According to the 2012 estimate by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos or NCMF there were 10.7 million Muslims in the Philippines. That is approximately 11 percent of the total population of the archipelago composed of 7107 islands.
Most Muslims live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago – an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region while some have migrated into urban and rural areas in different parts of the country.
ISLAM WAS NOT SPREAD BY THE SWORD
Islam was first brought by Arab traders in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, 200 years before the Spanish invasion. These Muslim merchants originally came from present-day Malaysia and Indonesia. They landed in the Sulu islands and preached Islam to the indigenous population and built the first mosque in the Philippines in the town of Simunul in Tawi-tawi in the mid-14th century.
The Islamic Propagation reached as far as the Kingdom of Tondo in current day Manila in Luzon, in the Northern Philippines. It is notable to see that there was no clear record of armed conquest made by the Muslims against the local people and it seemed that they embraced Islam voluntarily.
Muslims believe that the past Muslims were invited into Islam by the good manners possessed by the preachers towards Islam. Different states and colonies embraced Islam without being subjugated by a Muslim military.
As time went on, the Muslims prospered under these Muslim states which had trade relations with nearby islands and even far off countries like India and China. By that time, the Philippines does not exist yet as a country rather as a group of islands where different sultanates rule over different lands where many of these are Muslim governments.
The Philippine islands was only named as the Philippines because of King Philip who was the king of Spain during the colonization of the Philippine islands which some refer to as Maharlika islands.
The first attempt to conquer the Philippines was made by a Portuguese sailor working for Spain named Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. He is also known for being leading the fleet of ships that is first to circumnavigate the world. He was able to convert some people to Christianity according to historians but he failed in Christianizing and conquering Mactan in Cebu in the central Philippines when a local Muslim chieftain Lapu-lapu lead a counter-attack against the superior fighting force of the Spaniards who were armored and wielded firearms.
Lapu-lapu led a group of warriors armed with machetes, sword, and bamboo spears and fought the well-armed and armored conquerors on the seashore.
Lapu-lapu killed Ferdinand Magellan thus earning himself the title as the first Filipino freedom fighter.
Lapu-lapu is continually remembered today by having his silhouette used by the Philippine National Police in their official Seal as a sign of bravery.
THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD MORO
When the Spanish returned to the Philippines in the mid-1500s after the failure of Ferdinand Magellan to conquer Cebu, they conquered Manila where they encountered more Muslims under the leadership of Raja Sulayman whose castle stood in the area now known as Intramuros.
This discovery led them to call the Filipino Muslims as Moros which is in reference to the Moors who occupied Spain for more than 800 years whom they have recently conquered by invading Andalus or Muslim Spain.
Some Muslims see being called a Moro in a negative light because according to theme, calling the Filipino Muslims as Moros of the Muslim lands as Bangsamoro is affirmative of the subservience of the Filipino Muslims to the colonial rule that named them as such. But this is very far from the truth. In contrary, being called a Moro is affirmative to the Bangsamoro identity as unique nation and is affirmative to the resilience of the Moro people.
THE MORO RESILIENCE
In 1575 the Spanish started spreading Catholicism in the Philippines through the use of missionaries. But these missions are often accompanied also by conquest and invasion where the vanquished Filipinos are subjected to forced labor and other cruelties.
This has been recorded in history as an era of human rights abuse that even the Non-Muslim freedom fighters and intellectuals like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio tried to address.
Though much of the Philippines converted, the Moros, however, stood firm in their faith.Great Muslim leaders such as Sultan Kudarat of Mindanao and Raja Sulayman of Manila and our very own Datu Bago of Davao City continued the legacy of Lapu-lapu in their fight for freedom.
Upon the fall of Muslim territories in Luzon and Visayas in the Central Philippines, most Muslims fled to the Muslim strongholds in the area that is now known as Muslim Mindanao or Bangsamoro.
The Moros have a history of resistance against Spanish, American, and Japanese rule for over 400 years. But now, since the cessation of hostilities between the government and the Muslims, the Moros are collectively known as progressive partners to peace and progress of the Philippine government.
COMMITMENT TO PEACE
The Filipino Muslims are known as traders and professionals in different fields. Many Filipino Muslims have made their mark in academics, sports and others which proves that the Moro race is committed to peace and cooperation with its country.
Although a minority, Muslims in the Philippines enjoy the privilege of practicing their religion freely. The Philippine constitution protects freedom of religion and protects the Muslims from being discriminated or being religiously profiled. Muslim civil law is also honored in the Philippines such as on issues of allowing a Muslim man to marry up to four wives, issues of inheritance and others.
Upon the presidency of President Rodrigo Duterte much hope is seen specially in the enactment of the Bangsamoro Basic Law which will pave way to a new Bangsamoro political entity which will further the political and economic interests of the Bangsamoro even more which will safeguard its development by granting it more autonomy.
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