QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 27 May 2026) — Today’s Eidu l-adha 1446/2026 augurs well for the ummah worldwide and the rest of humanity. Alhamdulillah, the haj has been conducted successfully, despite the US-Israel war against Iran while involving many countries
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 20 March) — Today’s conclusion of the Holy Month of Ramadan is lamentably ironic. Our joyous embrace of Eid l-fitr comes amid the backdrop of a new round of aggressive war by the United States and
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 06 June) — Two hajj seasons and a few months since October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza persists; death toll of Palestinians is rising; and the whole Gaza Strip is leveled off. The same playbook
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 28 March) — Fasting of Muslims in the Philippines went quite well until the 11th of Ramadan 1446 when former President Rodrigo Duterte was dragged to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the Netherlands. Like most
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 18 Sept)—It may be quite alarming to state but certainly not an understatement to say that Israel and Iran are on the march to doom and, if unhindered, the rest of the Middle East after almost
(Welcome remarks, “Seminar on Islam, Modernization and Reform in Indonesia: Parallelism and Context in the Philippines” held at UP-ISSI, Diliman, Quezon City, 27 June 2024.) QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 15 July)—Bismillaahir rahmaanir raheem. Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatu l-llaahi wa barakaatuh.
(Paghahabilin, Baccalaureate 2024, “Sinaglaya: Kabataan, Magsilbing Tanglaw, Tinig, at Lakas ng Bayan,” UP Integrated School, UPIS Gymnasium, 03 Hulyo 2024). QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 08 July) — Bismi l-llaahi r-rahmaani r-rahiim (In the name of ALLAH the Most Gracious and
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 05 July) — There is undeniably an added value being interviewed by known journalists even if just a few words of your thought are quoted in national or international media platforms they talk or write for.
(Welcome remarks, “Ahlan wa sahlan: Food Festival, Art Exhibit, and Filipino-Palestinian Stories,” held at GT-Asian Center Auditorium, UP Diliman, 30 June 2024.) QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 1 July)—Bismillaahir rahmaan nirraheem. Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatu l-llaahi wa barakaatuh. Today, we are
(Talumpati sa kumperensya na may temang “Pilipino para sa Palestino Nagkakaisang tindig laban sa Imperyalismo” na inorganisa ng Youth for Nationalism and Democracy at PUP Samahan ng Mag-aaral ng Kasaysayan, idinaos sa CSWCD Auditorium, UP Diliman, Hunyo 18, 2024). QUEZON
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 16 June) — Eidu l-adha or Day of Sacrifice is a day of victory for Prophet Ibrahim (as) and his son Prophet Ishmael (as). Hajj or pilgrimage is the most enduring legacy they ever bequeathed to
LUNGSOD NG QUEZON (MindaNews / 12 Hunyo)—Ang sinasabi natin ay dapat mayroon tayong matibay na sandigan ngayong gumalaw na nang puspusan ang “ahas” ng makabagong Samari sa utos ng dakila at makabagong Pir-awn para linlangin at pamunuan muli ang mga
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 10 June) – How much self-reflection is happening in America today? This question comes as a serendipity. After wishing for months to have a direct conversation with crucial sectors of American establishment given Israel’s genocide in
(Message delivered during the “Seminar on Examining the Position of Imam Khomeini’s Ideology as a Symbol of Anti-Arrogance in the Contemporary World” held at Iran’s Cultural Center in Makati City on 03 June 2024). QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 04 June)
(A message delivered during the 40th Anniversary of Silsilah Dialogue Movement with a theme “Dreaming Together” held at Harmony Village, Sinunuc, Zamboanga City, on 19 May 2024.) ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 20 May) – Peace be unto all of you!
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 13 May) – Ano naman ang simbolismo ng tungkod ni Nabi Allah Musa (as) o Moises kung saan ito ang tumalo sa mga ahas ng mga Samari o mahikero ng Ehipto at nagpabagsak sa kapangyarihan ni
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 09 May) — Para maliwanagan ang ating mga puso at makita natin nang tama ang mga pangyayari lalong-lalo na ang kasalukuyang pagmamalabis ng taghut sa Palestine at karurok-rurokang pang-aapi sa Gaza at mga natitira pang okupadong teritoryo, balikan
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 06 May) – Ang pagsuway na iyon ng ilang grupo ng Bani Israil ay nagpatuloy hanggang sa panahon ng mga Romano kung saan inukopa at pinamunuan ng huli ang maraming parte ng Europa, Aprika at Gitnang
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 21 April) — (Eid l-fitr khutbah, Bahay Kalinaw, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman, April 10, 2024). Lahat ng papuri ay sa ALLAH (swt). Siya at sa kanyang mga kamay ay nanahan ang sukat ng mga bagay at
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 11 April)—There are no words enough to express our grief, disgust and revulsion on the current war in Gaza. The Holy Month of Ramadan 2024, like many instances in the past, has been marred with unparalleled
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 13 February)—Una sa lahat, maraming salamat sa Philippine Initiative on Critical and Global Issues sa pag-organisa nitong talakayang “Sagasa sa Gaza: Paano Sasagip ang Sangkatauhan?” Sagasa Angkop ang “homonym” o ang paggamit ng magkatunog na salita
(Below is my take on two bills about hijab that is currently deliberated at the House of Representatives presented via Zoom on 14 September 2022. For purposes of brevity, only a few paragraphs were read during the presentation and, except
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews) – A lecture during AFP Webinar on Extremism and Terrorism on 30 March 2022. The rise of extremist ideologies in Southern Philippines was originally envisioned as an alternative to Moro nationalist liberation project with the latter’s failure
(A brief paper presented during the webinar, “On Mabini Dialogue Series: Navigating Philippine-Palestine Relations – What’s Next?” organized by the Foreign Service Institute, Department of Foreign Affairs, Manila, on 24 February 2022). QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 27 February) – It is
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 2 Sep) – President Duterte “sealed with a kiss” the “sacred” ground of Jolo, the heart of the Sulu Archipelago. His detractors view it as a political antic. No, it was authentic. It was his expression
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews) – With the rituals of post-terrorism mission on Jolo twin bombings last August 24 already accomplished – from clearing to reporting, to continuing intel works and beefing up security forces – there is one rite that is
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 29 May) – There is a short line in the Holy Qur’an that states: “Allah doth set forth parables for mankind… (14: 25).” There are many sublime passages in the Qur’an that talk of parables. The
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 26 May) – All praise is due to Allah (SWT). He sends Mercy and Forgiveness into His servants especially those who have successfully performed their sawm or fasting in the Holy Month of Ramadan. We also
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 02 May) — Beyond serendipity, my encounter with bats in Tawi-Tawi and my desire to know whether those bat researchers are milikan (Western-looking) or lannang (Chinese-looking) happened around three months before the “WHO’s Epidemic Intelligence System
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 22 April) – With the immense issues and implications surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, I thought, if only I were a natural scientist, say, a biologist or virologist at most, the priority question that I’d like to
Give the Tausug youth the right education, the right environment, the right tools of understanding, they would excel like others. If many of their forebears could be so determined in waging what they believe as their sacred struggle; in time of peace, Tausug youth must be capable in excelling even more.
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 24 February) – Self-determination, a subject close to many hearts among conscious Moro youth and professionals, has elicited many questions. The most crucial, I believe, are these two: what drives the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to barter its revolutionary struggle with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) through transition process, decommissioning, and normalization? Would it advance or stifle the Moro quest for self-determination?
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 05 May) — “Ehem, Ehem.” Bazookatried to join back into the conversation. Instead in pursuing his answer on Garand, it had to clarify the point of 30 Caliber: “Why do you point to that second master when we were
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 25 April) – Garand turned to M79 and pressed its question softly: “you have not answered my question about your master?” “Pila na ba lilling layuh-layuh Si Bunggau ba lilling pa Sibutuh.” (Oh! My Darling how
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 20 April) – Their common genes prodded all the guns to accord recognition on M79. Guns are guns: as comrades at arms, they are manufactured out of paradox. They have a shared mission – to kill
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 10 April) – Talking in whisper, Garand asked M79: “Who is your master?” The steps of Big Boots were getting nearer. Thump! Thump! Trump! Afraid that Big Boots might hear their conversation, M79 could only manage
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 7 April) – Guns laid bare. No words. No conversation. Nothing. It was the first-time guns failed to hear the noise, the bragging, the laughing of their fellows. Instead, they were on display while banded together,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 04 April) – The Freudian proclivity of PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) is not difficult to decipher. In fact, it is his fading “energy” that Mayor Digong has sorely missed. At 73, he said, his “whistling”
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 01 April) — From a certain angle, President Duterte’s sarcasm “ka libog mo” (you are full of libido!) could be viewed as an outburst. It was expressed during PRRD’s 9th visit to the Province of Sulu
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 29 March) — Where lies the kinks? Is PDu30 capable in addressing the problem in Sulu, the most maverick island in the South since colonial and post-colonial days? He seems to have the handle and the
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 07 March) – (Second part of a paper presented during the Center for People Empowerment and Governance’s (CENPEG) Forum on “Key Issues on Federalism: A Policy Action Conference” held at the Center for Integrative Development Studies,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 02 March) – (First part of a paper presented during the Center for People Empowerment and Governance’s (CENPEG) Forum on “Key Issues on Federalism: A Policy Action Conference” held at the Center for Integrative Development Studies,
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 27 Feb) – Below are exchanges of email and SMS between me and a head of sub-contracting agency that show the connectedness of a supposed local issue like Marawi crisis (e.g., war, rehab) with geopolitics of
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 25 February) — If only Maranao leaders persisted in taking a high moral ground like their forebears and did not totally prance politics with gobierno sarwang a tao and did not wholly abandon their warrior tradition
(Talumpati sa pambansang kumperensya ng Laban ng Masa, ginanap sa Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman, nuong 29 Oktobre 2017. Para malagyan nang konteksto at malinaw na paglalahad, may mga konteng dagdag sa talumpati pero walang ginawang pagbago sa kabuuang buod ng
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 19 Jan) – This year – 2017 or 1438 in Hijriyyah Calendar – may not be the birthing of a new era; in fact, it would simply be a continuation of the past depending on how we divide
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 29 Dec) – Way isab biyah han walla ra man aku – walah pa misan himaggut in kahawa ta; ampa kita timarah-tarah sin kissa-kissa ta sin kahnu yaun. Bang mga ibarat mag-tikam (Chinese gambling popular in
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews/30 October) — Awn malagguh sabab bang maytah nag-uutung-bisud in parinta duma magbissara ha Manuk Sug. Bat bang laung ta hat duwa “case” nasabbut ta yadtu – dih da yadtu makabingal tuud. Mapaliyu yan sin parinta bang tuurun
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 23 October) — Uwah! Mga Agay: Yari ba awn biyah kissa-kissa taniyu ini pasalan sin pagtawagun nila yan laung na “pis prasis” iban sin kalagguan sin amuin kajariyan sin mga lamud iban bukun – sibuh da
