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Originally Posted by xasterix
Glad you connected with our BangsaMoro brothers/sisters! Once you get to know them, they're actually just like those from Visayas and Luzon- warm and accommodating!
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Absolutely true. I have found the BangsaMoro peoples to be open, warm and friendly in my travels to the southern Philippines. My time in the Philippines encompassed the Twin Towers episode when U.S. feelings turned sharply against Muslims in general, including those of the southern Philippines. Travel of westerners to the ARMM and Sulu Archipelago was strongly discouraged by foreign governments and the Government of the Philippines. While kidnappings of Filipinos and foreigners did occur in the region around that time, there was actually little overt violence that could be attributed reliably to the Abu Sayyaf or other Muslim groups.
In my experience the vast majority of BangksaMoro people are not interested in violence, but they do have a strong passion for autonomy and freedom for their religion and culture. This has led over the last few centuries to conflicts with the Spanish, Americans, and the Government of the Philippines. Coming from a freedom loving country, it is hard for me not to have some sympathy for the Moro position. We can only hope that the Muslim peoples of the southern Philippines can arrive at a solution for their governance that satisfies them and the Philippines government.
Ian.