“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 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
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
A few days ago, while I was browsing the web, I found a tumblr blog that re-published my magazine article on Ramadhan. I had uploaded that article in one of my blogs. I tried looking for my blog that had that article but I couldn't find it. It was from my blogsome.com blog. Blogsome had… Continue reading Ramadhan – A Time for Fasting and Praying
With the demise of film director Marilou Diaz-Abaya, I am re-posting this film critique I did in Jan. 2002. The film is Bagong Buwan (New Moon). This is a once-in-a blue moon film and as I wrote then, it would take some time before Filipinos could see another one like it. Ms. Diaz-Abaya dreamed of a peaceful Mindanao… Continue reading Bagong Buwan, a Marilou Diaz-Abaya film
April 4 is the birthday of my late mother, Hadja Sitti Rahma Yahya - Abbas. Sometime ago, one of the news talk shows of ANC (ABSCBN News Channel) featured young Moros and labeled them as “Modern Muslims.” For some people, modern means young. Yet the young could be very old-fashioned, dogmatic and narrow-minded. There are… Continue reading My Mother and The First “Modern” Moro Women
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 