Murad Ebrahim

Ahod Balawag Ebrahim[2] better known as Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim (born 15 May 1949) is a Moro Filipino politician and rebel leader currently serving as the first and interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Murad Ebrahim
Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro
Acting
Assumed office
22 February 2019
PresidentRodrigo Duterte
DeputyAli Solaiman (Mainland)
Abdul Sahrin (Islands)
Wa'līKhalipa Usman Nando
Preceded byMujiv Hataman (Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)
Bangsamoro Minister of Public Works and Highways
In office
26 February 2019 – 11 November 2019
Chief MinisterHimself
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byEduard Guerra
Bangsamoro Minister of Finance
Assumed office
11 November 2019
Chief MinisterHimself
Preceded byEduard Guerra
Member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament
Assumed office
29 March 2019
Personal details
Born
Ahod Balawag Ebrahim

(1949-05-15) 15 May 1949
Maguindanao, Philippines[1]
EducationNotre Dame University
Military service
Nickname(s)Murad
Allegiance Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
Years of service1968–1977 (MNLF)
1977–present (MILF)

As the current chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Moro regionalist and Islamist armed group in the southern Philippines, Ebrahim is a key figure in the Bangsamoro Peace Process in the Philippines.[3][4]

Early life and education

Born on 15 May 1949,[5] Murad Ebrahim was born to an Islamic preacher. He lost both of his parents at a young age; his mother when he was just one year old and his father when he was 13 years old.[6] He is the youngest among four children.[7]

Ebrahim started his elementary studies when he was seven years old and completed the six-year program in five years. He entered the Cotabato Public High School in Cotabato City for his high school studies in 1960. After graduating from high school, Ebrahim enrolled at the Mindanao State University in Marawi under a scholarship but transferred to the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City in his second year after passing the entrance examination. He was granted a scholarship in Notre Dame by the Commission on National Integration (CIN)[7] and pursued a course on civil engineering. However he stopped his studies in his fifth and final year in college in 1970 to get more involved in the Moro movement.[6]

Militant career

Moro National Liberation Front

Ebrahim dropped out of college to join the underground movement which fought against Christian paramilitary groups and security forces during the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos allegedly targeting Muslims.[6] He adopted "Murad" as his nom de guerre when he joined the Moro resistance against the government.[2] Ebrahim first got involved in the underground Moro secessionist movement as early as 1968 prior to fully committing in 1970.[7]

He was recruited into the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1968 and was part of the "Top 300", a second batch of MNLF trainees sent to Malaysia.[2] He was appointed as a zonal commander with his area of assignment covering 15 municipalities.[7]

Murad led the group's Kutawato Revolutionary Committee in fighting against government forces and the Ilaga paramilitary group in Central Mindanao.[2] He was Military Chairman of Kutawato from 1974 until 1978 when he was promoted as Region Chairman.[7]

When Hashim Salamat organized a faction within the MNLF, Murad was appointed as Chairman of the Ad Hoc Coordinating Committee to lead the faction's activities in Mindanao, while Salamat is abroad.[7]

Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Murad left the MNLF due to ideological differences along with Hashim Salamat who formed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).[2] In the 1980s, Murad went to Afghanistan to meet with Filipino rebels fighting against the forces of the Soviet Union amidst the Soviet–Afghan War though he said has not fought alongside them. There he also met Osama bin Laden, who would later become the head of Al-Qaeda describing him as a soft-spoken and refined man who would have never thought to be declared "a world enemy".[6]

He developed reputation within the MILF as one of its top guerrilla commanders. He served as Vice Chair for Military Affairs and as Chief of Staff of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF before he was appointed as MILF chairman in mid-2003 to replace MILF founder Salamat who died within the same year. He also served as the group's chief negotiator in talks with the Philippine national government.[2][2]

Interim Chief Minister
Ebrahim presiding the Bangsamoro Parliament as Chief Minister.

Upon the passage into law of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2018 under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, he campaigned to get the legislation ratified by voters which would lead to the establishment of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. He was nominated by his group, the MILF, to be the chief minister of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority which would serve as the interim government in the region.[8]

On February 22, 2019, He was appointed and sworn in by President Rodrigo Duterte as the interim Chief Minister of the newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).[9] Murad will lead the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), which will govern its five-province Bangsamoro Region. Scheduled election of the new members for its Parliament will take place in 2022. The BARMM was a product of the government's negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under the virtue of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).[10]

At the official turnover of the ARMM to BARMM on February 26, 2019, Murad announced the members of the first Bangsamoro Cabinet, with himself as concurrent Minister of Public Works and Highways.[11] On November 11, 2019, Ebrahim transferred his duties as Public Works Minister to Finance Minister Eduard Guerra with the Chief Minister placing the finance ministry under his office's supervision.[12][13]

Personal life

Murad is married to Hadja Lupia Ebrahim with whom he has two children.[2]

On 14 March 2015, controversy on the citizenship of Murad arose when Philippine former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan accused him of being a citizen of Malaysia.[14][15] This allegation was denied by Malaysia and Murad himself proved he does possess a Philippine passport.[16][17]

References
  1. Cochrane, Joe (5 September 2004). "The Road To Peace". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. Sarmiento, Bong (23 February 2019). "Murad Ebrahim: From guerrilla commander to government official". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  3. Espejo, Edwin (14 October 2012). "Murad: From a hardliner to voice of moderation". Rappler. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. "Murad Ebrahim, rebel who found path to peace". South China Morning Post. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. Nawal, Allan (14 October 2012). "Murad: Born fighter who rarely gets mad". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  6. Macaraig, Ayee (24 February 2019). "Fighter to Chief Minister: MILF chief Murad Ebrahim's new 'struggle'". GMA News. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  7. "Chief Minister's Corner: Chief". BARMM Official Website. Office of Chief Minister's Information & Communications Technology Office. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  8. Arguilas, Carolyn (23 December 2018). "Murad visits Marawi's Ground Zero; vows rehab will be priority in transition gov't". MindaNews. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  9. Balinbin, Arjay (22 February 2019). "MILF's Murad Ebrahim appointed Chief Minister of Bangsamoro Transition Authority as members take their oaths". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  11. Arguilas, Carolyn (27 February 2019). "Murad vows a government "free of all the ills of governance;" names 10 ministers". MindaNews. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  12. Macabalang, Ali (12 November 2019). "Murad reshuffles BARMM Cabinet". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. Arguilas, Carolyn (13 November 2019). "BARMM Cabinet reshuffled: Ebrahim to serve as Finance Minister". MindaNews. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. "Lawmaker wants Murad, Iqbal probed". Philippine News Agency. The Manila Times. 14 March 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  15. "Iqbal, Murad may be using different names in passports, says BI". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  16. "Malaysia: MILF's Murad, Iqbal not Malaysian citizens". Rappler. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  17. "Iqbal releases copy of Philippine passport". Rappler. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
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