Isla mi za tion of Mi nda nao and Sulu

Islamization is the process of Islam taking root among the people.

A

Islam arrived in the Philippines through the southern island of Sulu, Palawan and Mindanao.
The map shows the direction of Islam’s expansion to South East Asia, including Philippines. It
shows that Sulu, strategically located near the concentration of islands and settlements in East
Indies where foreign trade and contact was prevalent, would naturally be most exposed to
Islamic expansion.

Islami zation of Sul u

Though the exact arrival of Islam in Sulu is uncertain, there is archeological evidence –
an old grave on Bud Dato venerated by local Muslims to be the grave of a foreign Muslim –
which proves that Muslims were already present in the island of Jolo as early as 1310 A.D.

Prepared by: Prof. Myrna M. Marohombsar

 The Tausugs, the predominant group in Sulu, are said to carry themselves a little
straighter than other Moros because they were the first to embrace Islam. According to the
Salsila or Tarsila (written genealogies) of Sulu, it was Tuan Mahsai’ka who pioneered Islam in
Sulu. He came to Jolo, married the local chieftain’s daughter and raised their children as
Muslims.

The oral traditions and tarsilas of Sulu also mentioned a certain Karim ul Makhdum, an
Arab missionary who was believed to have been responsible for reinforcing Islam in Jolo.

Rajah Baguinda was also believed to have arrived in Jolo around the late 14th or 15th
century with a fleet of warriors and settlers from Menangkabaw, Sumatra. He would insinuate
himself into Sulu leadership, and would carve a principality – from which the Sultanate of Sulu
would emerge.

Baguinda’s Arab son-in-law, Sayyid Abu Bakr (referred to as Sultan Sharief ul Hashim in
Sulu), would become the first Sultan of Sulu, and would shape institutions along Islamic lines.

Islami zation of Min danao

Sharief Muhammad Kabungsuan is believed to have introduced Islam in Mainland

Mindanao. His Arab father, according to Maguindanao tarsilas, is alleged to be a descendant of
the Prophet Muhammad. He is said to have arrived in Mindanao with a migration of Muslim
Samals. The boatloads of migrants was dispersed by a storm and the survivors found their way
to various parts of Sumatra, Borneo, Sulu, and in the cae of Kabungsuan, as far as Mindanao.

Whether Kabungsuan first settled among the Maguindanaons of Cotabato or among the
Iranuns of Malabang is not clear, however, both tribes claim that they were won over to Islam
by his influence. He was the first to consolidate political power in Maguindanao and Iranun

Prepared by: Prof. Myrna M. Marohombsar

territories, where the Maguindanao Sultanate would emerge. His great great grandson,
Qudarat, would be the first Sultan according to the Maguindanao Tarsila.

From Maguindanao and Iranun areas, Islam would spread to the Zamboanga peninsula,
Sarangani and the Gulf of Davao, thereby, converting the Kolibugan, Sangir, and Kalagan tribes.
Through contacts and intermarriages with Iranun and Maguindanaon, the people of Lanao
(Maranao) would be converted to Islam.

Some Maranaos claim that they were influenced to embrace Islam because of Sharief
Alawi, who arrived in the mouth of the Tagoloan River in what is now Misamis Oriental – from
there, he and his followers carried Islam to the Bukidnon-Lanao border and eventually reached
and converted the Lanao region.

Islam would also penetrate other parts of the Philippines such as Palawan, Mindoro,
Bicol, Batangas and even Manila. When the Spaniard arrived, they observed that some natives
in the said areas would not eat pork. Thus, the Spaniards call them Moros instead of Indios.

It is apparent that prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the Islamization of the natives
was already going on. It was the colonizers who put a halt to the process of Islamization by
employing the Divide and Rule tactic, polarizing the natives into opposing camps – the Muslims
and the Christians.

Prepared by: Prof. Myrna M. Marohombsar