CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

In recent times, violent extremism has become a topic by political

affiliates, non-governmental organizations, interfaith gatherings through

workshops and conferences as well as by general community. Violent groups

are in many instances motivated by self-interest, quest for power and/or

wealth, narrow grievances and at times the desire to advance political agenda

(Van, M. L., & United States Institute of Peace, 2016).

Extremist in many cases are brought together by their shared dedication

to certain vision of how a community should be structured, as well as being

inquisitive of the present fundamentals governing the society (Great Britain., &

Great Britain 2010). As the issue has become a matter of grave concern in the

current world to both civil authorities and religious communities and

institutions, it has become necessary to discuss ways of countering such

extremism.

Religion is an influential part of cultural norms and values, intensely

implicated in people and social notion of peace, since it tackles some of the

most intense existential concerns of human life. In addition, all religions have

come up with rituals, laws, and ideas, and symbols of civilizations with

cultural obligations to significant peace related values, among them an

openness and even love for the strangers, the restraint ego, value of human

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rights, forgiveness and humility, repentance and acceptance of liability of past

mistakes. Basically, religious institutions exert a lot of influence which can

used for peacemaking, reconciliation or prevention of vices (Gopin, M., 2000).

In global perspective, religious institution has played a vital role towards

pursuit of peace and social justice. Hence, the role of the religious leader has

always been pivotal in terms of giving a direction concerning which way the

people and the nation should go. The past few decades have seen increasing

recognition of the significant role religious actors play in peace and in conflict

(Ramet, Sabrina P., 1992).

Despite the importance of religious, its role in the overall peace process

specially in countering violent extremism has all too often been overlooked. In

this paper we emphasize the importance of religious actors in the process of

countering violent extremism. In the Philippines there is much a needed

attention to be use in focusing on the role of Religious Leader especially in

remote areas wherein religious practices has each wider importance to make a

stable and tranquil society. Cotabato city in particular the role of Religious

essential in addressing the need to establish a more convenient approach to

counter violent extremism and peacebuilding that’s why this study shall be

conducting.
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is designed to determine the role of religious leader countering

violent extremism. Specifically this study attempts to answer the following

questions;

1. What is the socio demographic profile of the respondent in terms of:

a. Gender

b. Age

c. Civil Status

d. Tribal

e. Religion

f. Educational attainment

2. What are the causes of violent extremism in Cotabato City?

3. Which measures are used by the religious leaders in countering violent

extremism?

4. What effective measure are the religious leaders in countering violent

extremism?

5. What are the challenges faced by the religious leaders in countering violent

extremism?

6. How are these challenges being addressed?

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This research is focusing on the Role of Religious Leader this includes

Muslim and Non-Muslim Religious leader in countering violent extremism.

Specifically, this will be limited to the religious leaders in Cotabato City due to

time constraints.

SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

Respondents – for them to understand better their role in countering violent

extremism.

Family – for them to understand the valuable role of religious leader in

countering violent extremism especially how the religious leader to maintain

the secure and safeness of the small unit of society.

Community – for them to understand the important role of the community

religious leaders in countering violent extremism and promoting peace in the

community.

Local Government Unit – for them to include the religious leaders in decision

and policy making in terms of countering possible violent extremism.

Future Researcher – for them to understand the role of religious leader in

countering violent extremism immediately.

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

Religious Leader –  is one who is recognized by a religious body as having some

authority within that body.

Peacebuilding – it is the program to forbid the conflict and violence and to

change the mindset of people from extremism ideology.

Violence – it is the immoral behavior of people that can cause of structural

violence and physical violence in society.

Conflict – it is argument between person against person or group against

group.

Extremism - is to refer to an ideology that is considered to be far outside the

mainstream attitudes of society.

Violent Extremism – is a form of extremisms that condones and enacts violence

with ideological or deliberate intent.

Review of Related Literature

This chapter includes ideas, finished thesis, generalization or conclusions,

methodologies and others. Those that were included in this chapter helps in

familiarizing information that are relevant and similar to the present study.

Background of Terrorism in the Philippines

Terrorism is a crime under the Human Security Act of 2007 which describes

such acts as causing "widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the

populace". The first group to be officially listed as a terrorist organization under the

law is the Abu Sayyaf on September 10, 2015 by the Basilan provincial court.

Since January 2000 radical Islamist groups  and Islamist separatist forces in the

Philippines have carried out over 40 major bombings against civilians and civilian

property, mostly in the southern regions of the country

around Mindanao, Basilan, Jolo and other nearby islands. Numerous bombings

have also been carried out in and around Metro Manila, though several hundred

kilometres from the conflict in the southern regions, due to its political importance.

In the period from 2000 to 2007 attacks killed nearly 400 Filipino civilians and

injured well over 1500 more casualties than caused by bombings and other

attacks. Public transport and other gathering places, such as street markets, have

been the favoured bombing targets, however large-scale abductions and shootings

have also been carried out by the groups, predominantly by Abu Sayyaf and the

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Rajah Solaiman Movement, two groups that had claimed responsibility for most of

the attacks.

For brevity, the definition of terrorism used is drawn from the United Nations

General Assembly condemnation. “Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke

a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for

political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the

considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or

any other nature that may be invoked to justify them."

Concept of Terrorism

The term terrorism has several definitions in accordance with the

government Body defining it. An analysis of the United States’ and Russia’s

definitions Indicated several similarities which include the act or threat of violence,

Influence the decision of a group, intimidation methods, a motive with regards To

politics, religion, or economics, and violence that is directed against civilians

(Kuznetcov and Kuznetcov, 2013). This is widely used as the definition of Terrorism

and without question lists many elements of terrorism. Some Definitions of modern

terrorism include the term “non-state actors” and define Terrorism as the initiator

or violence not only directed toward civilians as the Previous definition implies, but

also against material or symbolic Representations (Lizardo, 2015). An example of

terrorism against symbolic Representations could be seen as recent as ISIS’

attempt to destroy cultural Symbols throughout Iraq and Syria. During 2014 –

2016, ISIS waged not only a Terrorist war on civilians and governments, but also
 Abdulradzak, Sacandal, Usop 8

on cultural heritage sites throughout the Middle East. These sites included the

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World

Heritage Sites such as Palmyra and other cultural heritage sites including holy

sites and Temples of the Yezidis, Christians, and Shi’a. This destruction of cultural

and religious sites is often displayed on social media by ISIS in order to promote

Terror and to recruit. Smith, Burke, de Leiuen, and Jackson (2015) posited that

this type of terrorism is labelled “socially mediated terrorism” which is a new Form

of terrorism brought on by the rise of social media. They go on to point out that

ISIS used religion to justify the destruction of antiquities and to promote their view

of Islam (Smith, et al., 2015).

Although ISIS is one of the most recent terrorist organizations to deploy social

media tactics, there have been other terrorist organizations in the past that have

gone to the media to promote their cultural destructions as well. As an example,

the Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed the Buddha’s of Bamiyan in 2001 because

they believed That Islam declared all other religious statues and sites as false idols

and publicly took to media to promote their endeavours (Colwell-Chanthaphonh,

2003). Although there are set definitions of terrorism used universally by

Governments and organizations, the rise of social media and technology are

Enabling terrorist groups to use different and unique tactics that have not been

used or seen in the past.

Violent Extremism

Violent extremist actions and discourse are neither recent nor are they

restricted to any particular religious group or community. The terms

“radicalization,” “extremism,” and “violent extremism” are used interchangeably

although they have very different meanings and in recent times particularly, have

become synonymous with terrorism. There exists a conceptual difference between

the ideological and behavioural aspects of extremism and violent extremism The

former can be used to refer to the ideological aspect wherein “political ideas are

diametrically opposed to a society’s core values… .or, it can mean the methods by

which actors seek to realise any political aim” (Neuman, 2013). The latter term

denotes the behavioural aspect wherein violence becomes the means to achieve an

end.

The twentieth century had numerous instances of violent extremism like the

extermination of approximately six million Jews under the Nazi holocaust, the

mass killings under the Khmer Rouge regime and the genocide in Rwanda. It was

after the shift in American policy in 2005 with regard to the Global War on Terror

that the term “violent extremism,” which was earlier used to denote violent actions

and ideologies of right-wing factions and neo-Nazis, came into prominence in

American public discourse. The term became almost synonymous with radical

Islam, “terrorism is framed primarily as a problem from Islam, with domestic

terrorism being treated as less threatening” (Powell, 2011). According to the

Department of US Homeland Security, the term “countering violent extremism”

refers to proactive actions to counter efforts by extremists to recruit, radicalize and

mobilize followers to violence.

Push and Pull Factors of Violent Extremism

While the push and pull factors for violent extremism are not the same in

different parts of the world, the common thread between them is that they are

multiple and interlinked with socio-economic, political, cultural and religious

dimensions. However, there are a few commonalities which have been identified in

the UNDP paper Preventing Violent Extremism by Promoting Inclusive

Development of 2016.

The eight push factors that could provoke radical behaviour and ultimately

encourage the individual to resort to violent extremism are as follows (UNDP,

2016):

1) The role and impact of global politics;

2) Economic exclusion and limited opportunities for upward mobility;

3) Political exclusion and shrinking civic space;

4) Inequality, injustice, corruption and the violation of human rights;

5) Disenchantment with socio-economic and political systems;

6) Rejection of growing diversity in society;

7) Weak state capacity and failing security; and

8) A changing global culture and banalisation of violence in media and

entertainment.

The pull factors of violent extremism include a search for identity socialization

through media interactions, particularly social media platforms, and schools,

religious and cultural organizations (Stephens, Sieckelinck & Boitellier, 2019).

Martyrdom, sense of purpose and “personal significance” (Gunaratna et. al., 2014)

are also other pull factors that have been identified through studies on the drivers

of violent extremism.

Alex Schmid explains that violent extremism lies at the intersection of the

“enabling environment” and the “vulnerable individual” and there is no predictable

trajectory for this process. “Root causes” is a term used by the EU and the UN to

denote American intervention in Iraq and its support to authoritarian regimes in

the Middle East. While there is a mention of “root causes” of violent extremism in

P/CVE policies and programmes, there is never an explicit mention of the

implications of Western foreign policy implementation in the region which has

fostered a fertile ecosystem for violent extremism.

Religious Leaders in Countering Violent extremism

Religious leaders can and should indeed promote the prevention of violent

extremism. Religious leaders are important in countering violent extremism

because of their unique position of authority, credibility, institutional resources

and ties with communities. Not all violent extremism is encased in religious terms
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and not all extremism is violent. But the rhetoric and media discussion of violent

extremism often masks the positive role that religious actors can and do play.

Recognizing the role of the religious leaders in preventing violent extremism (PVE)

and promoting the religious dimensions of intercultural dialogue.

Their position as religious leaders gives them moral legitimacy and moral

leverage to bring about an agreement between parties involved in a conflict,

thereby acting like intermediaries. Religious peacebuilding is more effective when

religion still plays an important role in that society, when disputant respect

religious authority of the peace builders and when religion plays some part in the

conflict.

According to Mohammed (2003), every religion can foster either violence or

nonviolence. It is the responsibility of those who follow a particular faith to cull

these resources for nonviolence from their religious scriptures. He extract these

resources in the case of Islam, comes up with a list of virtues or attributes, valued

within Islam, which can contribute towards peace. These include unity and

equality of mankind, all as God’s creations; justice and forgiveness, showing

mercy, regarded more highly than demanding retribution; seeking peace;

avoidance of violence; and reconciliation with the enemy. There are the other

attributes that are not directly linked to Peace, but can beusueful in peace building

process. These includes patience, valorisation of collaborative processes above

authoritarian ones, and the concept of Umman or Muslim community which

emphasizes collective action that can be utilized for peaceful goals.