This book deals with Muslim separatist movement in the Southern Philippines. It became an international issue in part through the resurgence swiping the Islamic world today. The roots of the problem lied embedded in the history of the Philippine. But the author contents that the schisms within the Muslim themselves and the cleavage between the Christian and the Muslim Filipinos could be resolved.
Different aspects of the overall problem have been studied by scholars, mostly in the form of academic treaties. This book is the first attempt at a comprehensive history of the subject written in a readable and non- academic yet thought-provoking style. It Is a definitive book, written not only from an Asian perspective but wit and sympathy. It draws a striking parallel between Spain and the US as colonial masters, finds early Philippine leaders lacking in understating of Islam, and accuses Mindanao's traditional Muslim leaders of self-aggrandizement. It examines some bizarrae episodes of contemporary history: a politician's plans to establish a new sultane in Sabah, a Christian army officer's escapade as a Muslim in Sulu, the creation of a secret army that ended up in the 'Jabida massacre'. It also analyses the role of the Arabs in Mindanao. Throughout the book the author argues that the opportunity to settle the problem to the advantage of Mindanao's Muslims existed at the present time. The author is the editor of 'Asia-Week ' in Hong Kong. - from Amzon