South East Asia: Radical Islam won"t go away

One year after radical Islamic groups connected to the Islamic State group (IS) captured Marawi in the Southern Philippines, the threat of Islamic militancy has not ceased, according to Singapore"s think-tank RSIS reporting on 25 May 2018. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "While Philippine forces managed to retake Marawi and the city is now being rebuilt - albeit very slowly - the overall threat of Islamic militancy in the region has by no means died down. Radical Islamic groups are regrouping and - not least thanks to the looting of Marawi - they have the finances for starting a new round of recruitment. The swift introduction of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) at the end of May 2018, aims to avert further fighting for autonomy but has significant weaknesses as well: It is most likely that the hurried legal passage of the BBL will be challenged before the Constitutional Court, and its content seems to have come well short of earlier promises of autonomy (as reported by Rappler on 30 May 2018). It is also doubtful whether all militants are prepared to follow such a political approach and impatient groups will very likely choose to continue fighting. It is therefore to be expected that the whole South East Asian region will remain volatile for the time-being."