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In December 1976, the landmark Tripoli Agreement was forged between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The accord was instrumental in the immediate cessation of the bloodshed that ravaged Mindanao. At the height of that war, around 100,000 people were either injured or killed and approximately 350,000 people were displaced. Schooling and education regrettably came to a standstill. Thirty years later, Muslim Mindanao is still besieged by sporadic and oftentimes horrific bursts of violence. As of July 2006, a total of 90,000 people have been displaced in the intermittent cycles of fighting between forces of the GRP and the MNLF breakaway group - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Deplorably, education and schooling for close to 1.2 million schoolchildren in the conflict areas have been adversely affected. It is against this critical and highly volatile setting that 'Islamic Identity, Postcoloniality and Educational Policy' introduces a refreshingly unique and much-needed perspective on the analysis of the complexities of education, religion, and conflict in the Southern Philippines. |
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