Getty Images- T’nalak Festival celebrated in the Philippines

KORONADAL, PHILIPPINES – JULY 18: Filipino natives wait for their turn to perform at the 2009 T�nalak Festival, showcasing South Cotabato Province tribal cultures on July 18, 2009 in the southern city of Koronadal, Philippines. T�nalak is an indigenous term for colorful cloth woven by women of the T�boli tribe that has brought recognition to [...]

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Getty Images: MILF Separatists Continue Their Fight For An Independent Islamic StateImages

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Ramadan ends peacefully and quietly

 
By Jeoffrey Maitem, Nash Maulana, Germelina Lacorte
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 06:11pm (Mla time) 10/12/2007
 
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Few Muslims fired firecrackers and weapons in the air as they marked the end of the month-long fasting at dawn Friday.
At the city hall and Cotabato City Central Pilot Elementary School grounds, thousands of Muslims convened around 6 a.m. [...]

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Grand Mufti asks Filipino Muslims to shun violence

 
By Jeoffrey Maitem
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 02:00pm (Mla time) 09/25/2007
 
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A prominent Muslim religious leader in the country has issued a call to the entire Muslim community to unite and shun away all forms of violence.
Sheik Omar Pasigan, the Grand Mufti (guardian of the Islamic House of Opinion) of Mindanao, said in his [...]

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MILF to military on Bossi: ‘We told you so’

By Jeoffrey Maitem
Inquirer
Last updated 02:04pm (Mla time) 07/20/2007
 
KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday said the release of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi in Lanao del Norte proved the information they have been feeding to the military — but which was supposedly largely ignored — was correct after all.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF [...]

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MILF backs gov’t birth-spacing program

 
By Jeoffrey Maitem
Inquirer
Last updated 05:00pm (Mla time) 12/03/2006
 
COTABATO CITY — Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have urged their fellow Muslims in Mindanao to practice the government’s birth-spacing program.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told reporters Saturday there was nothing wrong with the program because it was supported by the Dar’ul Iftah, an organization of [...]

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Bossi captors demand P15-M ransom–MILF chief negotiator

By Jeoffrey Maitem, Julie Alipala
Mindanao BureauLast updated 02:17pm (Mla time) 06/27/2007 
KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines — Moro gunmen holding Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi are demanding P15 million in ransom money in exchange for releasing their captive, Mohagher Iqbal, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator, said on Wednesday. 
Iqbal said their “troops on the ground” have reported the [...]

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(UPDATE 2) Bossi alive, kidnappers say in text to emissary

By Julie Alipala, Jeoffrey Maitem, Joel GuintoMindanao Bureau, INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:58pm (Mla time) 06/26/2007 
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The abductors of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi have sent a text message to a government emissary that their captive was alive, a Marine general said on Tuesday. 
But Brigadier General Benjamin Dolorfino, chairman of the government’s Ad Hoc Joint [...]

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MILF: ‘Italian priest’s abductors Abu Sayyaf’

By Julie Alipala, Jeoffrey Maitem
Mindanao Bureau Last updated 07:09pm (Mla time) 06/11/2007 
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits, a ranking official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said. 
Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the MILF, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, that Abdusalam Akiddin alias Commander [...]

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MUSLIM INSURGENTS URGES FELLOW MUSLIMS IN SOUTH TO PRACTICE MANILA’S BIRTH SPACING PROGRAM.

Cotabato City, 27 November (AKI) – In an effort to slow down the ballooning of the country’s population, the Philippines largest Muslim rebels has urged all Filipino Muslims to observe Manila’s birth spacing program. 
Eid Kabalu, spokesperson for the 11,900 strong Moro Islamic liberation Front (MILF), told AdnKronos International that the Assembly of Darul-Iftah, an organization [...]

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