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Fernandez, Joanna Lynne M.

March 01, 2013

2012-51684

Abraham Sakili

Art Studies 1 Reaction Paper #2


Review on "THE ISLAMIZED GROUPS IN THE PHILIPPINES: Underscoring System
Problems And Mitigating Their Predicaments As Citizens"
As members of this diverse planet, we humans differ in many ways depending on
specific conditions. Be it in the manner of speaking, dressing, or even in our food
preferences, we all have different media on how we translate ourselves to others. As a
biologist, I view life differently from other types of persons. I may see certain processes
that others cannot. I may believe in evolution while others in creationism. No matter what
it is, I'll still be different and simply unique. Initially, it is not wrong to be not in the same
page as others for we, as humans, have our own brains that transmit signals telling us
what to do, and through genetic diversity, what one thinks is not necessarily the same
with others. For me, this simply explains how it is okay to be different. But based on
present statistics, discrimination has been increasing in the past years. Why so? Asked
why discrimination exists, my friend said "Discrimination exists because in this planet
where we live rules the law of the fittest, which is the law of the jungle. Animals and
human beings use any means to compete with others." One book I read answers this
question by stating that "It [discrimination] is human nature. We'll always gonna find
something to hate or dislike about eachother. You can't have love without hate and vice
versa." With all these premises in mind, I just can't help but feel troubled about it.
Clearly, discrimination has been increasing for the past decades and it has been affecting

many lives since then. One of the most talked about issue of discrimination is the
discrimination between different religions (religious belliefs). From as early as 2000 BC
different kinds of religions have sprung and spreaded worldwide. As of now, differences
in religious beliefs still exist across the planet and that does not exclude our own country
- the Philippines. Thus, this leads us to the real issue of the Philippine society this paper
really wants to answer regarding the widespread Christian discrimination against
Muslims. This paper will also talk about stuffs about Islam history to highlight significant
events.
I.
Like what had been said earlier, it is just normal to be different from others. We,
humans, follow different sets of genetic code which lead us to think and act differently.
But this variation does not simply end within an organism. As organisms join together,
they form population until they become a community. Within this community, differences
still continue. What determines these differences? What factors contribute to these?
Samuel Huntington and Edgar Schein once said that it is really culture that conditions the
relations within the community/society. The problem here is that culture is not easily
understood by all. Usually, this "primary factor" is taken for granted. Many regard culture
as something that is materialistic, which is wrong or not enough. To understand one's
culture, "one must attempt to get at its shared basic assumptions." Also, culture is said to
be operational at the unconscious level and therefore must be the most meaningful.
Finally, it can be concluded that culture is the "genetic code" of a society. This means that
it is through culture that a society functions and acts. A society depends on the rules and
preferences set by its culture.

II.
Before tackling the Muslim problems, it is important to have some background or
overview of their culture - who they really were, where they're from, and most especially,
what their beliefs are. First, let's focus on the history of the Muslims in the Philippines.
Muslims in the Philippines live in the southern part. They are believers of Islam and are
sometimes called Moro. Like any other community, Muslim community has different
Muslim groups or tribes living within it. Each group occupies a distinct territory and
speaks a certain dialect. Their ways of living also vary. Some groups fished the rich seas
while some farmed the lands. Others, meanwhile, engaged in trade industries. For me,
these differences suggest how rich the Islam culture really is. They did not settle for
boring and plain things instead they let each group's belief shine. The diversity of the
Muslim communities proved how one community can still perform well despite
differences. This serves as a good example on how unity can still be achieved without
imposing one's beliefs on others which really caused troubles and wars back then.
But then, problems in a community cannot be simply disregarded. Although they
are "one Muslims", they differ in historical development, degree of contact with outside
people and culture, subsistence pattern of economic life and details of their socio-cultural
life. Muslims have also been compared to the Christians for the two groups shared some
commonality. Unlike the popularized Muslim-Christian difference,

there were

similarities between the two back then. They both were agriculturists who live in
permanent settlements. Also, the two groups were active in trade. Muslims were also
compared to the indigenous groups or the so-called katutubos. Both Muslims and
katutubos were treated minorities which was a little offensive and degrading. To be

treated second class is really not fair. With this unjust system, the Muslims and katutubos
protested and demanded the government "to ceate social justice to bring peace and
development."
III.
Thirteenth century was believed to be the time when Islam arrived in the
Philippines which marked the farthest eastward expansion of the religion. Why did Islam
spread so fast? Well, several factors like the interplay of political, economic,
psychological and social influenced the said rapid widespread. Aside from those, of
course, was the continuous preaching they did. Islamization in the Philippines began with
the Tausug and Sama, followed by Maguindanao and Maranao. The marriage of
Abubakar to Paramisuli signaled the start of Islamization of Sulu. Later on, Abubakar
became the chieftain of the place and there he formed the Sultanate of Sulu. He was also
the first that introduced the study of Q'uran, constructed house of worship and established
first madrasa. On the other hand, Sharief Kabungsuwan was the one who introduced
Islam to Mindanao. Islam also reached Lake Lanao then the Luzon provinces. The
coming of Islam was regarded as God's blessing. Why? It was because of Islam that the
people of said places learned new language, Islamic language, and moral-ethical
principles. Islam also provided ideology and system that gave rise to bangsa/nationality
and legalized institutions of sultanates. As a result of these changes, Muslim sultanates
"achieved high degree of power and controlled vast territories." In my perspective, this
event made it look like the ancient Filipinos were easily convinced by the new things
brought to them. Maybe, it was because they had been dormant for quite a long time and
just wanted to have change.

IV.
Due to the rapid widespread of Islam in various parts of the country, Islam culture
had also been patronized. Various rites had been performed such as paggunting,
kapagaroak, and many more. Visual arts also flourished during those times. Some of the
famous weaponry were produced by the Tausugs. Beautiful mats were created by Samas.
Badjaos were also famous for their creative boats. And of course, kulintangan and gongs
were among the most loved musical instruments. Figurative forms such as sarimanok,
manukmanuk and naga were among the contributions of Islam in visual arts. To conclude,
the Muslim artists were free to do what they think is art and pleasurable as long as they
do not break the rules of their religion. Most importantly, they should not create worship
idols which contradict their religious beliefs. For me, their discipline even in these kind
of things was admirable. Though it is true that every individual deserves to freely express
their emotions, it is more important to protect the legacy and integrity of the group where
you belong. I personally think it is a selfless act to not insist the thing that makes you
happy if in return, it damages your group.
V.
To better understand Muslims, we should also know one of their important
doctrines, the Tawhid. Tawhid is the core doctrine of Islam and basically means
monotheism or belief in One God (Allah). It encompasses both the physical (zahir) and
spiritual (batin) reality. The Muslims also have the so-called Five Pillars or their
obligatory acts. First is the Shaha'da or their way of professing their faith. Second is the
Sala'h or the need to pray 5 times a day. Third is the Sawm which pertains to their fasting

during Ramadan. Fourth is Zakat or the need to give tax or alms to the poor. Fifth is the
Hajj or their pilgrimage to Mecca. All of these five things are needed to be accomplished
by the Muslims while living on Earth. The Muslims also believe in the following (Six
Articles of Faith) : a) belief in Allah as the only God, b) belief in prophets of God such as
Muhammad, c) belief in holy books like their Q'uran, d) belief in angels of God, e) belief
in heaven and hell, and f) belief in God's will or predestination. Personally, I think that
these many practices and beliefs will help in making Muslim faith stronger. Through
these practices that the Islam religion will be known and continue to spread to other
places. These also symbolize the very rich culture that they have developed through time.
Completing all these will just prove how dedicated the Muslims really are in their
religion unlike other religions.
VI.
Through time, the Muslim sultanates proved their power and fought for their
independence. Most of the Mindanao areas were now Islamized due to the sultanates.
Maguindanao sultanate continued to expand especially during the time of Sultan Kudarat.
Sulu sultanate also prospered until it became the regional center of power in maritime
Southeast Asia for over a century. Spanish army tried to erase them together with their
religion but did not succeed due to the overwhelming power of the Muslim warriors. The
Muslim sultanates were proofs on how effective their way of leading is. Acting together
as one while fighting the conquistadors was exemplar and should serve as model for
every nation or community.
VII.

Islam continued to flourish in the southern parts of the Philippines. The problem
was, at the northern part of the country, the Filipinos were patronizing the Western culture
thus leading to the two streams of Philippine historical development : the Islamic and the
Western. The difference of the two was that the Islamic stream fought for the
maintenance of the Filipino roots while the Western stream adopted the Western way of
living and was influenced by Christianity. As time went by, the Western stream had
dominated and had left Islam at one stagnant corner. This dominance then led to what we
now call Moro problem. Because Muslims were regarded queer, some Filipinos looked
down on them and treated them unjustly. This problem still exists now which is why
proper teachings about Muslims should be done.
VIII.
Because of the dominance of the Western stream which led to the Bangsa
Filipino, the Muslims were left alone and lonely. They suffered from many
discriminations and one of these is about the unjust representation of Islam culture on
Philippine history textbooks. The textbooks nowadays are fabricated to make it look like
the Muslims did not do any part on the liberation. Worse, it makes Muslims look like
enemies of the ancestors which in reality were the ones who fought hard and wasted lives
just to resist the iron fist of the Spaniards. The Philippine history seems to have been
reconstructed to highlight the portions where the Muslims were not part. This makes me
sad because what the youth today are learning are not really the true events of the
country's past. Some valuabe information have been deleted. There'll be no chance for the
youth today to know how brave the Muslims really were and how they love the
Philippines enough to sacrifice their own lives for it.

IX.
Another major problem suffered by the Muslims is the continuous land grabbing
that happens in Mindanao areas. American planters "opened up the portals of Mindanao"
which displaced the people out of their beloved lands. This event forced the Muslims to
shift locations and just hide to small but quiet places. The arrival of Christians to Muslim
areas was said to be initiated by Commonwealth government under the leadership of
Manuel Quezon. Due to these land grabbings, the Muslims were left landless, homeless.
If only the government had become just, these scenarios should have not happened. It
was because of their personal biases and their discrimination towards others that these
unfateful events had occurred.
X.
It is clear that up until now, there is a misunderstanding between the Christian and
Muslim communities of the country. For some reasons, the Christians believe that it was
all because of their differences in faith that made them different from each other. But
many scholars believe that this problem should not be involving the sensitive side of
spirituality. But no matter what the reason is, this misundrstanding should be erased soon.
The negative Moro image had already hurt many Muslims and I think that it is already
enough. This should not be happening. We are all created as equal individuals thus we
need to respect each other.

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