# Abu Sayyaf founded (c. 1991)

URL: https://allhistories.com/philippines/timeline/1991-abu-sayyaf-founded
Location: Basilan and Sulu, Mindanao
Themes: Terrorism, Moro conflict

Around 1991 Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, a former teacher from Basilan who had studied in the Middle East and fought in Afghanistan, founded the Abu Sayyaf Group. He recruited disaffected former members of the Moro National Liberation Front who wanted to resume armed struggle. The group grew in Basilan, Jolo and nearby islands, and later turned to kidnapping. Its rise reflected frustration over the limits of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1989 autonomy arrangement. The group was reportedly funded at first by outside Islamist networks, and its early acts were bombings and assassinations. It launched a large attack on the town of Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, in April 1995, and in May 2000 took hostages from the Malaysian resort of Sipadan. In July 2014 its leader Isnilon Hapilon pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. The group became notorious for kidnappings for ransom in the Sulu Sea and for bombings, drawing US assistance from 2002. It also strained relations among the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia and complicated peace efforts with mainstream Moro groups. At this point in the timeline (c. 1991), President Corazon Aquino (25 February 1986 – 30 June 1992) led the Republic of the Philippines.

## Why it matters
Abu Sayyaf is the best known of the militant groups to emerge in the southern Philippines. Its kidnappings and bombings repeatedly drew foreign troops and sharpened regional security concerns.

Ruler at the Time: [Corazon Aquino](https://allhistories.com/philippines/rulers/corazon-aquino)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Abu Sayyaf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Sayyaf)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Mindanao](https://www.britannica.com/place/Mindanao)