Bangsamoro Quest The Birth of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

by : Datu Michael O. Mastura

Published by :

Southeast Asian Conflict Studies Network (SEACSN)

Research and Education for Peace, Universiti Sains Malaysia (REPUSM)

First Edition

Foreword by Kamarulzaman Askandar and Ayesah Abubakar

Cover : An image of the "Luwaran" of the Maguindanao Sultanate, and a map of mainland Mindanao by Capt. Thomas Forrest, 1776.

ISBN 978-967-394-062-2

This is a very important book, written by a very important figure in the long history of the Bangsamoro struggle. It asks many questions and reveals many things about this struggle from the perspective of one has been involved as an insider, and is still very much in there as an original and current member of the MILF peace panel in the peace talks with the Government of the Philippines.

The book discusses the core questions behind the struggle of a liberation movement in an identity-based self-determination type conflict. Why it istarted; what is the philosophy behind the struggle; who have been involved; what is the current situation; and where it is heading. These are some of the core questions that Datu Michael Mastura focuses on in this book.

The book is titled Bangsamoro Quest: The Birth of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The title is perfect because it reflects a journey or a struggle of a people in search of a destination. It also focuses on the MILF as the vehicle that drives this struggle for the people. If liberation is both the end and the process, then the MILF is the movement that moves this process.

 

About The Author

Michael O. Mastura is a peace negotiator as well as a noted lawyer, lecturer, and author. A former congressman, he represented Maguindanao Province and Cotabato City in the Philippine Congress from 1987 through 1995. He was also elected Delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution. Among the major enactments he crafted are the Code of Muslim Personal Law, the Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, the Philippine Passport Law, and the Party List Law. He was co-founder of the Southeast Asian Shariah Law Association, and Founder of the Islamic Welfare Society of the Philippines. Also, he established the Sultan Kudarat Islamic Academy Foundation, Inc., where he serves as President.

Datu Mastura is author and co-author of numerous books and research articles about the conflict in Mindanao. Among his latest published articles are:

Michael O. Mastura, “Government-Moro Peace Negotiation: Is ‘Earned Sovereignty’ Plausible or Possible in Islam?” in Islam in Southeast Asia: Transnational Networks and Local Contexts (Proceedings of the Symposium), Ikuya Tokoro, ed. (2009) pp. 91-118.

Michael O. Mastura, “Filipino Muslims and Issues of Governance: Some Thoughts by a Local Practitioner” in Islam and Civilizational Renewal. Vol 2, No. 1 (October 2010), pp. 145-155. Special Issue: Religion, Law, Governance in Southeast Asia.