ABSTRACT
Although the problem of terrorism has become a very serious global security threat, it has deep domestic roots in the Philippines. The threat of international terrorism is inherently local in origin. There is even a view that al-Qaeda, the most notorious network of radical Muslim terrorist organizations to date, will return to their local roots.2 Thus, it is essential to consider the domestic milieu of the terrorist threat to fully grasp its complexities and nuances. The Philippines is not spared from the threats posed by domestic terrorism. Linkages of domestic terrorist organizations in the Philippines with international terrorist organizations confound the virulence of these threats. The Philippine government even regards the local Communist insurgency as a very serious terrorist problem. This chapter, however, focuses on terrorist threats in the Philippines emanating from radical Muslim groups. Although the problem of terrorism is not entirely a radical Muslim phenomenon, the lion’s share of terrorist acts and the most devastating of them in recent years are said to have been perpetrated by radical Muslim organizations.3
