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Islam the religion of Peace . . . sure it is.



copied from:
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3972782


By Agence France-Presse
3/20/2010
Philippine MILF endorses 'fatwa' against Estrada

Muslim separatist rebels [seperated from and rebeling aginst the Philippine government not from Islam] on Saturday declared deposed ex-leader Joseph Estrada an enemy of Islam and called on Philippine voters to reject his bid to become president again.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) endorsed a "fatwa" or religious edict by a group of Muslim scholars in Mindanao island, the heartland of the large Islamic minority, ahead of the May elections.

"After studying the actions and policies of Mr Estrada before and after his election as president until this present time, we found out that he is really an enemy of Islam," MILF quoted the Bangsamoro Supreme Council of Ulama as saying.

Ex-movie star Estrada, who publicly opposes peace talks, is polling in third place in the opinion polls, nine years after he was ousted in a bloodless military coup that followed his impeachment for corruption.

"The rightly-guided ulama, as true guardians of the Islamic faith ... have all the right to issue a fatwa against those who, by their actions, have proved to be inimical to Islam, our Moro nation, and the right of self-determination of our people," the MILF said on its website.

The fatwa said his military campaign caused widespread destruction, desecrated holy sites, and displaced a million Filipino Muslims.

"He has publicly announced that once elected as president, his priority is to make war against the MILF, which is currently holding peace talks with government, again," it added.


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copied from:
http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3974414

Philippines' Estrada ignores fatwa by Muslim elders


By Agence France-Presse
3/21/2010


Former president Joseph Estrada on Sunday ignored a 'fatwa' by Muslim elders branding him an enemy of Islam and warned separatist rebels of an "all out war" if he wins re-election to the post.

Estrada said he was confident the religious edict issued last week by the Bangsamoro Supreme Council, a grouping of Islamic scholars and elders in the south, would not be supported by the region's five million Muslims.

He also warned the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been waging a bloody rebellion since 1978, to disarm or risk being crushed by the army under his command if he won in the May polls.

"I am a friend of Islam, and I respect Islam," Estrada told AFP in Manila shortly after arriving from a weekend campaign in Mindanao, where over 150,000 people have been killed in the long-running insurgency.

"However, I will not tolerate any organization regardless of religion if they violate the law," he said.

He said the MILF must put down their weapons if they want to negotiate peace with any future Estrada government.

"I want them to disarm, and if they don't, then I will go on an all-out war against them again. We have already exhausted all peaceful remedies against them, and enough is enough," he said.

"A president's duty is to protect the territorial integrity of the country at all cost," he stressed.

Shortly after winning the presidency by a landslide in 1998, the former movie action star Estrada launched a massive military assault against the MILF and dislodged the rebels from their fortified main base on Mindanao island.

During one victory celebration, the MILF said Estrada trucked in a roasted pig and beer for his men who had camped near a ruined mosque.

The MILF meanwhile on Sunday distanced itself from the Council which issued the fatwa, saying it was not sanctioned by the rebel leadership. However, it it agreed that Estrada was "the most un-Islamic of all previous presidents."

"In just a brief period of time as a president, Estrada caused major destruction in the Muslim south," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP.

Estrada was ousted by a military-backed revolt in 2001 amid allegations of corruption.