Some 100 local Muslims have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) caliphate on Friday. Those who pledged their allegiance took their mass oath-taking in a surprise announcement inside the Masjid Islamic Center, according to an insider.
An elderly Muslim cleric Jamil "Motawwa" Yahya, a former senior member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and colleague of MILF leader Salamat Hashim, allegedly organized the mass oath-taking. Yahya is reportedly affiliated with the Bangsamoro Labor Organization which is active in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East region. Other sources said members of the Khilafah Islamiyah Mindanao-Black Flag Movement was reportedly behind the convergence.
An Afghan cleric Humam Abdul Najid, who has ties with Southeast Asian terror organization Jemaah Islamiyah, is also being linked to the secret mass oath-taking, but these allegations could not be immediately confirmed. |