{"id":2415,"date":"2014-02-18T08:04:02","date_gmt":"2014-02-18T16:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2014-02-18T08:04:02","modified_gmt":"2014-02-18T16:04:02","slug":"philippine-muslim-rebel-group-expels-top-leader-linked-to-beheading-disputes-terrorist-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/02\/18\/philippine-muslim-rebel-group-expels-top-leader-linked-to-beheading-disputes-terrorist-label\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippine Muslim rebel group expels top leader linked to beheading; disputes terrorist label"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MANILA, Philippines – A hard-line Muslim rebel group said Tuesday it expelled a top leader and about 30 of his followers for beheading a farmer in the southern Philippines and said that it does not practice such brutality.<\/p>\n

Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement spokesman Abu Misry said the expulsion of vice chairman Mohammad Ali Tambako proves the group is not a terrorist band.<\/p>\n

Regional military spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso, however, said the rebel group expelled Tambako after facing widespread condemnation for the beheading in September.<\/p>\n

The group has been staging bombings, kidnappings, extortion and other acts of banditry and could not gain acceptability despite Tambako’s expulsion, he said.<\/p>\n

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement is one of at least four armed groups outside of a new peace deal between the government and the main Muslim rebel group in the south, the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Both sides are expected to sign an agreement on a Muslim autonomy deal in the near future.<\/p>\n

Misry’s group of about 300-400 armed fighters broke off from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front three years ago and vowed to continue fighting for a separate Islamic state in the south of the largely Roman Catholic country.<\/p>\n

Tambako and about 30 of his armed followers were expelled after violating the breakaway rebel group’s policies and for staging the beheading, according to Misry.<\/p>\n

The breakaway Bangsamoro group does not practice such brutal acts like the violent Abu Sayyaf group, Misry said.<\/p>\n

“We’re aspiring for a Islamic way of life and such violent acts are un-Islamic,” he said.<\/p>\n

The smaller Abu Sayyaf, which has had past links with al-Qaida militants, is notorious for deadly bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings. It is based on southern Jolo and outlying islands and has been weakened by years of U.S.-backed local offensives.<\/p>\n

Washington lists the Abu Sayyaf, which has more than 300 armed fighters, as a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA, Philippines – A hard-line Muslim rebel group said Tuesday it expelled a top leader and about 30 of his …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[346,345,343],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-news-ph","tag-bangsamoro","tag-muslim","tag-philippines","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}