Kennedy Muise

4/23/17

Blog Post: 3 Abu Sayyaf is a Terrorist Organizaiton

     There is a general disagreement over whether Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist or criminal organization. Abu Sayyaf is an ideologically and politically motivated group that attacks noncombatants, which would make them a terrorist group by many definitions. However, some of their tactics are more characteristic to a criminal group, such as kidnapping for ransom. Amongst these two arguments, the argument that Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organization is more convincing because Abu Sayyaf ultimately has a political goal, to create an Islamic state, and deliberately targets noncombatants, which makes them a terrorist organization, even if they use criminal acts to achieve these goals.

     First, Abu Sayyaf is a group with ideologically and politically motivations to create an Islamic state in Mindanao and Sulu. While other Islamic terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda, often extend their goals on an international level, Abu Sayyaf’s goal “does not extend beyond the Philippines” (Santos and Dinampo 119). Like HAMAS in the Israel/Palestine region, Abu Sayyaf wants an autonomous region for the Muslim Moro people (Santos and Dinampo 117) ; however, when the MNLF failed to negotiate an adequate agreement with the Filipino government, Abu Sayyaf decided to take things into its own hands by using violence and terror, which is very similar to what HAMAS did in response to the PLO’s negotiations with the Israeli government. After separating from the MNLF, Abu Sayyaf acquired political and ideological ideas similar to Al Qaeda, such as the creation of an Islamic state in the Philippines. In addition, Abu Sayaff believes in Islamic jihadism and is “[willing] to die for the cause,” which drives Abu Sayyaf to the violent acts it commits against its enemies (Santos and Dinampo 120).

     Second, Abu Sayyaf violently targets noncombatants. Abu Sayyaf specifically identifies its enemies as “Philippine soldiers but also non-combatants, both Christian and Muslim, who disagree with their version of jihad qitaal”; more specifically, Abu Sayyaf targets “Jews and Christians who will never accept the Qur’an, Muslims who do not read the Qur’an, and the ‘sick ulama (Islamic scholars)’ who quarrel with the Qur’an” (Santos and Dinampo 120). These targets show that while Abu Sayyaf is generally centralized in the Philippines, its actions and goals can be applied on the international level by targeting non-Filipinos. In addition, Abu Sayyaf’s attacks its enemies to incite fear and create terror in the region. A few of Abu Sayyaf’s tactics include bombings, assassinations, raids, kidnappings for ransom, and piracy (O’Brien 325). While bombings and assassinations are often correlated to other terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf’s use of kidnapping leads many scholars to believe that they should be categorized as criminals instead of terrorists. Many scholars believe that Abu Sayyaf only uses Islamic ideologies as a “front” and that the members’ main objective is to obtain large sums of money (Santos and Dinampo 127). Despite these financially motivated arguments, kidnapping can be a terrorist act. While kidnapping for ransom can be a tactic to obtain financial assets, Abu Sayyaf specifically used this tactic to “raise funds” for its political goals, such as to pursue bombing attacks and to support more recruits to fight for the cause so their Islamic state may eventually be established (Banlaoi 68). In addition, Abu Sayyaf’s use of kidnapping was not a purely financially motivated as Abu Sayyaf often beheads its prisoners if the ransom is not met which creates a sense of terror and fear for future prisoners and any group that would have negotiate with Abu Sayyaf later on (O’Brien 329).

      Abu Sayyaf’s ideological and political motivations, in addition to its civilian targets and terrorizing tactics, show that Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organization. While some scholars may argue that Abu Sayyaf is classified better as a criminal group, it is important to acknowledge that Abu Sayyaf only used criminal acts, such as kidnappings for ransom, in pursuit of a political goal; and, if Abu Sayyaf was given the same funds from Al Qaeda as it did under the leadership of Abdurajak Janjalani, the group may not have participated in kidnappings or other criminal acts at all. Therefore, Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organization and should be treated as such by western states and the United Nations so the group may be properly dealt with if it was to pose a significantly dangerous threat to the Western world.

 

Works Cited

Banlaoi, Rommel C. "Maritime Terrorism in Southeast Asia." Naval War College Review, 2005, Vol. 58, No. 4, 63-76.

 

O'Brien, McKenzie. "Fluctuations Between Crime and Terror: The Case of Abu Sayyaf's Kidnapping Activities, Terrorism and Political Violence". Terrorism and Political Violence. Routledge, 2012, 320-336.

 

Santos, Soliman M. and Octavio A. Dinampo. "Abu Sayyaf Reloaded: Rebels, Agents, Bandits, Terrorists". Primed and Purposeful. 115-134.