FROM GUNS TO AGONG. Ahmed, a former Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters combatant, plays an instrument called the agong to make music for peace

Former BIFF fighter now uses his music for Bangsamoro peace-building

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2023-01-25 09:00:08

FROM GUNS TO AGONG. Ahmed, a former Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters combatant, plays an instrument called the agong to make music for peace in the Bangsamoro region.

COTABATO, Philippines – A former radical combatant has found a new way to express his beliefs and contribute to his community and region through music.

The 35-year-old Ahmed, as he prefers to be called, used to be a member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), an organization that allied with the international terror group Islamic State and sought an independent state in Mindanao.

Ahmed’s father was a top commander in the group, which was led by the late Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato, the former head of the 105th Base Command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Ahmed, who was a teenager at the time, said he decided to join his father in order to defend the cause of the organization and to aid his father.