Extremist groups continue recruitment in South: Report

A NEW report released by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) has shed light on renewed recruitment by violent extremist groups in the restive region of Muslim Mindanao.

The report, released only recently and a copy furnished The Mindanao Examiner, suggests that the recruitment arguments of violent extremist groups, one of them the Maute group, may be resonating more than ever with Muslim youth.

According to the December 2022 IAG study, entitled “Youth Vulnerability to Violent Extremism,” found that the majority of the 800 youth respondents (50.4%) agree or strongly agree that “jihad qital (armed struggle) is an obligation of every Muslim.”

It said this interpretation is the one propagated by violent extremist groups such as the Maute and is not in line with the moderate interpretation of traditional Islam.

The report further said that more than six out of ten respondents (67.8%) also agree or strongly agree with the statement: “I believe that discrimination against Moros is enough justification to bear arms and fight.”

Also backed by violent extremist groups, this interpretation equates anti-Muslim discriminatory practices (such as denying employment to a Muslim because of his religion) with the life-and-death actions of aggressors bent on destroying Islam, in effect adding a new justification for waging jihad qital.

“Our study suggests that the recruitment arguments of the Maute Group and other terrorist organizations in Muslim Mindanao may be resonating more than ever with Muslim youth,” warned Atty. Benedicto R. Bacani, who is Executive Director of the IAG, noting that one of the report’s recommendations is to enlist government agencies in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to build capacity around the Islamic concept of wasatiyyah (moderation) as a counterpoint to the ideology of violent extremism.

The IAG report also found that only 9.6% of respondents are aware of programs and projects under the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (NAP P/CVE), which was finalized in 2019. 

When told what P/CVE programs are planned, the 800 respondents were most interested in scholarships and training opportunities for Moro youth. About 73.9% chose this option when presented with a list of suggestions on how to prevent young people from joining VE groups.

The respondents also endorsed suggestions to extend the national government’s 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) conditional cash grants program to their communities (64.5%) and to provide entrepreneurship tutoring to the youth and giving them access to capital (54.8%). All these are consistent with the respondents’ belief that the two main push factors toward violent extremism are poverty and lack of access to education.

The 2022 report, according to IAG, surveyed 400 urban youth and 400 rural youth from conflict-affected areas, interviewed 32 key informants from local government units, schools, civil society organizations, the security sector, international non-government organizations, and other relevant institutions, conducted 24 focus group discussions with 192 participants, comprising in-school/out-of-school, male/female youth participants from urban and rural areas, and developed five case studies around former members of violent extremist groups.

The field work was completed in March 2022 and the research was made possible with the support of the Australian Government.

The IAG said data for the study was collected using surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions in selected urban and conflict-affected rural areas in BARMM. The urban areas are Cotabato City, Marawi City, Lamitan City, and Jolo town in Sulu province.

The conflict-affected rural areas are Mamasapano in Maguindanao, Butig in Lanao del Sur, Patikul in Sulu, and Tipo-Tipo in Basilan. The instruments used to generate the data responding to the research questions were (a) a survey questionnaire, (b) key informant interview guides, and (c) focus group discussion guides. Secondary data and a review of related literature on the recent developments of violent extremism in the global and local settings were also done to supplement the results of the study on violent extremism in the Muslim region in Mindanao.

The study analyzed the set of Islamic beliefs of the Moro youth that support acts of terrorism, as manifested in their behavior and attitudes, and examined their perceptions of the drivers of violent extremism. Significant findings revealed that Moro youth were aware of the presence of violent extremist groups in their communities and recruitment by these groups was widespread. Many young Moro gradually adopted radical views through listening to radical preachers, attending prayer groups, and having regular contact with recruiters.

IAG said the study was one of the materials used in crafting the National Action Plan for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. The report recommends building capacity around a moderate interpretation of Islam to counter extremist ideology and stronger government action on poverty alleviation and granting Muslim youth access to education. (Mindanao Examiner)