Islam is important to development because it is important to people. The Islamic discourse –often defined differently by different groups- guides how people develop. This article shows that for many people Islam guides the development or lack of development of their capability domains. An understanding of Islam and development derived from the Yakan can guide development policy and practice in Mindanao as well as inform the larger Islam and development discussion. There are approximately 181,000 Yakan. The Yakan live inRead more
Posts filed in: Terror and conflict
A Tipping Point in Terror: “Those who Tell the Stories Rule Society.”
The discourse of terror is vicious cycle- moving from bad to worse. After writing the article Mistaken Identity and the Discourse of Terror I began to think of other tipping points research I had done revealed. Local terrorist movements that have been developing for many years can shed light on the global crisis. The local stories reflect global the global story. The local story I am most familiar with is the Southern Philippines. One tipping point is that the discourseRead more
The Discourse of Terror, Mistaken Identity and Reframing the Story
Terrorists control and perpetuate terror through using identity and creating a discourse of power. Terror controls reality through creating fear. Terrorists use identity to make themselves seem stronger than they are. Reactions -personal, political and media- reinforce terror and the discourse that birthed it. A counter discourse that is stronger and moves more quickly needs to be created to silence the voice of terror. Nine months ago I sat in a small grass hut in the Southern Philippines. I interviewed a womenRead more
“If Peace is Missing we Can’t Do Anything but Hide.” Peace a Priority in Mindanao.
A few weeks ago a colleague and friend (in the southern Philippines) organized a petition to the Philippine government. His petition was to hasten the transition to the new Bangsamoro government. The Mindanao conflict has seen over 120,000 people die in the last 40 years. Bangsamoro is a new political entity. The hope is it will create peace and increased development for Mindanao. Individuals, people’s organizations, non-for profit organizations, and government employees from Basilan signed the petition. My friend organizedRead more
flourishing and disadvantage 