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H.003 Fourth Assignment Mandatory Reading

ISLAM AND PROPHET MUHAMMAD (S.A.W.)

Islam literally means to surrender oneself completely to God's will. The Muslim (i.e., one who
surrenders) then is the one who practices Islam. The essential element of true belief for the Muslim is
monotheism, which cannot be compromised in the smallest way.

MUHAMMAD, MESSENGER OF GOD

It is important to state at the outset just what the Prophet Muhammad is not. He is not considered
to be divine in any way whatsoever. He was a man, he had a father and a mother like all other men, he was
born in Mecca, and he died. Muslims are rightly offended if we call them "Mohammedans," implying that in
some way they worship Muhammad and not God alone. For the Muslims, Muhammad is the human
instrument of God's revelation and His will for man.

ARABIA BEFORE THE ADVENT OF ISLAM

The one date that we should remember when we speak of Islam is 622 A.D., which is the year 1 in
the Muslim calendar. It is not the year of Muhammad's birth or death, nor is the date of the first revelation to
Muhammad rather it is the date of "emigration" of Muhammad and some of his companions from Mecca to
Medina, two cities in Central Arabia. The word in Arabic for his emigration is 'Hijra,' and so the Muslim
calendar is usually marked A.H. thus 622 A.D. was 1 A.H.

Before the Hijra, Muhammad had been preaching in Mecca for 12 years, and this puts the date of
the first revelation of the Qur'an at 610 A.D. and the birth of Muhammad at around 570 A.D.

Much of the history of Islam revolves around the two cities of Medina and Mecca. Mecca had once
been a place of pilgrimage in Arabia even before the emergence of Islam. The center of Mecca was its
shrine or Kaabah containing the black stone as well as many idols. Religion at the time of the birth of the
Prophet was the worship of 'divine agencies and spirits and some goddesses. These spirits lived in lonely
places, in trees, rocks, etc. There were also people in Mecca who were possessed by spirits, and these
people would talk strangely and make pronouncements. As a matter of fact, when Muhammad first started
to preach, he was accused of being one of these. Religion at this time was mainly spirit-worship and
devotion to many gods and idols.

When Muhammad started to preach, he asserted not that God existed but that He alone existed
and there were no other gods or goddesses.
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This period in Islamic history is known as the period of Ignorance or the 'Jahiliyyah.' During this
time infanticide was widely practiced, and many baby girls were killed at birth. There were some people,
though, who were coming to a belief in the one God and they were called 'hanif' or monotheist. In the
Qur'an, Abraham was called a 'hanif.'

Apart from the pagans and the hanif who lived in Mecca, there were also some Jews and possibly
some Christians or at least people who had contact with Christians. Muhammad himself had traveled with
the caravans, and he is said to have met Christians. One of the traditions relates that as a small boy with
the caravans, he met a monk. Mecca was a meeting place of many peoples and religions and was not
isolated from the outside world.

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (S.A.W.)

When we think of Islam and Arabia, the picture that comes to mind is deserts, nomads, and their
camels. But Islam is not a religion that was born in the desert; it was born in a town — an urban commercial
setting. He was born around the year 570 A.D. in Mecca and was orphaned soon after. At first, he was
protected by his grandfather Abd Al Muttalib and then by his Uncle Abu Talib.

As a child, Muhammad knew deprivation, poverty, and insecurity. At the age of 25, he married a
wealthy widow who was his employer- Khadijah, an owner of caravans. She was 15 years his senior at that
time. She gave him children, security, and domestic happiness, and Muhammad did not take another wife
while she was alive. They had six children. The happiness and security that he now possessed, however,
were not enough to keep him happy and content.

Once while he was praying on a hill near Mecca, a revelation came to him the first of many that he
was to have right up until the time of his death in 632 A.D.

During that first revelation, he became aware of a voice and a figure on the horizon, yet it was near
him. Everywhere he looked, he could see the figure, and he was commanded to:

Recite! In the name of thy Lord Who Created man from a clot;
Recite! For thy Lord is most gracious who taught man by the pen taught man what he knew not (Surah
96:1-4)

The first word of the revelation was recited or 'Iqra' in Arabic, which is the same root word of
Qur'an, and means 'the recitation of something already written down.' The revelation of the Holy Quran to
Muhammad was, Muslim beliefs, he is coming down from the heaven of the Book, which is already written
there. This original book is called the 'Mother of the Book.' The rest of the revelation was given to the
Prophet during the rest of his life over a period of some 22 years.
The figure that Muhammad saw on the horizon was later identified as the Angel Gabriel, God's
messenger to Muhammad. The first revelation took place during the month of Ramadhan.
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Muhammad's first reaction to the revelation was fear and apprehension and even thought that he
might be going mad or that he was being possessed by the spirits. However, his wife Khadija believed in
him, and he encouraged him, and after some time, he believed in the validity of his call as the messenger
of God.

He then began to preach what was béing revealed to him, and the people of Mecca laughed at him
as they might at anyone else whose behavior suddenly seemed eccentric. In his preaching, Muhammad
proclaimed the oneness of God, His uniqueness, His power, the folly of idol worship and the judgment that
was coming to the people who did not listen and take heed.

The amusement of the Meccans soon turned annoyance and then anger when it seemed their
vested interests might be in danger from what Muhammad taught. As long as Muhammad was protected by
his Uncle Abu Talib, he was safe in Mecca. But when Abu Talib died, and no further protection was
forthcoming from the family, the Prophet had to plan his future differently. He decided to accept an
invitation from the people of Medina to go further and act as an arbitrator in their disputes.

In 622 A.D., with his faithful friend and companion, Abu Bakr and some other Muslims, Muhammad
left Mecca in some danger and arrived soon after in Medina. The group that traveled with Muhammad to
Medina were called "community of faith" - 'Ummah.' They had listened to Muhammad as he preached what
was being revealed to him, had believed and had left all things behind in Mecca and followed him to
Medina. Some of the non-Muslim residents in Medina were a little put out by the arrival of these strangers
because they would have to look after and feed them. But those who already believed were delighted and
welcomed the newcomers and argued as to where Muhammad would live in the city. He diplomatically said
that he would allow his camel to choose the place wherever the camel stopped, there he would reside.
Thus, he solved a potentially thorny problem and avoided jealously.

There were many Jews in Medina at that time who owned most of the better land there. The Qur'an
calls the Jews the "People of the Book", meaning that they too have Sacred Scripture. Muhammad had
presumed that they would accept his claim to prophethood, but they just laughed at him. Muhammad
claimed that he was yet another prophet carrying the same message from God to the Arab people that
Moses had brought to the Jews. Indeed, he thought of his religion as but a continuation of the religion of the
Jews, and he and His followers even prayed facing Jerusalem, the sacred city of the Jews. The Jews would
not accept this and accused both Muhammad and the Qur'an as frauds. Muhammad, later on, had all the
Jews removed from Medina.

From this time on, Islam developed into a separate religion, and Muhammad came to see that his
message was universal and not just for the people of Arabia. The Qibla or direction faced during prayer
was changed at this juncture from Jerusalem to Mecca.
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Trouble with the people of Mecca was inevitable. Muhammad allowed his people in Medina to raid
the Meccan caravan, and their success consolidated his own power base in Medina. With the success of
the raids, the Meccans decided to deal with Muhammad and Medina once and for all the two sides met in
the Battle of Badr and the Muslims won in the battle. Muhammad saw this victory as a sign of God's
approval of his mission as the Messenger of God.

After more successes against the Meccans and the disruption of the Meccan caravan trade,
Muhammad decided to go back to Mecca in 628 A. D. for the annual pilgrimage. The Meccans were afraid
to allow him to enter the city. They negotiated a settlement whereby the following year the Meccans would
leave the city for three days so the Muslims might do the Pilgrimage. Muhammad had come a long way
from the time he left the city in 622 to 628 when the Meccans had to make an agreement that they would
abandon the city for three days.

The next year the Muslims did the Pilgrimage to Mecca. However, the Meccans broke some terms
of the treaty within the next two years, and Muhammad and his army were obliged to march on to Mecca.
There was no fight, however, and no blood was split. The city simply surrendered to Muhammad.

Muhammad was generous in victory, and there were no reprisals, nor did the emigrants claim back
their property. His first act was to purify the Kaabah of its idols, leaving only the Black Stone in place,
proclaiming to all that there is only one God.

Muhammad's influence and successes now began to attract other tribes in Arabia, and soon, they
all became Muslims. Pagans were forbidden to come on Pilgrimage, and the Islamic Empire was about to
emerge from Arabia. Muhammad did not see the expansion. He did the farewell pilgrimage and died at the
age of 63 in the year 632 A.D. His friend and now father in law, Abu Bakr, was appointed Caliph
(successor) to rule the community.

BASIC TENETS OF ISLAM

THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM

1.The Profession of Faith (Shahada)

The profession of faith is the first pillar of Islam. This is express in the following words "l hear
witness that there is no god except God and Muhammad is the messenger of God."

These words are called the shahada because this means 'witnessing. When the words are said,
the Muslim starts by saying: "l witness/testify that there is no god except God....' So the profession is quite
simple. The Muslim asserts that he adores the One God and that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
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While we are looking at the importance, which Muslims attach to adoring the One God only, we
should know that the greatest sin in Islam is the practice of associating something or somebody with God.
God has no co-existents or partners or equals. Muslims are careful to make sure that there is no lessening
of the 'Godness' of God. God and idolatry are incompatible.

When a Muslim baby is born, the very first words that a baby hears are the words of the shahada.
Likewise, the same words are said into the ears of the dying Muslim so that he will be ready to meet his
Creator.

2.The Five Times Daily Prayers (Salat)

Prayer in Islam is founded primarily on the precepts found in the Holy Qur'an and the examples of
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in his traditions (sunnah) and sayings (hadith). It is understood as a duty of
every Muslim to pray five times a day. Muslims also have what is called 'dua' prayer, or non-formal prayer,
a private and personal prayer, which is more spontaneous
and does not follow a particular ritual.

The Qur'an commands the performing of the prayer but apart from the direction to be taken during
the prayer (i.e., toward Mecca), all the details of the prayer are derived from extra-Qur'anic sources. The
custom of praying five times daily, for example, comes from the tradition of the Prophet.

The following are the names of the five obligatory prayers:

Salat al-Fajr - The Dawn Prayer

There is no sabbath in Islam, though work does come to a halt for the midday assembly prayer on
Friday and there is sermon included in the prayer. All go back to work when the prayer is completed,
however.

Before prayer, the Muslim performs ritual ablutions so that he will pray in a purified state. He must
wash himself as is laid down in the law this purification is called 'wudhu.' The Arabic word for mosque is
'masjid' which literally means 'the place of prostration.' However, the Mosque is not absolutely necessary
for the performance of the prayer, and as no priests are necessary in Islam and a mosque is a place of
prostration, anywhere, a Muslim can find space to spread out his prayer mat is his mosque.

Prayer in Islam is not confined to the five obligatory prayers. The Muslim may pray freely during the
day and during the crisis, worries, and joys. His prayers maybe prayers of adoration or petition.
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3.Alms giving (Zakat)

This pillar is not just charity but an obligation and a duty and a way by which the Muslim comes into
contact with God. Zakat' is the principle of social responsibility by which the possession of wealth obligates
the owner to concern himself with the people who have little wealth. 'Zakat' says in fact that what is mine
really also belongs to the community in the final analysis. So the Muslim gives up part of his wealth yearly
for public use. Zakat, in other words, is the setting aside of a determined part of one's wealth and
transferring the ownership of it to those people to whom God has decided it should be given. Those who do
not pay the zakat are likened in the Qur'an to the idolaters who worship false gods.

The Qur'an supports the right to private property, but a portion must be given to the poor. This
portion purifies or legitimizes the property, which is retained. Without this purifying, ownership would, in
some way, be impure.

Zakat is given to the poor, destitute, debtor, those who strive in the way of God, the son of the
traveler and those employed in the collection of it.

The Qur'an also makes it clear that greedy people, anyone who hoards items like food are hateful
to God and will go to hell.

4.Fasting (Saum)

All Muslims who have reached puberty are required to fast during the month of Ramadhan, except
those who are sick, aged or infirm, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and travelers. Throughout the period
of the fast, there is a special emphasis on attendance at the mosque more than during the rest of the year.
The fast is an assertion that man has larger needs than those of the body. The body is to be the subject of
man and not his master, dictating his every thought. The fast is for thirty days, but it is not the same as the
Christian Lent for the idea of Penance as Christians understand it is absent from Ramadhan. The dominant
theme is detachment from all created things in order to avoid and abandon everything except that all
subsistent God who never passes away, the All Powerful and Merciful Lord. By fasting the Muslim intends
to draw closer to Gods and to be more finely attuned to his will.

During Ramadhan, those who fast often give gifts and alms to the poor. They share with the less
fortunate those goods that God has given to them. This act is performed in the name of God and is a way
of making contact with Him.

Fasting encourages patience and endurance. It is a remembrance of God, It is not a fast of the
stomach but also of the ears, mouth, and eyes that bad things will not be listened to and of the eyes that
nothing bad or impure is looked at.
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Fasting is a sign of contradiction to the world that is becoming steadily more materialistic. It unifies
the rich and the poor those who eat well and those who fast practically every day of the year. The spirit of
getting closer to God and of submitting to his Will, which is expressed in the Ramadhan fast are genuine
religious values.

5.Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

The 'hajj' is the journey to the point of the 'Qibla' of the prayer. Each Muslim is expected to go to
Mecca once in his lifetime for the pilgrimage if he is able to do so.

In Mecca is the great Mosque in its courtyard is the 'Kaabah' a cube-shaped building which houses
the black stone. This single stone announces to all the central belief of Muslims that there is but one God
and no other. It was a center of pilgrimage even before the time of Muhammad. Mecca is where Abraham
worshipped with his son Ishmael.

The Hajj is a response to the revelation and the law of God, which was revealed in Mecca. It is a
pledge of the pilgrim to dedicate the rest of his life to God. The hajj is also a sacrament of Muslim unity, and
it inspires solidarity.

The Holy Qur'an

Islam is a religion of the Book, the book being the Holy Qur'an. It has been said that just as Christ,
a person, is the center of Christianity, in the same way for Islam, the center is a book.

We should remember that the Qur'an is written in Arabic can never be adequately translated There
are many translations because the majority of Muslims are not Arabs, but these translations are not called
"translations," e.g., Pickthall's work is titled "The Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an." In the second Surah, the
Qur'an says, "We have sent down an Arabic Qur'an" So the Muslims feel that God sent it in Arabic, and the
only real reading of it must be in Arabic. Any translation changes its Arabic form so that it can never be
more than approximately the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is considered not only to be the masterpiece of the Arabic language, but it is also the
place where Muslims find the final truth. It has 114 Surahs or chapters, all of the unequal length and having
about 6200 verses. In the early surahs, revealed at Mecca, the language is poetic. In the later surahs,
revealed at Medina, the language is often more legal and less poetic in form. Muslims believe that the
Qur'an is the eternal and literal word of God. Qur'an has come down from heaven from the "Mother of the
Book" which is already written there. The Qur'an was "transmitted" or descended on Muhammad," it was
"dictated from heaven" to Muhammad. Muhammad had nothing to do with the form or composition of the
Qur'an. He merely spoke aloud the words that he was commanded to speak - no more, no less.
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Muhammad in the Qur'an was firstly a "warner" telling of the coming Judgment of Mankind. Later on, much
legislation was revealed for the proper ruling of the community.

The Qur'an is seen by Muslims as the final revelation of God's will, the final revelation and scripture
from God; it is the Last Word, the most complete revelation from God to Man through Muhammad, who is
the "Seal of the Prophets", the last in the line of Prophets of God which began with Adam. The Qur'an is the
primary source for all Islamic Law and Dogma. Tradition became a secondary source later on.

Views of Revelation in the Qur'an and the Bible

We shall now look very briefly at the way a Muslim sees how the Qur'an was revealed in contrast to
the way Christians view the revelation of the Bible. Christians believe that God made biblical writers his
instruments in such a way that they respected their freedom, mental processes, traditions, culture,
languages, and their individual historical contexts. So when they spoke or wrote their inspired works, in a
real way, it was their own message as well as God's word. Thus the biblical message comes in so many
different forms and images to the extent that we can identify different authors of the bible by their literary
Style. But this does not make too much sense to a Muslim. For him, revelation is a dictation. God spoke to
Muhammad through an Angel, and the Prophet repeated what he heard word for word. He had no say in
the choice of language used, the phrasing, or even the sentences. So a Muslim will never say: "As
Muhammad said in the Qur'an... ", that would be blasphemy. He says, "God says in the Qur'an..." This is
something we must be careful about, because we do say, "As St. Paul says in Romans..." and this would
confuse a Muslim because we seem to be denying the authorship of God in the Bible.

In the Bible, we find stories, proverbs, Laws, poetry, and many other types of writing. We are all
familiar with them. But in the Qur'an, there are only the Prophetic utterances. Everything is presented as a
kind of sermon spoken by God or an Angel to Muhammad and to mankind.

The Qur'an is the WORD OF GOD. It is a copy of the Eternal Tablet in Heaven. The idea and the
Message of the Qur'an are uncreated and Eternal. The Qur'an cannot be bought or sold, it is shown the
greatest reverence. All occasions in life are blessed with quotations from it.

The Recording of the Qur'an

It is no wonder that the Muslims were concerned to bring together the Qur'an and to preserve it
because it provides the basis of their organization in both the temporal and spiritual spheres. The first way
of preserving it was by making a written collection. The Qur'an did not appear at one time, but rather it was
revealed gradually, as circumstances required, over a period 21 years, from the first manifestations of the
Prophets vocation to his death - a part of it was revealed in Mecca and part in Medina. So every time the
Prophet recited the surah his followers wrote it down on materials used for writing in those days, namely
pieces of leather, animal bones such as shoulder blades and ribs, palm leaves and likaf - flat white stones.
The Prophet died in the 11th year of the Hijra, by which time the Qur'an had either been recorded on
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materials such as those mentioned above or had been preserved on the minds of men. Those who had
preserved it thus were called Qurra. All the extant verses of the Qur'an were collected and collated into the
authoritative text now used everywhere in Islam. This was accomplished during the reign of the Caliph
Uthman in 653 A.D. (31 A.H.)

The Tradition (Sunna)

Central Arabia, before Muhammad was a society based on tradition, and the word innovation was
synonymous with heresy! Life in the desert was a precarious one, where tried and tested ways of doing
things were adhered to simply because the line between survival and death was a very thin one. The ways
of their forefathers were the ways of survival and therefore highly valued. The method of living by adhering
to tradition was basic to the Arab way of life before the coming of Islam.

The arrival of Islam in Arabia was surely one of the greater innovations of the time with the Qur'an
being the greatest innovation of all. Muhammad's place in Islam goes beyond his role as a transmitter of
the Qur'an. The Qur'an does contain some legislations, but all the rules necessary for the daily life of a
Muslim cannot be found there. The Qur'an is, after all, a short book. The need for legislation became acute
as Islam expanded, and Muslims came into contact with new cultures and new peoples, encountering new
problems to be solved. For example, the Qur'an has little to say about personal or social conduct or
commercial ethics. There are several suggestions on these matters given in the Qur'an, but nothing very
specific.

Where then did Islam turn for guidance in devising specific laws and rules of conduct? Where
better than to the person of the Prophet Muhammad himself and his behavior during his lifetime in Mecca
and Medina. The companions who were with Muhammad during his time as a messenger of God and
preacher observed him and orally reported what he did and said. Later on, when Muslims were in doubt
after the Prophets death as to what to do in a particular case, they would recall what he had done during
his lifetime in similar cases, and they would justify a new course of action in this way. If Muhammad had
done such and such in particular case, then it was appropriate for good Muslims to do the same.

We should remember in this connection the place that tradition played in the life of the Arabs
before the coming of Islam. People followed what had been traditionally done by their forefathers and did
not like innovation. For the Muslims, in their community of faith, the behavior of Muhammad during his
lifetime simply became the new Tradition, replacing the tradition of their ancestors. Muhammad's status as
a Prophet as the transmitter of the Divine revelation helped to ensure the authority of this new Tradition.
The reports of Muhammad were, as mentioned, first passed on orally. Later they were written down and
became the second major source for the SACRED LAW (Sharia'h) second only to the Qur'an but also now
considered to be infallible. This source is called SUNNA.
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There is another word we should know - HADITH. This refers to oral communications derived from
the Prophet. In other words, it is a story about something Muhammad did or said. Each tradition usually had
a Hadith to support it, but not always. There are some traditions followed in the Muslim world that do not
have Hadiths to back them up.

As various rival groups grew up in Islam and they began to compete for the power they needed
some authority to do so, and there were conflicting opinions about the point of Law. To ensure that their
particular point of view prevailed, some factions started to manufacture bogus Hadiths about Muhammad.
Forgery was on a large scale. Later on some great and respected scholars of Tradition such as Al-Bukhari,
Muslim and An - Nawawi investigated the thousands of hadiths and classified them as sound, good, weak,
false, etc. These scholars decreed that each hadith required an isnad ("chain"), a list of trustworthy
transmitters or relators of the story about the Prophet.

Source: Islam and Muslims: Some Basic Information by Michael J. Diamond and Peter G.
Gowing. Q.C. 1981

ISLAMIC FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS

1. Amon Jadeed, New Year. Muharram 1. Also known as the Hijra Day commemorating the flight of the
Prophet from Mecca to Medina and start of the Islamic calendar.

2. Ashura, Muharram 10, Observed as a Thanksgiving Day for the mercies of God shown to various
prophets from Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Also observed as a day of penance and mourning
commemorating the massacre of the Prophets grandson, Imam Hussein and his followers.

3. Maulidan Nabi, Birth of Prophet Muhammad Rabi-ul Awwal 12. It is observed by the holding of
assemblies in which stories of the Prophets birth, childhood, preaching, character, suffering are narrated. It
is an occasion for inner joy and happiness, not only for frivolity and pleasure-seeking.

4. Israwal Miraj, Night of Ascension, Rajab 27. Celebrates the night of journey in which the prophet
went miraculously from Mecca to Jerusalem and from there ascended to paradise. Muslims celebrate this
night by reading the Holy Qur'an, praying and relating the story about the Israwal Miraj.

5. Nisfu Shaban. Shaban 15. This day commemorates the change in the direction of Muslim prayer from
Jerusalem to Mecca.

6. Saum, (Fasting) Ramadhan. The whole month is given to fasting during the daylight hours. The month
is sacred because all the significant events in Islamic history occurred during the month, including the
coming down of the Holy Qur'an as Gods revelation of his will for all mankind.
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7. Nazul al Qur'an, Night of Majesty 17th of Ramadhan, Revelation of the Holy Qur'an.

8. Eidl Fitr, Festival of the Breaking of the Fast, Shawwal 1. Muslims break the fast with a feasting, special
prayers and the distribution of gifts to the poor and needy. It is a day of thanksgiving and rejoicing and
exchanging greetings with relatives and friends.

9. Eidl Adha, Festival of Sacrifice, Zul Hajji 10. The day marks the end of the pilgrimage. Also a day for
thanksgiving, rejoicing, and sharing.

10. Yaummul Jumma, The Day of Assembly. Every Friday of the week is obligatory congregational prayer.

Sources: The Important Days in Islam and Relations Between Muslims and Non-Muslims, By lljas Ishmael,
Manila, -1977. / Islam and Muslims: Some Basic Information by Michael J. Diamond and Peter G. Gowing.
Quezon City, 1981.

ISLAM AND ISLAMIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Arrival of Islam in the Philippines

The Islamization of the southern Philippines occurred along with the Islamization of Borneo Sulawesi,
Celebes, and the Moluccas. It is likely that Muslim Arab traders had begun trading in the Philippines long
before the Filipinos started to embrace Islam. Scholars today believe that Muslim merchants, trading
profitably in the Malay World brought Borneo to the attention of the Chinese during the tenth century. This
has prompted Dean Majul to comment:

"Since Borneo is close to the Philippines it can be presumed that Muslim traders had begun to know Suluat
least by that time, if not earlier. In any case, there is evidence that Arabs had reached China from some
islands in the Philippines during the tenth century. "

Majul also points to a venerated grave of a foreign Muslim possibly an Arab, which is found in a tempat
(sacred grave) on Bud Dato, a few miles from Jolo town. It is dated 710 AH. or 1310 A.D. and has been the
site for the coronation of most of the Sultans of Sulu. 'It can be inferred, says Majul, 'that by the end of the
thirteenth century or at the beginning of the fourteenth century there was already a settlement or colony of
foreign Muslims in Jolo Island.'
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Winning of Sulu

The Tausug, the predominant group in Sulu, are said to carry themselves a little straighter than other Moro
groups because they were the first to be won to Islam. The 'tarsilas' (geneology) and traditions of Sulu
speak of a foreigner who bore the title Tuan Mashai'ka and who came to Joio long ago, married the
daughter of a local chieftain and begot Muslims — meaning that he raised his children as Muslims. One
tarsila mentioned that Tuan Masha'ika came when the people of Jolo were still worshiping stones and other
inanimate objects. Dean Majul speculates that this person may well have been associated with the
community, which constructed the grave mentioned above, indicating that he may have lived in Jolo in the
early fourteenth century. Islamization, the process of Islam taking root among the people outlive to Sulu,
may well have begun with Tuan Mashai'ka raising Muslim Children by his Jolo wife.

The tarsilas of Sulu were not written as scientific histories of the archipelago's chief families, so as
documents of their time and place, they contain elements which are patently mythological and baffling for
the present-day reader. Even so, they are important sources for clues as to the beginning of Islam in the
Philippines. They speak of the coming of a certain Karim ul Makhdum, who was also called Tuan Sharief
Awliya, a title given to holy men. Najeeb Saleeby quotes from one tarsila as follows:

Sometime after that, there came Karim ul Makhdum. He crossed the sea in a vase or pot of iron and was
called 'sarip'. He settled at Bwansa, the place where the Tagimaha nobles believed. There the people
flocked to him from all directions, and he built a house for worship.

Saleeby believed that the Makhdum (Arabic for Master or Father - a common
designation for Sufi missionaries) arrived in Sulu in the second half of the fourteenth century. The tarsila
does not mention that the Makhdum introduced Islam into Sulu, but the only that people flocked from
everywhere to hear him. The Makhdum's work, therefore, might well have been that of reinforcing an Islam
already present among foreign Muslims and their families and using their settlement as a base, winning
new adherents from among the surrounding local and older population (Majul). The existence of graves in
several places in Sulu which local residents claim to be the final resting place of the Makhdum suggests the
possibility that there were two or more Makhdumin who contributed to the spread and consolidation of
Islam in the archipelago.

Sulu tarsilas and traditions also speak of Rajah Baguinda, who late in the fourteenth or early fifteenth
century came to Jolo from the Menangkabaw region of Sumatra at the head of a small fleet of praus (sail
craft) transporting a force of warriors and settlers. It is not clear whether the Rajah was a native Sumatran
prince or a foreign adventurer who had simply stayed a time in Sumatra. At any rate, he apparently sought
to carve a new principality for himself in Sulu. Supported by his followers, he overcame the initial resistance
of the Joloanos, insinuated himself into Sulu leadership on the basis of his being a Muslim like them, and
married the daughter of a local chieftain. Buansa was the seat of political power: His significance in the
history of Sulu is that, as a powerful foreign Muslim, he strengthened Islamic consciousness in the area
(Saleeby).
 13

The tarsilas and traditions speak further of an Arab, Sayyid Abu Bakr, who came to Buansa towards the
middle of the fifteen century and lived with Rajah Baguinda. He married the old Rajah's daughter,
Paramisuli. After the death of his father in law, Sayyid Abu Bakr succeeded to the latter's political authority
and eventually founded the Sultanate of Sulu (Saleeby). Abu Bakr is referred to in Sulu as Sultan Sharief ul
Hashim and is credited with having further consolidated Islam in Buansa and shaped political institutions
along Islamic lines. The fact that he was able to do this readily indicates a friendly disposition on the part of
the populace and the native chiefs for a deepening of their Islamization. The Sultan, esteemed as a
descendant of the Prophet, was said to have introduced the study of the Qur'an and to have converted the
hill people of Jolo to Islam (Majul). Hadji Butu, a distinguished Tausug leader in the early decades of the
present century, recorded the tradition of his people concerning the missionary work of the first Sultan.

"The hill people were still unconverted. The coast people said' let’s fight the hill people and convert them to
Islam". But Abu Bakr would not allow it and instead told the people to pound rice and make cakes and
clothing. Then the coast people marched inland to a place called Paayan. Abu Bakr sent word to the
headman that he was Arabian who could be spoken to by writing on paper. The headman, called in those
days 'Tomoai', said that he did not want to see him for he did not want to change the customs of the
ancestors. So Abu Bakr approached and threw cakes and clothing into the houses of the natives. The
children ate, the cakes but the older people thought them poison and gave them to the dogs. The dogs
were not killed and the children went out the camp of Abu Bakr where they were treated kindly. The two
tribes came to an understanding. That night Abu Bakr slept in the house of the chief. The chief had a dream
that he was living in a large house with beautiful decorations. Abu Bakr interpreted the dream saying that
the new house was the new religion and the decorations its benefits. The news spread and after much
difficulty, the people were converted".

Penetration of Mindanao

Credit for the introduction of Islam into Mindanao is usually given to Sharief Muhammad Kabungsuan who
came from Johore to the mouth of Pulangi River sometime in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. It is
possible, however, that Muslim missionaries were at work in Mindanao well before that time, for the
traditions of the Maguindanaon speak of a certain Sharief Awliya who introduced Islam in a place not far
from the present-day Cotabato City. His story is wrapped in myth. He is said to have come to Mindanao in
the air in search for Paradise. While he was looking for it on the hill of Tawantawan, he found a 'houri'
(celestial maiden) who was sent to him from heaven. He married this houri, and she subsequently bore him
a daughter who was called Paramisuli, indicating a princess of royal birth Afterwards, the Sharief returned
to the west, but his wife and child remained behind in Mindanao (Saleeby). Maguindanaon traditions go on
to speak to the later arrival of a Sharief Maraja who came from Johore to the area of Slangan (Cotabato),
on the northern branch of Pulangi River, where he is said to have married Paramisuli. The dumato clan of
Maguindanao, old rivals of the clans descended from Sharief Kabungsuan, trace their line back to Sharief
Maraja (Mastura-1977).
 14

Despite the possibility of earlier predecessors in Mindanao, Sharief Muhammad Kabungsuan is regarded
as preeminent among the pioneers of Islam on that island. The old tarsilas of Maguindanao indicate that he
was the son of an Arab father and Malay mother. His father, being a Sharief was or alleged to be a
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Maguindanao tradition also declares that Sharief Kabungsuan
came to Mindanao with migration of Muslim Samals. This migration, made up of boatloads of people,
reportedly was dispersed by a storm and the survivors found their way to the various ports in Sumatra,
Borneo, and Sulu and the case of Kabungsuan, as east as Mindanao. This tradition says that
Kabungsuan's Samal companions stopped for a time on Bongo island, not far from the mouth of the
Pulangi River; but eventually, they sailed away to the Gulf of Davao and Sarangani Bay, leaving
Kabungsuan behind. However, by that time, the Sharief had become firmly established as a leader in
Cotabato.

The traditions are not agreed on whether Sharief Kabungsuan might have settled first among the llanun
people of Illana Bay, or near the present-day Malabang, and then moved to Cotabato, or vice-versa; but in
any case, both the llanun and Maguindanao peoples proudly claim that they were won over to Islam by his
influence. He is universally pictured as having been a devout and learned Muslim, possessed of a rigid
attitude towards non-Muslims and full of proselytizing zeal (Majul). By various means including both
conquest and diplomacy, Kabungsuan established himself as a power-in the Cotabato-Malabang region.
He secured an alliance with the Maguindanaon datus and went about conquering and converting such of
the surrounding tribes and chiefs as he could. He carried Islam to Buayan, up -river from Cotabato, which
was later to develop into an important Moro principality. He is reported to have married the daughters of
local datus and begotten children by them, thus securing his position in the native aristocracy. He laid the
foundations of the Maguindanaon Sultanate, though he and his immediate successors were content to style
themselves merely as Shariefs or datus. It was Kabungsuan's great great grandson, Qudarat, who is the
first Maguindanao ruler spoken of in the tarsilas as 'Sultan' (Saleeby).

The Islamization of the Maguindanaon and llanun people was doubtless reinforced by the influence of the
Sulu Sultanate to which, in the latter half of the sixteenth century, the neighboring Zamboanga Peninsula
had become tributary. There is evidence that an occasional religious teacher from Jolo found his way to
Maguindanao settlements, helping to strengthen their Muslim consciousness. Teachers came, too from
Brunei. And the Moluccas late in the same century. In 1578 and 1579, the Spanish Governor-General
Francisco de Sande ordered the commanders of two military expeditions against Maguindanao to arrest
'preachers from Brunei who preach the doctrine of Mahoma' (Blair and Robertson). And in 1588, Bishop
Domingo de Salazar of Manila complained to the King of Spain that:

In the island of Mindanao, which is subject to Your Majesty, and for many years had paid tribute, the law of
Mahoma has been publicly proclaimed. By preachers from Burney and Ternate who have come there...
some of them even, it is believed had come from Mecca. They have erected and are now building
mosques, and the boys are bein3g circumcised, and there is a school where they are taught the alcoran.
'(ibid)
 15

Indeed, Spanish records show that by the end of the sixteenth century, the Maguindanao had sufficiently
incorporated into dar-al-islam (the household of Islam) that they could count on neighboring Muslim states,
notably Ternate, for military aid against Spanish attacks (Majul, 1973).

From the Cotabato and Malabang areas, Islam spread to other parts of Mindanao, initially along the coast
and up the rivers. It reached Sarangani Bay and the Gulf of Davao and also touched the shores of northern
Mindanao. It penetrated as well the agricultural Maranao people of Lake Lanao. Some local traditions
suggest that Sharief Kabungsuan himself may have gone to the lake area and converted the Maranao
datus. The Maranao tarsilas are silent on this matter, however, and it is possible that they were converted
through contacts and intermarriages with llanun and Maguindanao Muslims gradually over a period of time.
Spanish missionaries in 1640 reported that the datus of the lake area were Muslims, but not all of their
followers were - hence parts of Lanao were still thought of at that time as potentially fruitful fields for
Christian missionary work (Ibid).

There is also a tradition in Lanao that tells of another Sharief Alawi who came possibly from Cotabato to the
mouth of the Tagoloan River in what today is Misamis Oriental. From there, it is said that he and his
followers carried Islam to Bukidnon and the shores of Lake Lanao (ibid). As of now, however, the exact
provenance, manner, and dates for the coming of Islam to the Maranao area are still subjects of
speculation. What is known is that the Islamization process, which began late in the sixteenth or early
seventeenth century, was by no means completed by the middle of the seventeenth century when the
Spaniards attempted unsuccessfully to conquer this area. But Islamization was completed by the late
nineteenth century when the Spaniards returned to campaign again. That the tarsilas of Mranao sultans
and datus almost always trace their ancestry back to Sharief Kabungsuan is an indication that their Islamic
faith and Islamic legitimization are derived from alliances and intermarriages with Maguindanao and llanun
aristocratic families.

Once again, we may look to Professor Majul for a summary of what he has perceived as the main
stages of the Islamization of Mindanao.

1. The appearance of Muslim missionaries in the Cotabato area around the middle of the fifteenth century -
possibly Arabs or Arab Descent, and they appear to have come via the Sulu archipelago on their way to
Cotabato. Some settled and raised families while others stayed for a time and then departed. To them can
be attributed the beginning of Muslim settlements in the area of Pulangi River Basin. To this stage belong
the legendary Sharief Awliya and Sharief Maraja.

2. The immigration of Islamic people and the arrival of Sharief Muhammad Kabungsuan in the Ilana Bay
area in the first quarter of the sixteenth century- this stage coincides with the few decades following the
final collapse of the Majapahit as well as the time of the arrival of the Europeans in Malaysia. The ruling
families of Buayan and Cotabato are Muslims, and through their efforts, the process of Islamization is
accelerated. Muslim marriage alliances with neighboring small principalities took place.
 16

3. Additional contacts with other Muslim principalities, i.e., Sulu and the Moluccas in the last quarter of the
sixteenth century - marriage alliances between the royal families of Sulu, Cotabato and Ternate were
forged. Bornean and Ternatean preachers as well as itinerant Arab teachers appeared before the end of
the sixteenth.

4. A stiffening of Islamic attitudes in the face of Spanish attempts at colonization and Christianization
around the beginning of the seventeenth century-an acceleration of the Islamization process in the
Maranao area followed. A general awareness among the Muslim people of Mindanao that they belong to a
wider dar-al-Islam became universal, especially during the reign of Sultan Qudarat.

Source: Muslim Filipinos- Heritage and Horizon Peter G. Gowing, Quezon City, 1979.

Other Suggested Readings:

Ben J. Kadil, Ph.D. History of the Moro and Indigenous Peoples in Minsupala (Philippine Studies, Culture &
Society) Department of History, MSU-Marawi, 2002.

A STORY OF MINDANAO AND SULU IN QUESTION AND ANSWER

1.Who are the present peoples of Mindanao, Sulu, and how may they be distinguished from one
another?

In general, the peoples of Mindanao may be divided into two broad categories: indigenous and
migrant. The indigenous may be further subdivided, for our convenience, into Indigenous A and Indigenous
B, while the migrant may be sub-classified into migrants and their descendants.

Indigenous A

Generally professing belief in Islam, the Muslims or Islamized groups are, more specifically, in
alphabetical order, the Iranun (also known as Ilanun or Ilanum), Jama Mapun, Kalagan, Kalibugan,
Maguindanao (also known as Maguindanawon), Maranao, Sama, Sangil, Tausug and Yakan. Also
generally known as Moro — or more recently Bangsamoro — they constitute about 20 percent of the total
population of Mindanao and Sulu. We also include the Islamized group of Palawan province, namely, the
Molbog (also known as Melebugnon) and the Panimusan (also Palimusan), the Islamized portion of the
Pala'wan group. The Kalagan are partly Islamized and partly not. Although not generally Muslims, the
seafaring Sama Dilaut or Badjao of the Sulu Archipelago are also classified in the Moro category by virtue
of their long traditional stay in the Sulu seas.
 17

Approximately five percent of the total population of the region, the Lumad groups are individually
known, in alphabetical order, as: Ata (or Ata Manobo), Arumanen Manobo, Bagobo, Banwaon, Bla-an,
Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Dulangan Manobo, Higaunon, Ilianen Manobo, Jangan, Lambangian (mix of
Teduray and Manobo), Livunganen, Kulamanen, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Mangguwangan, Manobo,
Mansaka, Manuvu, Matigsalug, Pulangiyen Manobo, Subanen, Tagabawa, Tagakaolo, Talainged, T'boli,
Teduray, Ubo Manobo and Umayamnon. There could be more if we pursue the Lumad habit of naming
themselves after their place of traditional residence. We must also include here that part of the Kalagan
population that are not Islamized, although it must be stressed that it is extremely difficult to make a
population estimate of them.

Indigenous B

Under Indigenous B we have the Visayan speaking indigenous peoples of Northern and Eastern
Mindanao, and also the Chavacanos of Zamboanga. There were already Visayan-speaking peoples in
northern an eastern Mindanao when the Spaniards arrived during the second decade of the 17th century.
They eventually became the Christian communities of the Spanish colonial period, which in 1892 totaled
191,493 thousand. It is no longer easy to identify them because they have assimilated into the migrant
Visayan population, which now compose the majority in the place. They are known locally by their place
names like Davaweño in the Davao provinces but mostly in Davao Oriental; Butuanon in Butuan,
Camiguinon or Kinamigin in Camiguin island, Cagayanon in Cagayan de Oro City, Misamisnon, Iliganon in
Iligan, Ozamiznon in Ozamiz, Dapitanon in Dapitan, Dipolognon in Dipolog, Chavacano in Zamboanga City
and nearby places and so on and by some peculiarity in their respective accents. The two provinces of
Surigao have several local dialects peculiar to the place. Surigaonon, Waya-waya, and Jaon- jaon are
spoken in the towns of Surigao del Sur, namely, Carrascal, Madrid, Lanuza, and in Surigao del Norte,
specifically in the towns Siargao, Gigaquit and Claver. In Surigao del Norte, iianon is spoken in Cantilan;
Tandaganon in Tandag and 'ligon-on in Tago, San Miguel, and Bayabas; Kamayo in Lianga, Diatagon,
Barobo and Bislig. Cebuano is predominant in and Bol-anon in Cortes and San Agustin.

Originally Mardicas or Merdicas, meaning "free people" who were natives of Ternate in the
Moluccas, in present-day Indonesia, the Chavacanos were Christian soldiers who were brought to by the
Spaniards in 1663. They were first settled in Ermita what was known as Bagumbayan and were, later,
resettled at Barra de Maragondon or the sandbar of Maragondon river; they called this Ternate in 1850 in
memory of their place of origin. Some of them must have been assigned to Zamboanga, possibly in 1718, if
not later. They, too, are now integrated into the majority population.

Migrant and Their Descendants

Also known as settlers, these constitute the migrants of the 20th century from Luzon and the
Visayas and their descendants. Since 1948, they make up the majority population of the region, and since
 18

1970, about seventy percent of the total population. They are also known as settlers. Included in the count
are the Indigenous B and the Chavacanos.

2.Where the name Moro come from did and what does it mean?

It came from the Spanish colonizers.

When the Spaniards arrived in the archipelago in 1565 and discovered that some of the inhabitants
were Muslims, they called them Moros, in the same manner, that they called those Muslims from North
Africa who had conquered and occupied Spain for nearly eight centuries, that is, from 711 to 1492. It was
meant to refer only to the Muslims of the archipelago. But over the years, as a result of the bloody Spanish-
Moro war which lasted for 333 years, the name acquired a pejorative connotation, like pirates, and was
much disliked by the Muslims themselves until very recently.

It did not begin to be accepted among the Muslims until around 1900. But with the emergence in
1972 of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which bannered the name Bangsa Moro, Moro acquired
a new dimension. Using it became a source of pride in itself. In their own words, the MNLF claims that
originally, the use of the term Moro by the colonialists was meant to perpetuate an image of the Muslim
people of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Palawan, as savage and treacherous, while they are simply daring
and tenacious in defense of their homeland and faith. But despite its colonial origins, the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) has cleansed the term of its unpleasant connotation by propagating the more
correct view that the tenacity with which the natives conducted their war of resistance against foreign
intrusion was a classic exercise in heroism.

They also expanded the population base of the name, at least in theory, to include all indigenous
populations of the region, among others, as follows:

The term is not only common to all the indigenous tribes of the region but includes Muslims, Christians, and
those still adhering to traditional religious values — in a word all those who share common aspiration and
political destiny. Hence, the MNLF has adopted Bangsa (nation) Moro as national identity and implants it in
the consciousness of the masses. Today, it is rooted in the heart of every man and woman, and the
defense of its integrity has become a national identity and implants it in the consciousness of the masses.
Today it is rooted in the heart of every man and woman, and the defense of its integrity has become a
national duty.

3.Where did the name Lumad come from, and what does it mean?

The name Lumad grew out of the political awakening among various tribes during the martial law
regime of President Marcos. It was advocated and propagated by the members and affiliates of Lumad-
Mindanao, a coalition of all-Lumad local and regional organizations which formalized themselves as such in
 19

June 1986 but started in 1983 as a multi-sectoral organization. Lumad-Mindanao's main objective was to
achieve self-determination for their member tribes, or, put more concretely, self-governance within their
ancestral domain in accordance with their culture and customary laws. No other Lumad organization had
this express goal in the past.

The name is a Cebuano Bisayan word, meaning indigenous, which has become the collective
name for the thirty or more ethnolinguistic groups enumerated earlier. Representatives from fifteen tribes
agreed in June 1985 to adopt the name; there were no delegates from the three major groups of the T'boli
the Teduray and the Subanen. The choice of a Cebuano word Cebuano is the language of the natives of
Cebu in the Visayas was a bit ironic, but they deemed it to be most appropriate considering that the various
Lumad tribes do not have any other common language except Cebuano. This is the first time that these
tribes have agreed to a common name for themselves, distinct from that of the Moros and different from the
migrant majority and their descendants. Lumad Mindanao, the organization, is no longer intact, but the
name Lumad remains and is apparently gaining more adherents.

Earlier, they were called by various names by outsiders, like paganos by the Spaniards or simply
by their tribal identities; Wild Tribes or Uncivilized Tribes or non-Christian Tribes by the Americans; National
Cultural Minorities or just Cultural Minorities or simply Minorities by the Philippine government since 1957,
which was amended in the 1973 Constitution as Cultural Communities, then by the 1987 Charter as
Indigenous Cultural Communities. Except for paganos, all these denominations also included the Moros.
Visayans call them nitibo; Tagalogs call them taga-bundok or katutubo. Christian churches used to prefer
the name Tribal Filipinos, but today they are among the more active users of the name Lumad.

4.What do all of them, the Moro, the Lumad, and the other settler inhabitants of Mindanao, Sulu and
Palawan have in common?

They all share a common origin in the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages which explains the
close similarity among the various languages in use throughout the islands. Also, in their ratites physical
appearances.

A recent linguistic study by Richard E. Elkins has concluded:

Present-day Mindanao languages which are members of the Manobo subfamily include the
following: Cotabato Manobo and Tasaday in South Cotabato; Sarangani Manobo in southern Davao;
Tagabawa and Obo, west and southwest of Davao City; Dibabawon, Ata, and Matig Salug in northern
Davao; Livunganen, Ilianen, and Kulamanen in northern Cotabato; Western Bukidnon Manobo and Tigwa
in southern Bukidnon; Binukid in northern Bukidnon; Agusan Manobo with its several dialects in Agusan
and Surigao; and Higaonon in Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and Agusan. Kinamigin on Camiguin Island
north of Mindanao and Kagayanen on Cagayancillo Island in the Sulu Sea have only recently been
identified as members of the Manobo subfamily.
 20

This similarity of origin is acknowledged among the Moro people and the Lumad by their folk
tradition. For example, among the Kalibugan of Titay, Zamboanga del Sur, they speak of two brothers as
their ancestors, both Subanen. Dumalandalan to Islam while Gumabon-gabon was not. Among of Lapuyan,
Zamboanga del Sur, they talk of four ancestors. Tabunaway was the ancestor of the Dumalandalan the
Maranao; Mili-rilid of the Gomabon-gabon of the Subanen.

Arumanen Manobo of North Cotabato and the say that brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu are their
ancestors, although they differ on which of the two was to Islam and on whether they were really siblings.
To the Maguindanao, they were blood brothers, and it was Tabunaway a Muslim.[]In the Manobo version,
also, the real names of Tabunaway and Mamalu were Rimpung and Sabala and were close friends, not
siblings. They called each other brother, but this word is used for siblings, relatives, and friends as well.
The story goes that after Sabala adopted Tåbunaway told him that he would call him Mamalu because
while he was a Manobo but not anymore, he had become Muslim. Sabala, in turn, said to Rimpung that
because he had decided to retain his traditional Manobo belief and the practice of their tradition, he would
then call him Tabunaway.

The Manobo version further states that they share the same ancestor with the llanun, the
Matigsalug, the Talaandig, and the Maranao. In the Teduray tradition, the same brothers Tabunaway and
Mamalu are acknowledged as their ancestors.

In the Teduray tradition, the same brothers Tabunaway and Mamalu are acknowledged as their
ancestors.

The Higaunon and the Maranao also speak of common ancestry in their folklore, especially in the
border areas of Bukidnon and Lanao. This seems more pronounced in the Bukidnon folklore where they
speak of two brothers Bowan and Bala-oy.

Among the Talaandig of Bukidnon, their great, great ancestor Apu Agbibilin is the common
ancestor of the Talaandig, Maguindanao, Maranao and Manobo tribes who were saved at the highest peak
of Mt. Kitanglad during the great flood.

Among the Bla-an (pronounced by them as two syllables, accent on the second syllable) of Davao
del Sur, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, and Cotabato, they speak of common ancestry
with other ethnolinguistic groups. In an interview with a Bla-an tribal leader, Lawon Tokaydo, of Danlag,
Tampakan, South Cotabato, this author got the following account:

It was Almabet, their creator, who gave them that name. Almabet created eight people, first the Bla-an,
then the others, namely, Tabali (T'boli), Ubo (Manobo), Alnawen (Maguindanao Muslim), Teduray, Klagan,
Matigsalug, and Mandaya. And be called them by these names. They would later be the ancestors of ethnic
groups of the same names. Lands were assigned to them. Kolon Nada/ (Koronadal) was given to the Bla-
an. Almabet ascended from Melbel (Marbel) From here they (Bla-an) went to Kolon Bia-o (Columbio), to
 21

Buluan which they partly share with the Alnawen (Maguindanao Muslim), to other parts of the present
South Cotabato, and Datal Pitak in Matanao in the present Davao del Sur. The Tabali went to Lake Sebu.
The rest went to their respective places. Although they claim common ancestry with these other groups,
their languages are not mutually intelligible.

The Kalagan belong to the same tribe as the Tagakaolo.

5.When did Islam come to Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan?

Islam first arrived in the Sulu archipelago towards the end of the 13th century, estimated to be in
1280, brought by a certain TuanMasha'ika who apparently got married there and thus established the first
Islamic community. Masha'ika was followed by a Muslim missionary named Karim ul-Makhdum around the
second half of the 14th century. With Rajah Baginda who came at the beginning of the 15th century was
introduced the political element in the Islamization process. It was his son-in-law, Abubakar, whom he had
designated as his successor, who started the Sulu sultanate.

Islam came to Maguindanao with a certain Sharif Awliya from Johore around 1460. He is said to
have married there, had and left. He was followed by Sharif Maraja, also from who stayed in the Slangan
area and married the daughter of Awliya. Around 1515, Sharif Kabungsuwan arrived with many the
Slangan area, roughly where Malabang is now. He is generally credited with having established the Islamic
community Maguindanao and expanded through political and family alliances with the ruling families.

Maranao tradition speaks of a certain Sharif Alawi who landed (in the present Misamis Oriental and
his preaching there was to have eventually spread to Lanao and Bukidnon. There is any evidence of this in
the latter, however, except in some border towns adjacent to Lanao del Sur. From the southern end came
through marriage alliances with Muslim Iranun and Maguindanao datus, specifically around the area of
Butig and Malabang.

It is not clear when Islam first came to Palawan. Indicators at the arrival of the Spaniards, however,
reveal trade and political influences flowing from the sultanate of Brunei, then later from the sultanate of
Sulu.

6.How did Islam come to Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan?

Islam came with trade.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) in 632 A.D. a general expansion movement
followed. Through military conquests, the Islamic world turned empire with dominance established in the
Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. The expansion likewise moved
towards Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, made possible either by or through Muslim merchants or
 22

missionaries or both. It was through the latter that the Malayo-Indonesian region and Mindanao and Sulu
were Islamized.

The trade route which led to the Islamization of Mindanao and Sulu was the one that linked Arabia
overland through Central Asia and thence overseas to India, China, Southeast Asia an Africa, especially in
the period starting from the beginning of the 9th century.

Overseas travel at that time was directly influenced by monsoon winds and merchants had to
establish trade stations along their route where they tarried for long periods of time. In the course of these
stays, merchants-missionaries would marry into the local population, thereby creating and establishing
Muslim communities.

It was generally assumed that the Islamization process was facilitated and hastened in this way in
such places as Malacca, Pahang, Trengganu, Kedah, Java, and others. By 1450, Malacca had become a
leading center of Islam in the Malay Archipelago. It was from the Malay Archipelago that Mindanao and
Sulu were Islamized. The establishment of Muslim trading communities in such places as Mindoro,
Batangas, and Manila in the northern Philippines came from the same direction.

The combination of trade and Islamization created the necessary conditions that enabled the
Sulus, and later, the Maguindanao, to advance way ahead of the other indigenous inhabitants of the
Philippine archipelago.

7.To what extent did Islam revolutionize the recipient communities?

Before the advent of Islam in the Philippine archipelago, no community was reported to be a
monotheist. The diwata (in the Visayas and Mindanao) and anito (in Luzon) were essential features of the
belief system of the peoples here. Animists, they are called by social scientists nowadays. Believing that
"There is no other god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet," Islam was the first to bring monotheism to
the people of the Philippines.

In the course of its historical development, the Islamic world was able to develop a social system
distinctly its own, in consonance with the doctrine revealed in the Qur'an and also embodied in the Hadith
or Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet. Such institutions as the caliphate, the emirate, and the sultanate are
part of this development.

The religion and the social system brought by Islam were radical from the animism and barangay
type communities prevalent among the many peoples of the archipelago, specifically lowlanders. Further,
the stimulus-provided by the Muslim combined to push the Islamized communities far ahead of others.

There is no question that the centralized system of life introduced by the combined forces of Islam
and trade provided greatest source of strength in their 333 years of struggle against Spanish colonialism.
 23

Doubtless, too, this fight against foreign domination contributed in no small measure to this strength. And
the main explanation of why they were able to sustain themselves gloriously against Spain until 1898 is to
be found here.

8.Which portions of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan are traditionally considered the ancestral homeland of the
Islamized people, and which portions that of the Lumad?

Ordinarily, when we speak of the ancestral homeland, we refer to that portion of territory
traditionally occupied by a tribe or another, or by a community of people, say a clan bound by ties of
common interests. This is normally understood to mean not just land, but also rivers, creeks, seas,
mountains and hills, forests and all-natural wealth contained therein, Including the wild game, and,
nowadays, also the airspace above. No different, therefore, from the present concept of state domain.

The nature of the occupancy is usually described in modern-day legal language as "prior and
uninterrupted," meaning, the tribe or community came to the territory in question ahead of any other, and
their stay has remained unchallenged. "Prior and uninterrupted occupancy" is recognized the world over as
the ultimate evidence of possession. The case of the Sulu and Maguindanao Sultanates, however,
presents a more complex situation where (political) dominance attendant to their having attained statehood
was added to the matter of occupancy.

Using the territorial jurisdictions of the 22 provinces and 16 cities that constitute the entirety of
Mindanao and Sulu, In the 1990 census, prior to the creation of the three provinces of Compostela Valley
from Davao del Norte, Sarangani from South Cotabato, and Zamboanga Sibugay from Zamboanga del Sur,
there is incontrovertible evidence that from 1596-1898 the Islamized peoples have traditionally lived in an
area encompassed within the equivalent of fifteen provinces and seven cities; the Lumad in seventeen
provinces and fourteen cities, and the indigenous Christians in nine provinces and four cities. They overlap
in many places.

It must be stressed, however, that defining the ancestral homeland of the Islamized people
presents some difficulty because aside from being subdivided into twelve ethnolinguistic groups through
which the matter of physical occupancy may be determined, they were also identified with one sultanate or
the other where the decisive point is, to use a modern terminology, political dominance. The sultanate is a
political entity that is by right and as a matter of fact, a state, no different, say, from a monarchy, exercising
sovereign jurisdiction over the various peoples encompassed within its territory. And in the history of the
Moro sultanates, these peoples included communities from the non-Muslim tribes. There were generally
two traditional sultanates in Mindanao and Sulu, the older one of Sulu and that of the Maguindanao.

9.Which portions are generally deemed to be the traditional territorial jurisdiction of the Sulu Sultanate?

The Sulu Sultanate started formally in 1450 A.D. At its peak, its territory included the Sulu
archipelago (covering the present provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi), North Borneo or the present Sabah,
 24

Basilan, southern Palawan and Samboangan, roughly equivalent to the present territory of Zamboanga
City, and the western portions of the Zamboanga peninsula where the Tausug and Sama settlements were
located. The present towns of Sibuco and Siraway in Zamboanga del Norte could possibly be two of these.

Islamized tribes in the territory were the Tausug in Sulu Sama in Tawi-Tawi; Jama Mapun in
Mapun Island and Palawan; Molbog or Melebugnon and the Panimusan or Palimusan, the Islamized
portion of the Pala'wan group, also 500thcrn Palawan; Yakan in Basilan and the Kalibugan in the
Zamboanga peninsula. The non-Islamized tribes included the Dilaut or Badjao of the Sulu Archipelago, the
Batak and Of southern Palawan, and the Subanen of the Zamboanga peninsula. We have not included
northern Palawan because there is so far no clearcut historical evidence that this portion ever fell within the
territory of the Sulu sultanate. Spanish records have shown that Muslim settlements in the province were
located generally in the southern part roughly from Aborlan southward to Balabac Island.

The whole time that the Spanish colonizers were wreaking havoc in the sultanate domain, from
1565 to 1898, the sultanate machinery remained intact. But certain portions of its territory went to the
colonizers. Samboangan was taken over by Spanish armed might in 1635, seized by the Maguindanao
sultanate after it was abandoned by the Spaniards in 1663, recaptured by the Spaniards in 1718 and
remained in their hands until 1898.

Palawan had a curious history all its own. It was ceded by the Maguindanao sultan to the
Spaniards in 1703, yet it was also given away by the Sulu sultan to the Spaniards in 1705, and this was
confirmed by his successor in 1717.

An additional factor in the story of Zamboanga may be cited here. The Chavacano speaking
population were presumably brought in by the Spaniards in 1718 and have remained there continuously
until the end of the Spanish regime, and to the present. From available historical sources, it appears that
their arrival caused no dislocation nor displacement on the indigenous population

To what extent were the indigenous communities of the Tagbanua and Batak of Palawan and Subanen
peoples subjects of the sultanate? This is not clear in existing documents. No doubt, extensive research on
the oral traditions of these people would help The Sulu sultanate's claim to sovereignty over its territory and
subjects was challenged decisively by the American colonizers. After the Treaty of Paris in 1898 through
which the Americans acquired dubious title to the entire Philippine territory, including the Sulu sultanate,
there followed the Bates agreement in 1899 and the Carpenter agreement in 1915 which supposedly
marked the Sulu sultan's submission to American sovereignty. The latter was in turn passed on to the
Philippine State in July 1946. The Philippine claim to sovereignty over the territory once held by the Sulu
sultanate dates back formally only to the Treaty of Paris.

10.Which portions belonged to the traditional territorial jurisdiction of the Maguindanao Sultanate?
 25

The Maguindanao Sultanate came into reality around the second decade of the 17th century. Its
territory was most extensive in the reign of Sultan Kudarat (1619-1671), particularly in the last twenty-five
years. Following was the way Dr. Majul describes it:

The coastal area from Zamboanga to the gulf of Davao was tributary to him. He was acknowledged
the paramount lord of the Pulangi. His sphere of influence extended to Iranun and Maranao territories and
even as far as Bukidnon and Butuan in the north of Mindanao, His rule held sway over Sangil and
Sarangani. Except in points like Dapitan, Caraga, and the sites of the present-day Butuan and Cagayan de
Oro cities, and in the almost inaccessible parts of the interior of the island, practically all of the accepted
him as suzerain.

The center of the Maguindanao sultanate was in the present province of Maguindanao and the
southern portions of Lake Lanao, from where it expanded through the use of armed might traditional
alliances, all the way to Davao Oriental in eastern Mindanao and to Zamboanga del Norte in western
Mindanao.

The Islamized tribes that may be categorized as subjects at one time or another of the
Maguindanao sultanate included the Maguindanao, Iranun, and Sangil; the Kalagans are part Muslim part
Lumad. The Lumad tribes found within the territory claimed by the Maguindanao Sultanate were the
Subanens in the Zamboanga peninsula; the Teduray, Ubo T'boli, Bla-an, Dulangan, Lambangian, Manobo
In the Cotabato area (encompassing the present four provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato
Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat); the Bagobo, Bla-an, Tagakaolo, Ata, Mandaya and Mansaka and
Manobo in the Davao region, and the Bukidnon and Higaunon in the Bukidnon border as well as in Iligan.

It is extremely difficult to determine from historical sources to what extent the non-Islamized groups
were subjects of the Sulu Sultanate. In the specific case of Zamboanga, no study has yet been made
specifying where the Sultanate's suzerainty ended and where the Maguindanao's influence began. Nor is it
clear to what extent the Subanens were subjects of or influenced by them. Dr. Majul did mention Bukidnon
as falling within the Maguindanao sphere of influence but Jesuit writings in the late 19th century indicate
that the farthest Muslim outpost in Bukidnon at that time was located at the confluence of the Malita river or
in the present border between Bukidnon and Cotabato. Muslim traders, usually Maguindanao, reportedly
went deeper into Bukidnon upstream of the Pulangi. Not, however, to collect tribute which was the common
expression of subjection at that time, but to trade.[
] Twentieth-century censuses, however, reveal that until 1948 the municipalities of Pangantukan and
Talakag had a relatively high number of Muslim residents, presumably Maranaos since these towns are
located at the Bukidnon-Lanao del Sur border. Of some-more than thirty coastal settlements noted in
Davao by the Spaniards in the late 19th century, the Moros of Davao occupied it.

These settlements were spread out along the coastal stretch from Mayo Bay in the east coast,
roughly where Mati is, and westward along the entire length of Davao Gulf's coastline to Sarangani Islands.
The non-Muslims were decidedly more numerous. We are told that the Muslims collected tributes from the
 26

Mandaya far as Caraga; controlled the Samals of Samal Island, and were continually at war with the Bla-
an, Manobo, Ata, and Tagakaolo. It was from this last tribe that the Kalagan Muslims came from, Ka'agan
means imitator in the Tagakaolo language.

Portions of the provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, and
Maguindanao were without a doubt open to question, despite very strong Maguindanao influence, in the
sense that these were traditionally occupied by the non-Islamized tribes whose subjection to Maguindanao
rule can no longer be gauged at this time. Until 1918, certain towns were predominantly inhabited by them,
like Awang (83.75%), Glan (60.76%), Kabakan (66.42%), Kiamba (80.59%), Kidapawan (65.9%), Salaman
(64.16%) and Sebu (83.07%), Talayan (56.88%); some others were almost equally shared with the
Maguindanao, e.g., Buayan (45.14% Muslim & 53.89% Lumad), Kitubod (50.99% Muslim & 49% Lumad),
Kling (50.18% Muslim & 49.4% Lumad).

Lanao del Sur is definitely Maranao territory including at least seven border towns in the present
Lanao del Norte, namely, Balo-i, Matungao, Pantao-Ragat, Munai, Tangkal, Tagoloan, and Nunungan, The
Maranao people generally identify themselves with the Pat a Pongampong a Ranao and did not experience
domination by the Maguindanao sultanate. Those of Kapatagan Valley in Lanao del Norte, however, speak
of their own Pat a Panuruganan a Kapatagan and clam no allegiance to the Pat a Pongampong.

Throughout the 333 years of Spanish attempts at conquest of Moroland, the Sulu and
Maguindanao Sultanates fought Spanish colonialism as independent states and remained uncolonized to
the very end. The Moros are extremely proud of this. Yet it cannot be denied that in the last 50 years or so
of the 19th century, the sultans of both sultanates signed treaties and agreements with Spain which
compromised their respective sovereignties. Sulu, in particular, signed the 1878 treaty with reduced the
sultanate to the status of a Spanish protectorate.) To modern political scientists, both the Sulu and
Maguindanao sultanates lost their de jure status but seemed to have retained their de facto status.

Shortly thereafter, U.S. colonialism took over from Spain through the Treaty of Paris in December
1898. Spain ceded the archipelago, including the sultanates of Maguindanao to the United States for $20
million. Finally on March 1915, through the Memorandum of Agreement between the General of the
Philippine islands and the Sultan of Sulu, The latter ratified and confirmed recognition of the sovereignty of
the U.S.A. By this time, nothing more was left of the two sultanates’ sovereignty. The Moro people's right
over their ancestral domain was substantially eroded by the implementation of American public land laws,
later sustained almost hook, line and by the government of the Republic of the Philippines.

11.Which portions are generally regarded as the ancestral homeland of the Lumad peoples of Mindanao
and Sulu?

In the tradition of the Subanen, the entirety of Zamboanga peninsula is their ancestral homeland.
Among themselves, they have partitioned the territory to the three major subdivisions of the tribe, the
Ginsalugan, the Sibugay-Sung, and the Debaloy.
 27

The Debaloy territory includes the present municipalities of Baliguian, Gutalac, Labason, Sibuco,
Sindangan, Siocon, and Siraway in Zamboanga del Norte; Salug, Surabay, Tukuran, Kalawit, in
Zamboanga del Sur, and Ipil, Titay, Tampilisan, and Tungawan in the newly created Zamboanga Sibuguey.

The territory of the Ginsalugan encompasses 32 municipalities in the three provinces in the peninsula of
Zamboanga, as follows: Misamis Occidental: Aloran, Baliangao, Bonifacio, Calamba, Clarin, Concepcion,
D. Victoriano, Jimenez, Lopez Jaena, Oroquieta, Ozamiz, Pana-on, Plaridel, Sinacaban, Sapang Dalaga,
Tangub, Tudela.

Zamboanga del Norte: Dapitan, Dipolog, Katipunan, La Libertad, Manukan, Mutia, Osmeña, Piñan
Polanco, Punot, Rizal, Roxas, Sibutad. Zamboanga del Sur: Balangasan, Josefina, Mahayag, Molave,
Pagadian City.

The Subanen of Sebugay and Sung are distributed into four sub-tribes of Sebugay, Sung,
Balangasan, and Pingulis; their territory encompassing a total of 20 municipalities in the provinces of
Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sebuguey, as follows: The Sebugay group are to be found in the
towns of Bayog in Zamboanga del Sur, and in Naga, Kabasalan, Buug, Siay, Imelda, Payao, Alicia in
Zamboanga Sibuguey. The Sung people are in the Baganian peninsula in Zamboanga del Sur which
includes the towns of Dinas, Margosatubig, Danao (Lakewood), Tabina, Pitogo, SM Tigbao, V. Sagun and
Dimataling.

The Balangasan inhabitants are found in the towns of Malangas in Zamboanga Sibuguey and other
parts of Dinas and Bayog in Zamboanga del Sur.

The Pingulis population is on the island of Olutanga, specifically in the towns of Mabuhay,
Olutanga, and Talusan in Zamboanga Sibuguey, and Lapuyan in Zamboanga del Sur.

They have been living in larger concentrations in the following specific areas: Dapitan or Illaya
Valley, Dipolog Valley specifically in Diwan, Punta and Sinaman, Manukan Valley, Sindangan, Panganuran
in the present town of Gutalac Coronado in the present town of Baliguian, Siocon, Kipit in the present town
of Labason, Malayal and Patalun (now Lintangan) both in the present town of Sibuco, Bolong Valley,
"lüpilak and Bakalan Valleys in the town of Ipil, Lei-Batu Valley, Sibugai-Sei Valley, Dumankilas Bay, Dipolo
Valley, Lubukan Valley, Labangan Valley and Mipangi Valley. Other concentrations are also found in the
present towns of Katipunan, Roxas, Sergio Osmena, Sr., Leon Postigo, Salug, Godod, and Siayan.

The Higaunon generally refer to their ancestral territory as the walo ha talugan or eight territories,
named after big rivers in northern Mindanao, namely, Odiongan (Gingoog), Agusan Kabulig (Claveria),
Tagoloan, Lanao, Cagayan, Pulangi (Bukidnon) and Balatukan (Balingasag). More particularly, these
places are located in the present provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental,
Bukidnon, and Lanao del Norte. In Agusan del Norte they are to be found in the towns of Las Nieves
 28

Buenavista, Butuan City, and Nasipit. In Agusan del Sur they are the town of Esperanza. In Misamis
Oriental, they inhabit the towns of Magsaysay, Gingoog, Salay, Balingasag, Medina, Claveria, Cagayan de
Oro City, Manticao, Naawan, Initao, and Opol. In Bukidnon, they have lived in the towns of Manolo Fortich,
Impasug-on, Baungon, Talakag, Libona, Malitbog, Malaybalay, Cabanglasan, Lantapan, and Valencia. In
Lanao del Norte, they are in Barangay Rogongon of lligan City. Although the Higaunon their language
Blnukid and themselves as Higaunon, they tend to be identified with Bukidnon in popular usage among
outsiders. latter is a generic name given all indigenous groups in the province of Bukidnon by Bisayans and
other outsiders. Among indigenous groups found at the north-central Bukidnon area aside from the
Higaunon, the Talaandig and the Banwaon; the inhabiting the border area between Bukidnon and Agusan,
more specifically within the territory stretching from Libang River Esperanza in the north up to the town of
San Luis and La Paz, Agusan del Sur, from Barangay Balit still in San Luis to the Agusan del Sur-Bukidnon
boundary. The southern part of the province is inhabited by the Tigwahanon; the Matigsalug — mostly in
the town of Kitaotao, Bukidnon and the Umayamnon, the latter occupying the border area of Bukidnon and
Agusan, more specifically in the municipality of Cabanglasan, Bukidnon.

The Manobo are traditional inhabitants of several portions of Mindanao: at the Agusan river valley,
Surigao del Norte and Sur; in Bukidnon south; in Sigaboy north of the Cape of San Agustin in Davao
Oriental; along the coastal stretch from Padada in Davao del Sur down to Sarangani Bay in South
Cotabato; in Sultan Kudarat, and in Cotabato.

The Mamanwa used to live in the territory around Lake Mainit at the Agusan del Norte Surigao del
Norte down to Tago river in Surigao del Norte.

The Mandaya have traditionally occupied the stretch of territory from Tandag in Surigao del Sur
down to Mati in Davao Oriental and the area of Salug river valley in the interior of Davao del Norte. Within
the Davao Oriental-Davao del Norte are also to be found the Mansaka-Dibabawon-Mangguwangan
populations.

Starting from that part of Davao City bordering Davao d Norte down to Davao del Sur, we have in
succession the Ata or Manobo, the Bagobo, the Tagakaolo-Kalagan, and the Bla-an.
As one moves into South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan, and Maguindanao, one runs into the Bla-an
again, then Manobo, the Arumanen, Ilianen, Pulangiyen, Manuvu, Ubo, then the T'boli, then the Dulangan,
the Lambangian and the Teduray.

In Palawan, the Batak and the Tägbanua are more well. known Indigenous Cultural Communities.
We cannot tell, however, to what extent they were subjects or influenced by the Sulu Sultanate. Other
indigenous populations which have been assimilated into the majority culture are the Agutaynon,
Kagayanen, Kalamianen, and Kuyunon; the last is also known as Cagayano.

Determining the exact boundaries of Lumad tribal territories at present has become extremely
difficult. For one thing, a good number of them are now dispersed people, intermixed in small pockets with
 29

settler populations. This dispersion is reflected at the municipal level in the various censuses. Short of
another statistical survey with each tribe, we can only rely on the censuses of 1918, 1939, and 1970. But
not fully. The 1903 census does not have comparative figures at the municipal level of Muslim, Lumad and
Christian population; the details of the 1948 census seem to be unavailable in most big libraries in Manila;
the 1960 enumeration has simply eliminated the "Pagan" classification Which is the nearest to determining
the Lumad population. The censuses of 1975, 1980 and 1990 no longer have any classification that will
lead us to more accurate figures on the indigenous cultural communities.

Many of their elders who know their ancient habitat have died, and very little oral tradition affecting
territorial boundaries, no matter how vague and general, has been handed down to the present generation.
The dominant presence of the migrant-based population, which is also concretely revealed in the censuses
has made the situation even more complicated.