Islamic Leaders Urge Halt to Online Attacks Ahead of BARMM Polls

Muslim religious leaders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have called for an end to digital mudslinging and disinformation campaigns as the election period for the historic Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections (BPE) draws near. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has set the election period for the first parliamentary polls from July 16 to September 29, during which a gun ban will also be in effect. During the recent First Bangsamoro Ulama (Islamic scholars) Summit, religious leaders passed a resolution urging a stop to the rampant political mudslinging on social media against the leadership of the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and the Bangsamoro Government, headed by Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim and Abdulraof Macacua, respectively. Ebrahim led the Bangsamoro Government from 2019 until last year, after which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Macacua, a development that the MILF Central Committee resented, citing a lack of consultation. Earlier last month, Macacua was suspended as the chief-of-staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the MILF’s armed wing, for “defiance and insubordination.” “There is a need to safeguard the internal front from manifestations of division, mend the rift among leadership, and curtail societal conflicts and digital mudslinging,” the resolution stated. It added, “These are precisely what necessitated this blessed summit, in pursuit of ensuring the sustainability of peace and stability, protecting the Islamic identity in the region, and building a prosperous, stable society based on justice and development.” The Bangsamoro Darul Ifta’, the region’s Islamic advisory council, organized the Ulama summit. Dr. Muhammad Nadzir Ebil, an Islamic scholar and member of Bangsamoro Darul Ifta’, said the resolution calls for unified action against digital mudslinging on social media. The resolution pointed out that “there is a massive disinformation campaign ahead of the BPE that might affect the integrity of the political exercises.”