Posted on 06/23/2014 12:09:36 PM PDT by dignitasnews
Australian-born Musa Cerantonio, considered by authorities to be one of the top Islamist social-media propagandists, has been living in various parts of the Philippines for roughly a year, reported today by Rappler Philippines. The 29-year old former Christian has been under investigation by Australian Federal Police, who likewise traced him to the Philippines, which has a large population of foreign-born residents due to its influence in the Business Process Outsource (BPO) market.
Cerantonio has successfully utilized Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media outlets to recruit and serve as propagandist for the radical Islamist movement. He recently celebrated the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) take-over of Mosul and Tikrit in Iraq, sending out to his online followers, "“The black flags fly high today over Mosul and much of Iraq. Rejoice, O Muslims. Hasten to support the Ummah."
Raised in a Catholic family in Melbourne, Australia, Cerantonio converted to Islam at age 17 and has since risen to become one of the more popular and effective proponents in the radical Islamist movement. His YouTube collection is highly praised and spread. Cerantonio was featured in a recent report on social media activism conducted by the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR). The report noted his extremely loyal follower base among social network channels. One example is his now defunct Twitter account, in which 92% of his tweets spurred some sort of action, as 38.4% were re-tweeted, 53.8% listed as a favorite or similar interaction. The full report may be found on the ICSR website.
Musa Cerantonio utilizes a mixture of a message of personal salvation with inflammatory rhetoric against the West as well as non-Jihadist Muslims. In the following YouTube clip, he speaks of both the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US Pentagon and the more recent Boston bombings to not give scriptural-justification for the attacks, but to reproach fellow Muslims for deploring the loss of life.Reestablishing the Islamic state is eventually going to be a military matter, and it is a matter that concerns a large part of the Islamic nation. So how do we go about doing this? -Musa Cerantonio
Cerantonio has been spotted in Cebu City, Manila and Zamboanga where, in addition to his general calls for world-wide Jihad against the west, he purportedly helps recruits for Mindanao-based Islamist groups within the Philippines. Filipino officials state he has a good understanding of the law, and is careful to stay within a "gray area" to avoid being taken into custody or deported. It is not clear whether he is working in conjunction with one of the Philippines largest Islamist groups, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, commonly known as MILF.
When The Australian first reported the suspicion that he was in hiding in the Philippines, he mockingly replied "Have fun finding me. Ill be waiting for you or whichever dogs you send." He also responded via his Facebook and Twitter accounts (which have since been disabled), "Come and meet us in the mountains of Sulu if you wish to find me. We will be waiting," adding the veiled threat, "no promises that we will be gentle though."
This is a good example of the "gray area" previously alluded to. While the implication of his message is clear, he is careful to use language in a manner which is not technically incriminating. This is the method that has enabled him to build a large, worldwide contingent of social network followers, appealing to their jihad-ist desires without specifically spelling out his aims. It was not until he became the object of international man-hunts that the online providers began to take action on his accounts.
While much of the center of Philippines Islamic community is in the southern end of the country, specifically the Mindanao region, he has been suspected of setting up headquarters in the two most-populated cities of Manila and Cebu City. With its reputation as a bustling BPO hub, the two cities attract Filipino's from throughout the island nation, as well as numerous ex-patriots from around the globe. As reports of Musa Cerantonio being spotted in the Philippines have been confirmed, it is possible the Australian-born Jihadist will seek further anonymity in the less-populated provincial areas, or flee the country altogether.
By Dignitas News Service Team
Sources:
Rappler ICSR ABCNet TheAustralian AllahuAkbar (via YouTube) ShiekYermami
The southern islands in the Philippines are rife with Mooselimbs.
I had spent some time working in the Philippines, first arriving there in 2008. My first week there I open the newspaper to see the headline: MILF causing problem in Davao.
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