Mindanao's Biggest Boss

Sipping homegrown coffee in the shade of a huge acacia tree in a breezy jungle clearing, Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim wears a neatly pressed safari suit, his PDA and shiny leather briefcase close at hand. Murad, who is in his late 50s, resembles a thriving small-town businessman rather than a guerrilla leader. But there's no doubt about his authority over the 100 uniformed and heavily armed fighters who escorted the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (M.I.L.F.) chairman during an exclusive interview with TIME in Maguindanao province last week, his first since becoming the group's leader a year ago following the death of its...