philippinische Nation.

Konflik sosial-politik yang terjadi di Filipina telah menimbulkan suatu diskriminasi yang berlebihan. Terdapat kebijakan kontra dari pemerintahan Filipina terhadap struktur masyarakat Mindanao. Tindakan kontra yang diterapkan oleh pemerintah Filipina adalah memarjinalisasi masyarakat Mindanao dengan cara menciptakan kesenjangan ekonomi, sosial, pendidikan dan HAM. Muhammadiyah sebagai organisasi yang memegang salah satu prinsip Islam yakni Ukhuwah Islamiyah mencoba membantu menyelesaikan konflik tersebut melalui jalur damai. Pada tulisan ini penulis akan menganalisis strategi perdamaian yang dilakukan oleh Muhammadiyah atas konflik Mindanao.