“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
The Mindanao problem is ultimately a POWER problem – the power of one group over another. It is a problem of colonization. The fact that there was a law called the Legislative Act 4197 or Quirino-Recto Colonization of Mindanao Act, which was enacted on 12 February 1935 is very telling. The Commonwealth considered the Act… Continue reading Federalism for All: Chance for lasting Peace
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
This is one of my articles published in the now defunct The Philippine Post newspaper. I posted this on my websites. But since the advent of Web 2.0 and the popularity of blogs, I have abandoned my websites. I am posting this in this blog, for posterity's sake. I added a list of the languages,… Continue reading Growing Up In A Multilingual Household
Since I have now abandoned all my websites, I am re-posting my articles in my blogs. Below is another of my full page articles published in The Philippine Post. This was written to commemorate the tercentennial anniversary of the death of Sultan Barahaman (Abdul Rahman) of Maguindanao. ©By Datu Jamal Ashley Abbas Grandson and heir… Continue reading "BARAHAMAN, THE FORGOTTEN SULTAN OF MINDANAO
Here's an article I wrote more than a decade ago about our great-grandfather Sheikh Yahya ibn Hadi and his descendants in Mindanao and Brunei: "I now know that wars do not end wars," said Henry Ford. For the Moros, wars are simply followed by more wars. Wars usually correspond to turning points in our lives.… Continue reading Sheikh Yahya ibn Hadi and his descendants
