“Arabic and Islamic Influences in the Philippines and Southeast Asia”

SEA 30 lecture Part 1

Macrina A. Morados
Assistant Professor 6
Institute of Islamic Studies
University of the Philippines
Place of Islam…

Map showing the spread of Islam during the death of Prophet

Muhammad saw in 632
Souce: The Islamic World to 1600 / The University of Calgary
Copyright © 1998, The Applied History Research Group
Source:
The Islamic World to 1600 / The University of Calgary
Copyright © 1998, The Applied History Research Group
Source:
The Islamic World to 1600 / The University of Calgary
Copyright © 1998, The Applied History Research Group
Locating Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia geographically

covers the regions located on
the south of China
 east of India,
west of New Guinea
and North of Australia.

It comprises the countries of

Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East
Timor, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore and Vietnam. 
Regional diversity and dynamism

 “Muslim Archipelago” or “Malay

Archipelago” refers to the maritime
region of Southeast Asia

 Nusantara, in Malay means the 

Malay World

Obviously, this somehow suggests

important connection with Islam

Of the estimated 1.6 billion Muslim

populations in the world, there are
over 240 million Muslims in the region
which is about

It is home to more than half a billion people 42% of the total Southeast Asian
population
 mosaic of four of the world’s great
religions: 25% of the total world Muslim
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam population.
More than 1000 ethnic groups.
“multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-
cultural”
The Arabic and Islamic Connections

1. The Role of Southeast Asia in the Maritime

Trade
1.1 Geographical Advantage

2. Pre-Islamic Era

2. Islamic Era

3. The China Link

Geographic Advantage

The entire region is affected by the

monsoon winds,
 which blow regularly from the
northwest and then reverse to blow
from the southeast.
 wind systems bring fairly predictable
rainy seasons
wind systems enabled traders from
outside the region to arrive and leave
at regular intervals.

Because of this reliable wind pattern,

Southeast Asia became a meeting
place for trade between India and
China, the two great markets of early
Asia.
 The Pre –Islamic Connection:
The maritime routes from South Asia to Southeast Asia and China were along the
east coast of South Asia and Ceylon cross the Bay of Bengal to the Malay Peninsula

 Initially in the 1st century AD, specific trade contacts were on the western and
eastern coasts of the Malayan peninsula (Hall 1985).

Within Southeast Asia, the maritime trading routes connected southern Sumatra
and western Java to the ongoing trade routes in the northern part of the Malayan
peninsula.

By the fifth century AD, the Straits of Malacca became the direct trade route which
connected the northwestern Java Sea region with the major trade routes involved in
the global trade exchanges between China, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the eastern
Mediterranean (Wolters 1967).

( cited by Sing C. Chew in :The Southeast Asian Connection in the First Eurasian
World Economy 200 BC – AD 500)
 
https://openendedsocialstudies.files.wordpress.com/
2016/06/f04a05c5755631bb1d65377a075a8c1f.jpg
https://openendedsocialstudies.org/2016/06/25/the-silk-
road-international-trade-and-global-prosperity/
The Islamic Era and the China Link

China is considered
most developed
civilization during the
time of Prophet
Muhammad (saw)
Early Companions of the Prophet Migrated to
Abyssinia
 Dr. Sayyid Qudratullah Fatimi, the well-known Pakistani scholar, attempted a
search on the fate of these companions of the prophet

 he was able to gain further knowledge of at least five of them.

 He came across a tradition of south Indian Muslims that a companion of the
prophet named Tamim Ansari is supposed to be buried in Kovalam, (Covelong)
on the coromandel Coast, a place known to the Arabs as Ma’bar, an important
port haven for Muslim traders from arab lands, sailing further east.
Professor Fatimi believes that Tamim Ansari is none other than Tamim bin al-
Harith bin Qays. (Ar, “Ansari” helper)
 Regarding and more carefully interpreting various Chinese records, while
correcting past studies of western scholars, professor Fatimi arrived at following:
four Muslim wise men are reported to have come to china during the Wu-te
period (618-626) during the Tang dynasty.
 Their leader was Su-ha-pai Sai kan Kan-ko-shihn (or Said Sa’d bin Abd Qays).
 He is supposed to have been buried in canton (Guangzhou, khanfu of the
Arabs) after having preached there.
The other three were: Kai-Ssu (Qays bin Hudhafa), Wu-Ai-Ssu (Wu-Wai-Ssu) or
(Urwah bin abi uththan) and Wan-ko-Ssu (Abu Qais bin al-Harith). Two of the last
three are believed to have died and been buried in Chúan-chou (Quanzhou,
Zaitun of the Arabs) in Fu-kien province.
Muslim Official Delegation

During the time of Caliph

Uthman (RA) he dispatched
official delegation to China 29 AH
(650 CE) 18 years after the death
of the Prophet (saw) under the
leadership of Sa’ad Ibn Waqqas
Inviting the Tang Dynasty Emperor
Gaozong (Li Zhi) to Islam

However, even before this

official delegation there were
already existing Muslim settlers
including traders traversing along
the Silk Route (land and sea)
Theories of Islamization: SEA
1. Trade Theory
2. Missionary Theory
3. Political theory
4. Economic Theory
5. Spiritual Aspirations and
Expectations
6. Crusader Theory
Trade Theory

Traders who
are Muslims
brought along
with them their
faith
Started the
early Muslim
settlement
Missionary Theory
Missionaries like the
Mashayks travelled to spread
Islam
Following the Prophetic
tradition
Accounts having some
mystical attributes
e.g. walking above the surface
of the water.
Missionaries who belonged to
certain Sufi Order
3. Political Theory

 the case of Pasai- Samudra where a Hindu

leader was converted to Islam and his
subjects also converted
 The establishment of small kingdoms in the
coastal areas of South East Asia i.e. Kalah,
Trengganu, Menangkabaw, Perlak and
eventually the Sulu and Maguidanao
Sultanates in the case of the Philippines
 Ibn Batuta affirmed in his visit meeting the
Sutan of Pasai
 And wrote the controversial account of the
island women in Tawalisi in his Ajaib
 Philippine version of Princess Urduja a legend
now immortalized by Filipino National Painter
Fernando Amorsolo (1350-1400)
Economic Theory
 Muslim traders represented higher
civilization i.e. High standard and way of life
due to their wealth
 Kareemul Makhdum for instance means: the
one who is generous and the one to be
served- the
 Dominate the trade activities
 Marco Polo’s account revealed that he has
visited various kingdoms in SEA one he
described the Pasai-Samudra whose leader
Mera Silo converted to Islam, a generous and
just Muslim ruler
 Abundance of wealth and active
participation in maritime trading
Spiritual Aspiration and Expectation Theory

 Filled some spiritual vacuum

brought about by the rationality
and practicality of Islam
 Liberating religion –
emancipating from the burden
of the caste system
 Belongingness to the larger
Ummah of Muslims
 Islam became a way of life
Crusade Theory

 This is in response to the

coming of the colonizers
 Muslims felt the need to
defend their faith from
colonial aggression
 What is Islam
The Fallacy…..
The Reality is….

 It is a religion  It has no founder

 Not just a religion but it is a way
founded by Prophet of life
Muhammad  Islam is not new, one of the
Abrahamic Faiths i.e. Judaism,
 Islam is a new Christianity and Islam
Religion after  The Adherents to the faith are
called Muslims
Christianity  Muslim technically means
complete submission to the Will
of Allah
 The Broader Context of Islam

• ISLAM is taken from the Arabic word [ ‫]ﻡﻝﺱ‬ or

‫ ﺳﺘﺴﻠﻢ ﺇ‬which means:
– Release, freedom and redemption from inner and
outer evil;
– Peace and security;
– Order and harmony;
– Obedience, surrender and submission to the Will
of Allah.
How do Muslims call their Creator?
• Why not God?  “Allah” swt
 Gods/Goddess/  “Unique, Pure and
 Godesses One”
 “god”
 “There is nothing
whatever like unto
Him.”  [Al-Qur’an
42:11]
Six Articles of Faith

 Part of being a Muslim is to believe in the

Prophethood of Nabi Isa (Jesus)
 One chapter of the Quran is named Surah Al-
Imran
 One chapter is named Surah Al-Maryam
 Issues Relating to Shari’ah
The Reality is …..
The Fallacy…..
 The Maqasid al-Shari’ah provides
 Shari’ah is about stoning to the ultimate objectives of the Law
death in the case of  It aims to protect the five
Adultery essentials

 It is about cutting the hand

Core values protected by the
of the theft Shari’ah:
 Oppression of women – ‫ﻦ‬+‫ ﺍﻟﺪﻳ‬Religion
– ‫ ﺍﻟﻨﻔﺲ‬Life
– ‫ ﺍﻟﻨﺴﻞ‬Progeny
– ‫ ﺍﻟﻌﻘﻞ‬Intellect
– ‫ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﻝ‬Property
– ‫ ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺾ‬Honor
The Message of Islam is set in the
Glorious Qur’an which contains:
• Religious Sciences
• Natural and Physical Sciences
• Law and Governance
• Ethics and Morality
• International Relations
(including Laws on War and Peace)
• Economics and Trade Relations
• History and Eschatology
 The Golden Age of Islam
Many cultures experienced
golden ages, including the
Greeks and Persians

A golden age is a time of ,

Mosque in Cordova, 10 th Century
prosperity, and great cultural
achievements. Muslim cities such as Baghdad,
Istanbul, Cairo, Tripoli and Cordoba
became cultural and intellectual
centers where theologians, scholars,
scientists, artists, writers,
philosophers, mathematicians and
others convened for scholarship,
experimentation and discovery.

The Court of the Lions, Alhambra, Spain ©

ISLAMIC SCHOOL

The ethos of learning was a culture where enquiring minds searched for truth based on scientific
rigor and experimentation, where opinion and speculation were cast out of unworthy pupils.
This system of learning embodied by medieval Islam formed the backbone and foundation from
which came forth the exceptional inventions and discoveries.
 House of Wisdom

The heyday of Baghdad was twelve hundred

years ago when it was thriving capital of the
Islamic world. It was world’s richest city and a
centre for intellectual development, being
second in size only to Constantinople, with over
one million inhabitants.

Syrian stamps issued in 1994 showing al-Kindi, a leading

scholar in the House of Wisdom, who translated the work
of Aristotle.
The Professor’s Chair

It is this notion of a
chair or kursi, that
evolved into a
professional position,
like the chair of a
board or a committee.

You must have wondered why a chairman or woman, a

professional head of an organization, is called by such
title.

Muslim schools and universities over a thousand years ago, we’ll find a study circle
or a Halaqat al-‘ilm or halaqa gathered around a professor who was seated on a
chair, or kursi in Arabic.
“if he (the teacher) is indeed wise he does not bid
you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads
you to the threshold of your own mind.
Khalil Gibran in his book The Prophet
In Muslim countries a thousand
years ago, the school was the
mosque. Subjects included science
and religion that sat side by side
comfortably, which was not the
case in other parts of the world.
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)
made the mosque the main place of
learning, traveling between them,
teaching and supervising schooling.
He also sent teachers to the tribes
and they were called Ahl al-‘ilm or
“the people with knowledge.”
Bayazid II Kulliyeh, a university complex consisting of
mosque, madrasa and hospital in Edirne, Turkey

By 7th century, there were nine mosques I Medina, which is now Saudi
Arabia.
By the 10th century, teaching was moving away from the mosque and into
the teacher’s house, which meant that gradually schools developed, in Persia
first.
 By 15th century, the Ottomans had revolutionized schools by setting up learning
complexes in towns lIke Bursa and Edirne in Turkey. Their school was called Kulliyeh,
and constituted a campus-like education, with a mosque, hospital, school, public
kitchen and dining area. These made learning accessible to the wider public while
also offering free meals, health care and sometimes accommodation.
Universities
Muslims are urged to throughout the
Quran to seek knowledge, observe and
reflect.

School and university education both

began in the Mosque but University in
Arabic is Jamiah, which is the feminine
form of the Arabic for mosque.

Financial support for students was part

of the educational package. This was
made possible by endowments from royal
families.

Muslims institutionalized higher level

education. There were entrance exams,
challenging finals, degree certificates,
study circles, international students and
grants.
Famous mosque university is al-
Azhar, which is still running today,
one thousand and thirty years later.
A grand college mosque complex
was al-Qarawiyin I Fez, Morocco.
Libraries

Right from the 8th century Muslims began producing books,

because they knew how to make paper, and because they were
greatly encouraged to record all their experiments.
Before the science books came the very first book in Islam
in the 7th century. This was the Quran, which was revealed to
Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) in the form of messages called
Aayats or verses.
The Umayyad rulers of Spain had a library of six hundred
thousand volumes in their huge Cordoba library. So much
better was the company of books for al-Hakan II, caliph in
Spain from 961 to 978, that he said they we’re more
consuming passion than his throne.
Mosque libraries were called dar al-kutub, or
“The House of Books,” and they were the focus
of intellectual activity.

Aleppo in Syria probably had the largest and

oldest mosque library, called ‘the Sayfiya,’ at
the city’s grand Umayyad Mosque, with a
collection of ten thousand volumes.

The public library of Hulwan in Baghdad,

from a 13th century manuscript of the Maqamat
or Assemblies of al-Hariri

Mosque libraries were called dar al-kutub, or

“the house of Books,” and they were the focus
of intellectual activity.
Famous Muslims from the Islamic Golden
Age:

A large number of Muslims made historical

achievements during the Islamic Renaissance. Only a few
are listed below.

Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, regarded as the "father of

modern surgery," invented and documented more than
two hundred surgical instruments. He was also a pioneer
in the use of anesthesia.

Abu Ali al-Hasan (Alhazen) is famous for his

groundbreaking work in the field of optics.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi developed algebra and
algorithms.
Ibn al-Nafis was the first person to accurately describe the human
circulatory system. He also authored Islamic texts and the first
work of science fiction, Theologus Autodidactus.

Abu Bakr al-Razi, the "father of pediatrics," wrote the first book
which specialized in childhood diseases. He also discovered the
relationship between bacteria and infections, and initiated the
use of antiseptics to clean wounds.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) compiled the famous 14-volume medical

encyclopedia, The Canon of Medicine (the Qanun). Completed in
1025, The Canon of Medicine remained a medical standard in the
West up until the early 19th century.
Other Contributions in the Islamic Golden Age

The Islamic world's heightened interest in learning

during the Middle Ages resulted in significant
achievements in many fields. Frequently cited
contributions of the Golden Age include:

The world's oldest degree-issuing university, Al-

Karaouine, was established in Fez in 859 and the first full
university, Al Azhar, opened in Cairo in 975.
Distillation, filtration, crystallization, evaporation and
other chemical processes were introduced by Muslim
alchemists.
The first pharmacies were established in Baghdad
in the 8th century.

Spherical trigonometry, analytical geometry,

integral calculus and many other advances were
made by Muslim mathematicians.

Many masterpieces of Islamic architecture were

built, including the Alhambra in Granada (Spain), the
Great Mosque of Xi'an (China), the Great Mosque at
Cordoba (Spain), and the Great Mosque of Samarra
(Iraq).
The world's first observatories, public hospitals,
psychiatric institutions and universities emerged in the
medieval Islamic world.
The renowned work of Arabic fiction, One Thousand
and One Nights (Arabian Nights), took shape between
the 10th and 14th centuries.
Exquisite works of Islamic art were produced in
ceramics, woodworking, painting, calligraphy, carpet
making, mosaics and more.
In the field of Medicine……

Muslim doctors learned how to diagnose

diseases like smallpox and measles
 Muslims borrowed the concept of zero
from India and developed Arabic numerals

Muslim
mathematicians
also
made
advances
in algebra
and geometry.
.
 “Mathematics is the door and key of the sciences and
things of this world..It is evident that if we want to
Mathematics come to certitude without doubt and to truth without
terror, we must place the foundations of knowledge in
mathematics.”

Muslim mathematicians were calculating with great intensity hundred years earlier. Many of
these mathematicians came from the Iran/Iraq region around 800 CE, when the House of
Wisdom was the leading intellectual academy in Baghdad.

Al-Khwarizmi introduced the beginnings of algebra. It was a revolutionary move away from
the Greek concept of mathematics, which was essentially based on geometry.

Algebra was a unifying theory that allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers and
geometrical magnitudes to all be treated as algebraic objects.

Al-khwarizmi the father of algebra on commemorative stamp issued in 1983.

Algebra is only one area where Muslim mathematicians significantly changed the course of
its development.

Mathematics was also needed in business and everyday use, and in particular counting
systems were essential.
Trigonometry

The birth of trigonometry lies in in

astronomy, one of the sciences studies most
vigourosly by the Muslims, particularly due to
its relevance in determining the exact times of
the ritual prayers.

Al-tusi a Muslim astronomer, made the

crucial observation that established the link
between triangles and arcs of angles.

A chain of Muslim scholars had already laid

the foundations of trigonometry before the 10 th
century. It was al-Battani, born in Haran,
Turkey who was one of the most influential
figures in trigonometry. He was the first to use
the expression “sine” and “cosine.”
The advent of trigonometrical
functions and their use in
mathematics have
revolutionized mathematical
sciences, and trigonometry can
now be added to the list of
essential areas of knowledge
mastered by the Muslims and
subsequently conveyed to
Europe through various routes.
Chemistry
Materials like plastic, rayon, artificial
rubber and petrol, and medicines such as
insulin and penicillin, all stem from the
chemical industry of early Muslims, who
were real chemistry revolutionaries.

There are three people who stand out in

Muslim chemistry from a golden era
spanning two hundred years: Jabir ibn
Hayyan, born in Iran in 722 CE and died
in 815; Muhammad ibn Zakariya’ al-Razi
from Iran in 865 to circa 925 and al-Kindi
from Iraq in 801 to 873.

Jabir ibn Hayyan or Geber was known

in the west as Geber and all the scholars
unanimously agree that he is the founder
of chemistry.
The distillation process from an 18th century
Arabic treatise on chemistry. The Arabc texts
refers to the various vessels and the alembic,
describing how the condensation is
conveyed from the upper cooling vessel to
the recipient flask.
Geometry
Muslims are famous for
intricate and elegant
geometrical designs decorating
their historic buildings.
Geometry had special
significance also for Muslims
artists, architects and
calligraphers. They had a keen
awareness of the affinity
between measurements in
nature and mathematical
expressions, and they were
constantly inspired by these
Tile from Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain. deep connections.
Most Islamic tile designs have geometrical
and mathematical codes.
Planet Earth
Al Biruni
-11th Century Polymath

Muhammad Al-Battani
10th Century Baghdad
Astronomer

Claudius Ptolemy
-one of the 1st Ibn Hazm
astronomers in 2nd -10th Century man
century CE of letters
Al-Khujandi
-Tajikistan Mathematician
and astronomer
 Maslama

John of Seville

Surveying
 Earth Science

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

James Hutton
 Earth Science

Al Biruni
-11th Century Polymath

Many of these findings are now

ascribed to James Hutton who lived James Hutton
in the century… but… the
fundamental principles of geology
were put forward many centuries
before
 Natural Phenomena

Al-Kindi

Ibn al-Haytham
Ibn Al-Haytham also
studied and explained
the halo effect and the
visual effect of why
the Moon appears
larger than it is.

Kamal al-Din al-Farisi

later carried on Ibn
Al-Haytham`s work
in the splitting of
white light.

Kamal al-Din al-

Farisi
Natural Phenomena
 Geography

Al-Muqaddasi was a 10th

century Muslim
geographers and
Muhammad ibn
produced this book for
Musa al-Khwarizmi his travel

A stamp, issued in 1962,

showing map of old Baghdad
as described by Al-Ya`qubi (9th
Century) and the water system
networks as reconted by
Suhrab (10th Century)
 Geography

Muhammad al-Idrisi
-Muslim geographer,
cartographer, Egyptologist
and traveler who lived in Idrisi map of the world
Sicily drawn for King Rogers II

An artistic impression showing al-Idrisi in the

court of Roger II of Sicily with a silver globe that
he created to show that the Earth was spherical
 Maps

Christopher Columbus
- Italian explorer,
navigator, and colonizer

Piri Ibn Haji

Muhammad (Piri Re`is)
-Turkish captain (16th
Century)
The western section of the
Maps
1513 world map by Piri Re`is
which is the oldest surviving Map by Piri Re`is from
detailed map showing the his 16th century book,
America Kitab-i-bahriye,
showing Cyprus
 Travelers and Explorers
Pilgrim Caravan to Mecca,
from the Maqamat of al-
Hariri, 1237 C.E.

Ibn Batuta
-was a Moroccan explorer of
Berber descent. He is known
for his extensive travels,
accounts of which were
published in the Rihla
 Travelers and Explorers

13th Century miniature of an

Al-Muqaddasi
eastern Muslim boat from the
-Arab Cartographer,
Maqamat or assemblies of al
Geographer, 
Hariri, where the Arabic writing
refers to a sea voyage =, and
mention a verse from the Qur`an
referring to Noah`s ark
 Travelers and Explorers
Seek knowledge as far as China
-Prophet Mohammad (saw)

Manuscript showing 10th Century

Ibn Fadlan`s Risalah, which was
an account of his journey into
northern Europe
Navigation

Ahmad ibn Mājid 
-was an Arab navigator and cartographer
born in 1421 in Julphar
Baylaq al-Qibjani

Book of Piri Re`is that contains the map of the Mediterranean (16th Century)
Sea Exploration “We have… beheld in
the ocean huge waves
like mountains
risking sky-high, and
we have set eyes on
barbarian regions far
away, hidden in a
blue transparency of
light vapors, while
our sails, loftily
unfurled like clouds,
day and night
continued their
course rapid like that
Zheng He of a star, transversing
- was a mariner, explorer, diploma, and fleet the savage waves as if
admiral during China`s early Ming Dynasty. we were treading a
- commanded expeditionary voyages to South East public thoroughfare
Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa - In his biography,
 from 1405 to 1433. Ming Shih
-- has the Seven Epic Voyages
Code Breaking and
Cryptography

Al-Kindi
-was an Iraqi Muslim Arab
philosopher, mathematician, physician,
An Enigma machine that
and musician.
was
-was the first of used to encrypt
the Muslim military
peripatetic
messages
philosophers, in WWII. It was
and is unanimously
hailed as theAl-Kindi
"father ofwho laiodorthe
Islamic
foundation of cryptography
Arabic philosophy"
 Weaponry
Al-Rammah  was the
first Muslim chemist
to successfully create Ibn Aranbugha al-
and engineer modern Zardkash
explosives.
 Castles and Keeps
Loopholes Parapet
Round towers Battlements

Machicolation

Bonding columns

Barbican
 Social Science and Economy
Al-Muqaddimah or
Ibn Khaldūn 
“Introduction [to a History of
-was an Arab historiographer
the world]’ during a period
and historian, regarded to be
of enforced exile, taking
among the founding fathers of
refuge in Algeria, while
modern historiography sociology
running from Fez because of
and economics.
political unrest. The first
volume gave a profound and
-used a revolutionary approach
detailed analysis of Islamic
to writing history and his
society, referring and
methodolgy is still uses by
comparing it to other cultures
historians today
, and he traced the rise and
fall of human societies in a
science of civilization
End of the Islamic Golden Age

The Crusades in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Mongol invasions
in the 13th century and a number of plagues contributed to the
weakening of the Islamic world and a gradual ending of the Islamic
Golden Age. In subsequent centuries, Western invasions,
colonialism, and economical and political issues all led to the
eventual abolition of the Islamic Caliphate in 1924.
 Non-Muslims under Muslim Rule
they were not forced to live in ghettoes or other special
locations
they were not slaves
they were not prevented from following their faith
they were not forced to convert or die under Muslim rule
they were not banned from any particular ways of earning a
living; they often took on jobs shunned by Muslims;
these included unpleasant work such as tanning and butchery
but also pleasant jobs such as banking and dealing in gold and silver
they could work in the civil service of the Islamic rulers
Jews and Christians were able to contribute to society and
culture
City of Toledo, under Muslim Rule
 WHO ARE THE MUSLIMS IN THE
PHILIPPINES?
• consist of 13 ethno-linguistic groups
• distributed according to their respective geographical
locations. The first three are the largest groups.
• Maranao - Lanao del Sur
• Maguindanao - Maguindanao Province and Cotabato
• Tausug - Sulu
• Sama
• Yakan • Kolibugan
• Sangil • Jama Mapun
• Palawani • Iranun
• Molbog • Ka’agan
• Badjao
• The number of Balik-Islam (reverts to Islam) surged
remarkably but are not counted in favor to the Muslim
population.
 Islam in the Philippines
 The coming of Islam to the Philippines was part of the
Islamization process of the Malay world in Southeast
Asia through the movement of Sufi preacher, traders
and scholars

 Sulu Archipelago 13th century

Tuan Mashaika
Karimul Makhdum
Rajah Baguinda
Sharif Abubakar- founded the prestigious Sultanate of
Sulu
The Muslims in the Philippines :Sources
History

1. Oral Traditions
2. Tarsilas or Genealogical
account
3. Khutbah ( Religious sermons)
4. Jawi Materials ( official
correspondence of the Ruling
Datu with the colonizers)
Shrine of Ahmad Timhar
Maqbalu located at Bud Datu,
Jolo, Sulu
 Said the Prophet
peace be upon him: “
Whoever dies far
away dies a martyr”
Allah has taken away
the blessed martyr
Tuhan Maqbalu on
the date: the sacre
month , holy month
of Raja . May allah
swt increase its
Stone Inscription of Bud Datu holiness. The year 10
Shrine and 700.

1310 AD
Close view of the pillar of
the first Masjid in the
Philippines
Shrine of a companion of Karimul
Makhdum in Simunul Island, Tawi-
Tawi
Close up picture of
Shrine
Shrine of Makhdum Aminullah
and his companion Chinese
Muslim located at Bud Agad, Sulu
Entrance to the shrine of Poontaw Kung
Shrine of Poontaw
Kung
Shrine of Sulu Sultan Padukah Batara
who died in Dezhou, China in 1417
Mainland Mindanao (early quarter of 16th Century)

attributed to Sharif Awliya and Maraja

believed to be from Malaysia

establishment of early Muslim settlements

around Malabang Area

Sharif Kabungsuwan strengthened early

Muslim political institution and was
responsible in the establishment of the
Maguindanao and later the Lanao Sultanate
B. The Maguindanao Sultanate
Muslims in Luzon

Rajah Sulaiman and Lakan

Dula in Tondo reigned in
Tondo even before Spaniards
launched massive campaign
against the Muslims in Luzon
in 1572
 Jawi in Perspective
• Spread and encounter
• Center and margin
• Moment in history
• Islamization, colonialism, neo-colonialism
• Jawi in Southern Philippines: Surat Sug
(Tausug), Kirim (Maguindanao)
• From jawi to Arabic language
 Surat Sug & Kirim
• Reflects the general feature of jawi
• Has its own distinction and nuance
• Arabic: 28 letters
• Jawi: 34 letters
• Surat Sug
• Kirim
• Oldest Arabic/jawi text in Sulu: Tomb of Tuan
Maqbalu (1310)
Moro-Moro Satirical to depict Moros as savage, brutal and
uncivilized
 Text and Context
• Interplay of text and context in understanding
jawi in the Philippines
• Language grows; words die and develop
• Internal & external stimuli and pressures
• Language and art of diplomacy
 Islamic Influence
 Folk-Islam is the blending of normative beliefs
and rites with pre-Islamic beliefs and customs
found in Muslim communities throughout the
world of Islam.
 Folk-Islam is like “Folk-Christianity” is to be
understood as an indigenous response to, and
accommodation of, a great faith introduced from
outside the indigenous culture
LITTLE TRADITION: Manifestations
of Folk Islam

Manifestations of the “little tradition” among

Muslim Filipinos are to be found mainly outside
of the mosque and its associated rituals and
more in the realm of folk beliefs, customs
related to agriculture and in the “rites of
passage.”
Example belief in the diwatas, spirits, tonongs and
some rituals like the peg-umbu of the Badjaos
and some Samas.
GREAT TRADITION OF ISLAM

Among Muslim Filipinos it is manifested:

 Islamic names ( Ibrahim, Muhammad, Fatimah)
 Titles ( Sultan, Shiek, Shariff, Sayyid, Sitti)
 Madrasah (Islamic religious schools)
 Shari’ah Courts ( Qadi, Aleem, Ustadz)
 Strict avoidance of Pork
 Circumcision of male sibling before attaining
the age of puberty ( ideal 7 days after birth)
 Dominant Islamic Symbols

1. Masjid- located in population centers or capitals.

2. Langgal- remote areas
- it’s design is differ from mosque.
- resembles the southeast house of prayer.
3.Madrasah – Educational System attached to the masjid

Religious Rituals

1. Ramadhan ( Edl Fitr and Edl Adha)

2. Mauludin Nabi
3. Five pillars of Islam
4. .Jihad and Juramentado
Construction of Muslim Identity


Religion ( Rituals, five Pillars of Islam, 6 Articles
of Faith )

History ( Colonial to Post Colonial

Ethnicity ( Maratabbat, Martabat, Adat
Tabiat)

From Tau Suluk to MORO to Bangsamoro

Muslim Filipino ( Tan, Mastura, Canacan)

Filipino Muslims viz a viz Muslim Filipino

Right to Self Determination (Misuari, Salamat)
Cultural: Oral and Literary Traditions

Musical , Dance and Oral Traditions

1. Suwa-suwa
2. Pusong
3. Pangalay
4. Kata-kata
5. Daling-daling
6. Luguh
7. Duldang-duldang
8. Ligaya
9. Tenes-tenes
10.Leleng
MALONG PATADYONG
KULINTANG GABBANG
SINGKIL
 Artistic Design
1. Ukkil(Sulu)/Okir(Lanao)- a fern like
design.
2. Sarimanok- sari mosque
3. Gulis(in Sulu)- commonly seen in design
utensils, instrument, tools.
- Is a line pattern produced by one upward,
downward or sideward stroke of the hand.
- It is a native and common throughout the
archipelago.
UKIR
Catholic 82.9% (Roman Catholic 80.9%,
Aglipayan 2%)
Muslim 5%
Evangelical 2.8%
Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%
other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified
0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)

Population107,668,231 (July 2014 est.)

http://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/demogr
aphics_profile.html

(NCMF 2012 : Muslims 9 to 11 Million)

References:

http://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=141521&p=930133
Information based on The World Factbook - CIA