“The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man’s treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
This is a mini lecture delivered on March 4, 2022 on the webinar titled Digital Journalism and the Mindanao Vote. Organized by Philippine Press Institute (PPI) and Journalism Studies Association of the Philippines, Inc. (JSAP, Inc.) supported by Hanns Seidel Foundation in cooperation with Internews in collaboration with USAID. I prepared for a one-hour lecture,… Continue reading Philippine Elections and the Mindanao Vote in the Age of Social Media
The day before yesterday, I saw in my FB Newsfeed that Atty, Zainudin S. Malang, the human rights lawyer, has passed away. It is so disheartening to lose an intelligent and freedom-loving Moro, esp. during this time when there seems to be very few left. In 2010, I got a long-distance call from Cotabato. It… Continue reading Moro Human Rights Defender Gone Too Soon
The so-called Moro Conflict in the Philippines, which arguably does not end with the creation of the Bangsa Moro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), can be traced back to the United States of America. The various Moro Sultanates did not have a shared history with the conquered peoples of Luzon and Visayas. The Moro… Continue reading America and the Bangsa Moro through the years
On February 12, 2000, my article on harems and polygamy in Islam was published at The Philippine Post. I wrote it for the Valentine season. The year after, I was informed that two of my articles Of Sheikhs and Harems: Polygamy in Islam and Once Upon A Time: Sarangany Island were two of the 7… Continue reading Of Sheikhs and Harems: Polygamy in Islam
I have been planning / wishing / dreaming to publish a collection of my blogposts on the Bangsa Moro. Tentative title is Blogging the Bangsa Moro. I started developing my own websites in 1996, before blogging was invented or became popular. i wrote just about everything but mostly about the Bangsa Moro (Moro Nation). I… Continue reading Bangsa Moro Files
Sitti Rahma, my mother My mother was born in Malita, Davao del Sur in 1918 to Sheikh Ismail Yahya, a Mranao Arab and Bai Rosa, a Buayanen / Maguindanaon princess and coconut plantation heiress. As my mother used to say, she was “born with a silver spoon in her mouth.” By the age of 12,… Continue reading Hadja Sitti Rahma Yahya Abbas
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 