Abu Sayyaf Group Essay

Abdurajak Janjalani’s religious and political thoughts provided the basis for ASG’s original ideology.23 The initial premise for creating the group was for a Muslim Mujahideen that would be committed to â€Å"a struggle in the cause of Allah† or â€Å"fighting and dying for the cause of Islam.†24 To his ASG followers Janjalani was more than a leader, he provided their ideological path and enlightenment. Janjalani was well educated and knowledgeable of various areas that impacted the Muslim population in the Philippines. These included the historical, religious, economic, political, and social conditions that existed at the time25 and it was his aim to build his idea of an Islamic state in the southern Philippines to improve those conditions.26 Funding to initiate and support the movement in the beginning was supposedly supplied by Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Osama bin Laden’s brother-in-law.27 This was the first reported link to Al Qaeda. Later, in 1992, Janjalani and his group established an official headquarters in Isabela, Basilan naming the Camp Al-Madinah Mujahideen, but the camp was captured by the Philippine Marines in 1993 forcing ASG to relocate and establish a new base in Patikul, Sulu. This fostered greater cooperation and alliance with Ghalib Andang who led the Sulu-based unit of the ASG.28 Working together the combined ASG forces began an aggressive recruiting effort to expand their manpower, acquire arms and munitions, and began the lucrative series of fund-raising activities in kidnappings and demanding high ransoms.29 Before his death in 1998, Janjalani delivered eight radical ideological messages called Khutbahs. These Khutbahs are regarded as primary sources of his radical Islamic thought and depicted the depth of his Abu Sayyaf . . .5 understanding of Wahabi Islam. One of the Khutbahs exposed an intense resentment of Christian missionaries in Mindanao, especially those regarded as criticizing Islam. His interpretation was that â€Å"aggressive preaching of Christian missionaries in Mindanao thus insulted Islam and provoked Muslims to respond violently. As a result, the bombing of the Christian missionary ship M/V Doulos in 1991 was retaliation against Christian missionaries who used derogatory words against Islam and called Allah a false God.†