As soon as I embarked on my current book writing – HOW TO SHARI’AH-COMPLIANTLY INVEST IN THE PHILIPPINE STOCK MARKET – on the first day of March, I had already mentioned that it will be resumed in May and to be finished in June, insha’ Allah (https://www.elzistyle.com/clarify-your-book-writing-goal).

Although ideally, writing should be done continuously without any interruption, I had no option because, firstly, this year’s Ramadan fell mostly in the month of April, and I have an ongoing long-term translation project (approximately 900 pages) which I only do every Ramadan and every Friday morning after Ramadan. Around 20 percent of the translation has been done so far.

Secondly, I have been invited to a book project on Japan and Mindanao and asked to contribute a chapter on The Role of Salipada Pendatun in Organizing the Bukidnon-Cotabato Force During World War II: An Archival Survey. The initial version of the paper was presented at an international conference just a month before the lockdowns in March 2020 (WATCH https://youtu.be/EVBeHRKOEkI and https://youtu.be/iOzD8t9Y-n8) and the book editors asked me to submit the edited version last month (April). As a matter of commitment, I was able to submit the edited version last night (April 30), al-hamdulillah.  

Yes, I’m fully aware that the topic at hand was significantly covered by Uldarico Baclagon in his “Christian-Moslem Guerillas of Mindanao” (1988). The main handicap of Baclagon’s work, however, is that while in many passages, it was as if the author were an eyewitness to the actual events on the battlefield, not a single reference was ever cited at all. In short, NO bibliography.

To fill the said bibliographical gap, the current work delves into over 300 pages of archival sources that include letters, brief histories, radiograms, photographs, and notes by the investigating officers (for recognition and compensation purposes).

Moreover, within this month, we were also able to write and/or post the following nine (9) articles:

April 1 * “My First Quarter of 2022 as a Self-publishing Author and Translator” (https://www.elzistyle.com/my-1st-quarter-of-2022-as-a-self-publishing-author-and-translator)

April 4 * “My Work Ethics and Productivity Tips” (https://www.elzistyle.com/my-work-ethics-and-productivity-tips)

April 11 * “1st and 2nd Weeks of Writing as Drafting” (https://www.elzistyle.com/1st-and-2nd-week-of-writing-as-drafting)

April 16 * “The Pluriversal Notion of the Lumads’ Exclusion in the Bangsamoro Peace Process” (https://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2022/04/marginalia-the-pluriversal-notion-of-the-lumads-exclusion-in-the-bangsamoro-peace-process)

April 18 * “3rd Week of Book Writing as Drafting” (https://www.elzistyle.com/3rd-week-of-book-writing-as-drafting)

April 20 * “Dulangan, Not Bulangan!” (https://www.elzistyle.com/dulangan-not-bulangan)

April 22 * “Moral Governance and Justice: A ‘Laylat al-Qadr’ Reflection” (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2875146856119128&id=100008715242945)

April 25 * “4th Week of Book Writing as Drafting” (https://www.elzistyle.com/4th-week-of-book-writing-as-drafting)

April 28 * “UBJP to Think Beyond Its Queen’s Gambit Opening” (https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2878485702451910&id=100008715242945)

Lastly, in response to many requests, we were also able to prepare the manuscript and design the cover for the paperback printing of Shahid Murtada Mutahhari’s PHILOSOPHY OF ETHICS (https://www.elzistyle.com/product/philosophy-of-ethics) for distribution throughout the Philippines.

In summary, for the month of April 2022, we were able to accomplish the following:

1. Around 20% of a major translation project finished,

2. A book chapter edited and submitted,

3. Nine (9) articles written and/or posted, and

4. Manuscript prepared and cover designed for the paperback local printing of a translated book.

In the Name of the Lord of the Pen (bismillahi rabbi’l-qalam)!

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