A recent bomb attack at a church in the city of Marawi on the island of Mindanaeo in the south of the Philippines was officially claimed by the Islamic State, raising concerns about the continued presence of the group's "East Asia wilaya" (East Asia 'province') in the region. The bomb attack follows on from a notable number of operations claimed since August. Now, in this week's issue of the group's al-Naba' newsletter, an editorial has been released portraying the Philippines as a field of jihad that deserves greater support and attention from Muslims worldwide, including the 'migration' of Muslims to participate in jihad on that front.
The Philippines is presented as a place where disbelievers (in this case, the Christians) oppress Muslims and are at war with them, and as part of this war the Christians have also managed to enlist 'apostate' allies from deviant groups that had espoused the idea of independence or autonomous rule for Muslims, contrasting with the Islamic State's purist stance of fighting for belief against disbelief and for God's law against man-made law. The Christians face a three-way choice: conversion, subjugation as dhimmis who pay jizya (poll-tax) in accordance with the dictates of Qur'an 9:29, or death.
Thus, while part of the Islamic State's 'grievances' entail supposed oppression of Muslims, it is also the existence of disbelief itself that is a 'grievance', entailing subjugation and never-ending war to realise a global vision of conquest- something also illustrated by the Islamic State's portrayal of the Philippines as a potential starting-point for conquests of surrounding locations. In addition, the Islamic State highlights the Philippines' supposed importance in light of geo-political competition between the United States and China, and thus the Philippines are important to help Muslims combat the projects of these 'Tawaghit' (idolatrous-tyrants).
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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/the-philippines-are-a-field-of-jihad