Islam in the Philippines: Roots and Resistance

Photo credit: Altermidya

The History of Islam in the Philippines

The arrival of Islam in the southern Philippines was influenced by international maritime trade routes connecting regions from North Africa to China, with Muslim influence beginning around the 8th century. Although Muslim trade with China faced interruptions by the late 9th century, it resumed a century later, with Kalah in the Malay Peninsula emerging as a key gateway for Muslim merchants, including Arabs, Persians, and possibly Indians. By the 10th century, Muslim traders were familiar with Borneo, Sulu, and Mindanao, with evidence of Muslim presence in Sulu by the late 13th century and in Mindanao by the 14th and 15th centuries.

While the arrival of Muslim merchants did not immediately lead to the rapid spread of Islam, various theories have been proposed to explain its adoption. Some scholars suggest that local leaders embraced Islam for political and economic reasons, influencing their communities to follow. Others argue that economic transformations created a fertile ground for Islamic culture, or that missionary efforts, in response to European activities, strengthened the spread of Islam. However, the most widely accepted explanation is that Islam spread through Muslim missionaries, likely Sufis, who traveled from afar and established the faith. Local traditions, such as accounts from Sulu describing a miraculous teacher, support the idea that Sufis played a central role.

These teachings resonated deeply with local spiritual needs, leading to the widespread adoption of Islam not only among the elites but also among the general populace. As Islam became ingrained, it began to influence local social and political structures. By the early 16th century, Southeast Asia had become a region of Muslim dominance with established trade and political relations. Although Western imperialism later fragmented this world, Islam remained a significant element of identity and resistance against foreign domination.

Some historians attribute the introduction of Islam to the Philippines to Tuan Masha’ika, an Arab religious leader or missionary who arrived on the island of Jolo, in what is now Sulu Province, in the mid- to late-13th century.

By the 15th century, most people in the Jolo/Sulu area had converted to Islam, leading to the establishment of the Sultanate of Sulu around 1450. The first Sultan, Sayyid Al-Hashim Abu Bakr, an Arab from Mecca, married into the local ruling family and founded the Sultanate, adopting the title Paduka Mahasari Maulana Al-Sultan Sharif-ul-Hashim. All later Sultans traced their lineage back to him. At its height in the early 18th century, the Sultanate of Sulu controlled parts of what are now the Philippines' Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, western Zamboanga Peninsula, southern Palawan, and North Borneo (now Sabah in Malaysia).

The formation of the Philippines as a nation began in the late 16th century when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in 1565. It took Spain approximately 50 years to conquer the islands, with the Philippines becoming a unified country by the early 17th century. Thus, the Sultanate of Sulu was established over a century before the Philippines was officially formed, and Islam had a longstanding presence in the region. Additionally, the Sultanate of Maguindanao was founded around 1515 in central Mindanao by Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan from Malaysia. At its peak in the late 17th century, it controlled much of Mindanao and extended into what is now North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Persisting  Defiance: The Moro Struggle to Spanish Adherent 

In the pre-colonial era, Islam spread to the southern Philippines through extensive trade networks that connected various sultanates and ethnolinguistic groups. This region, now known as Bangsamoro, became home to the Moro people, who today represent the largest Muslim and non-Christian population in the Philippines, comprising around 5% of the national population.

Before American colonization, the Moro people had resisted Spanish colonialism since the early sixteenth century, striving to preserve their culture and independence. The Spanish, perceiving the Moros as a threat to their Catholic mission, sought to prevent the spread of Islam. The term “Moro,” derived from “Moors”—the Muslims who ruled Spain until the Reconquista—was infused with the Spaniards' historical antipathy toward Muslims, as historian Michael C. Hawkins notes.

Arriving in the Philippines in 1565, the Spaniards aimed to spread Christianity and expand their empire, succeeding in Luzon, the Visayas, and parts of Mindanao through force and persuasion. However, they met fierce resistance in Western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, where powerful Muslim sultanates—Sulu, Maguindanao, and Buayan—were firmly established.

The Moro Wars, a prolonged conflict spanning over 300 years, profoundly affected Muslims in the region. These wars halted the northward spread of Islam, destroyed many Muslim communities, disrupted trade, and damaged economic activities. Additionally, interference by the Dutch and British further isolated the region and led to economic decline. Despite these setbacks, Islam became a vital element of Moro identity and resistance, with anti-Muslim policies and propaganda from Spanish colonizers sowing lasting hostility between Muslims and Christians.

Though the Spanish never fully conquered the major sultanates, which retained significant independence until 1898, their policies evolved to a more tolerant stance in later years. Nonetheless, many Muslim leaders continued to resist conversion to Christianity, viewing their Islamic faith as both an assertion of resistance and a means to preserve traditional authority. Despite over 300 years of Spanish attempts to suppress and convert the Moro people, they remained resilient in their faith, with enduring distrust fueled by Spanish desecration of Moro tombs and disregard for their cultural heritage.

Legacy of Bigotry: American Colonial Rule and Filipino Muslims

When the Americans took over Muslim lands at the start of the 20th century, they faced strong resistance from local Muslim leaders. These leaders dread losing their power and traditional rights. The resistance was partly driven by a desire to maintain their independence and way of life influenced by Islam. Despite their superior military strength and promises to respect Islam, the Americans still caused significant loss of life and property among the Muslims. While American rule did bring improvements like better sanitation, education, and job opportunities for the police and law-enforcement officers, it did not erase the old prejudgment Christians had against Muslims.

James R. Arnold, the Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902-1913 (2017)

Initially, American fighters were sent to reconcile the Muslims, but over time, Americans recognized the elegance of Muslim culture and political systems. They didn't notably interfere with traditional leadership or establish new leadership criteria. Although Americans respected religious freedom, they allowed Christian missionaries into Muslim areas while making it difficult for foreign Muslims to visit. They also declared most Muslim ancestral lands as public land. They encouraged Christian settlers to move in, hoping this would lead to better integration and adoption of new skills among the Muslim people.

Post-Independence Era: Continued Exclusion and Hatred

In 1946, the Philippines gained independence and significantly increased the movement of Christian Filipinos to the Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao. This migration was supported by government policies and led to a dramatic demographic shift. For instance, in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, the number of Christian settlers grew from 24 in 1918 to 93,000 by 1960, overshadowing the 7,000 indigenous Muslims in the area.

This convergence of Christian immigrants caused major interference and disparities. While Christian settlers received abundant government support and access to land and resources, Muslim communities faced limited assistance and were often marginalized. Land laws designated unregistered lands as public or military reserves, navigating those who were unfamiliar with the new legal processes.

Many Muslims were displaced from their lands, either through legal maneuvers or direct force. The Philippine government, primarily Christian, disregarded Muslim communities, contributing to an economic gap. By 1970, this disparity was evident, with no irrigation projects in municipalities where Muslim communities were the majority, highlighting the severe disparities resulting from the post-war immigration policies.

The Inflaming Anti-Muslim Stances and Amplifying Separatist Movements in the Philippines

By 1954, economic disparities between Philippine Muslims and Christians became stark, largely due to a significant influx of Christian settlers into predominantly Muslim areas. In response to rising conflicts, the Philippine House of Representatives established a Special Committee to investigate these tensions. However, the committee's report, echoing colonial-era biases, attributed Muslim poverty to supposed cultural deficiencies rather than the socioeconomic impacts of migration. This led to the creation of the Commission on National Integration (CNI), which aimed to assimilate Muslims through scholarships, focusing on perceived cultural issues rather than addressing material needs.

While intended to promote integration, the CNI scholarships often had the opposite effect, inadvertently fostering political consciousness among recipients. Notably, one scholar, Nur Misuari, would go on to establish the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The experiences of over 8,000 CNI scholars from 1958 to 1967 exposed them to anti-Muslim discrimination and awakened a sense of political activism, ultimately fueling Muslim mobilization and the eventual formation of the MNLF and an armed separatist movement by 1968.

A pivotal event in this growing unrest was the Jabidah Massacre on March 18, 1968, which marked the beginning of a prolonged secessionist movement in the Southern Philippines. This incident stemmed from Oplan Merdeka, a covert government operation aimed at destabilizing Sabah, which the Philippines claimed. As part of this plan, a special commando unit called Jabidah, comprised mainly of recruits from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, was trained in psychological warfare, community organization, and reconnaissance to instigate unrest among the Filipino community in Sabah.

Photo credit: University of the Philippines Law Centre, Institute of Human Rights

Tensions erupted during training on Corregidor Island due to withheld pay and inadequate supplies. When the recruits protested, military superiors responded with deadly force, resulting in the massacre of several Muslim soldiers. This tragedy intensified the grievances of the Muslim population, spurring the rise of separatist sentiments and solidifying calls for autonomy and justice in the Southern Philippines.

Learn more about the history and resilience of Muslim communities in the Philippines in part two of this article.