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PHILIPPINES:
The Muslim Minorities.
By Abhoud Syed M. Lingga
Introduction
Many countries today have minority communities within
their borders. Che Man (1990:1-2) classified these into
three major categories.
1.
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The minority immigrant
populations. During the colonial period, workers
were recruited from other colonies to work in plantations,
mining and other industries. In recent years, immigration
of peoples who are induced by pull factors e.g.
economic opportunities; liberal policies of destination
countries and the push factors in their own countries
e.g. violent conflicts, lack of economic opportunities
and repressive government policies. Immigrant populations
have no attachment to any portion of the territory
of the nation-states; their concerns are the acceptability
by and equal rights to the dominant majority, and
equal access to social services and economic opportunities.
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2.
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The indigenous people who became
the minority in their homelands as the result of
colonial settlements. There are 300 million in
more than 70 countries. These peoples have retained
their social, cultural, economic and political
way of life but face the threat of being assimilated
into the majority populations. The aspirations
of the indigenous peoples are to ‘exercise
control over their own institutions, ways of life
and economic development and to maintain and develop
their identities, languages and religions, within
the framework of the States in which they live’ (International
Labor Organization 1989).
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3.
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Peoples who were incorporated into
the new nation-states after the departure of the
colonial powers. Before colonization these peoples
had their own political institutions, administrative
system trade and international relations with other
countries. Colonial intrusions in their territories
were not welcomed and often met with resistance.
When the colonial powers had to grant independence
to their colonies the territories of these peoples
were incorporated into the new nation-states. With
their history of political independence and distinct
way of life, these peoples claim they belong to
different nations from the majority. Their identities
are always linked to their traditional homeland. |
They feel uncomfortable living within the borders of
the new nation-states, which they perceive as successor-in-interest
of the colonial powers, and relish the memory of their
long history of political independence that they want
to revive in order to establish system of life in accordance
with their world view, culture, religion and social norms.
The Muslim minorities in the Philippines can be classified
under this third category. Although by number they are
a minority in a Christian dominated country, their historical
associations with the Muslims in Southeast Asia always
make them feel that they belong to the majority in the
region. This paper aims to investigate the ties of the
Muslims in the Philippines with the global Ummah,
and their relations with the national community. By doing
so, it will contribute to a better appreciation of their
continuing problematic relationship with the Philippine
government.
Ties with the Global Ummah
From the formation of the Muslim community in Mindanao
and Sulu, to the middle of the twentieth century the
ties of the Muslims in the Philippines with the global
Ummah were through Muslims in Southeast Asia. This was
due to the important role played by some of the ruling
regional families in the expansion of Islam in the Philippines.
Coming from the same racial stock, they shared many cultural
practices. Mindanao and Sulu, strategically located along
the trade route, facilitated contact and communication
with other Muslim principalities in the region. In fact,
Jolo was a bustling trading centre for several centuries.
Their contacts with Arab, Persian and Indian Muslims
were limited to traders and missionaries who came for
visits, although some stayed after marrying local women.
The coming of Islam to the Philippines according to Majul
(1999: 39-84) was an instance of the Islamization of
the Malay world in Southeast Asia. By the end of the
thirteenth century there was already a settlement or
colony of foreign Muslims in Sulu who were composed probably
of the families of Muslim traders and missionaries who
married local women and few converts (Majul 1999: 68).
It is difficult to determine when Islam actually arrived
in Mindanao and Sulu, but its expansion happened after
members of the ruling families in Sumatra and Johore
arrived and founded political institutions that facilitated
conversion of large populations. The first Sultan of
Sulu (Paduka Mahasari Maulana al-Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim)
whose reign was estimated between 1450 and 1480, was
reported in Sulu tarsilas to have come from
Sumatra. He married the daughter of Rajah Baguinda who
arrived earlier in Sulu from Menangkabaw. Sharif ul-Hashim
established in Sulu the political institution of sultanate.
In Mindanao, Sharif
Muhammad Kabungsuwan, who founded the Maguindanao sultanate,
arrived on the shores of Mindanao around 1515. According
to Maguindanao tarsilas he was the son
of Sharif ‘Ali Zein ul-‘Abidin from Arabia
and his mother belonged to the royal family of Johore.
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