Encyclopedia of Islam

Philippines

 

(Official name: Republic of the 

Philippines)

The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia 

comprised of 7,107 islands. The two largest islands 

are Luzon and Mindanao. Between Mindanao and 

Luzon are several smaller islands collectively 

called the Visayas. m

alaysia

 and i

ndonesia

 are the 

nearest neighbors to the south, and c

hina

 lies to 

K  552  

pesantren

---

the north. The population of the Philippines is 

96 million (2008 estimate), roughly 81 percent 

of whom are Roman Catholic, about 5 percent 

are Muslims (known locally as Moros), and the 

rest practice Protestantism, Buddhism, and indig-

enous religions. The Muslims are Sunnis, most of 

whom follow the s

haFii

 l

egal

 s

chool

 and belong 

to different ethnic groups, including the Maranao, 

the Maguindanao, the Iranun, the Tausug, the 

Yakan, the Sama, the Sangil, the Kaagan, the 

Kolibugan, the Palawan, and the Molbog. Muslim 

communities are among the most impoverished in 

the Philippines, lagging in median annual income 

compared to other provinces and regions.

Prior to the Spanish establishment of a settle-

ment in Cebu in 1565, most of the islands were 

locally organized into independent barangays 

(villages and districts), each headed by a chieftain. 

Islam arrived in the Philippines in the 13th cen-

tury through Muslim merchants traveling through 

the Malay Archipelago toward China. According 

to genealogical studies of elite Muslim families 

in Sulu and Mindanao, Islam became established 

after Muslim religious leaders from neighbor-

ing islands intermarried with the ruling elite 

in Sulu and Mindanao. By the mid-1500s there 

were already two sultanates (territories ruled by 

sultans) flourishing in Mindanao and Sulu, and 

Manila already had extensive contact with the 

sultanates of Sulu and of Borneo. Additionally, the 

sultanate of Maguindanao reached its peak dur-

ing the mid-1600s after the Spanish had already 

begun colonizing the Philippines. Although most 

of Luzon and the Visayas were Christianized by 

Spain, Mindanao managed to remain independent 

until it was conquered and pacified by the Ameri-

cans. In 1898 Spain ceded the Philippines to the 

United States after the Spanish-American War.

The Philippines was granted its independence 

from the United States on July 4, 1946. It main-

tains close ties with the United States. Muslims in 

the Philippines were galvanized into organizing 

resistance movements in the late 1960s, renew-

ing debates about the place of Muslims in a 

largely Catholic country that bore strong colonial 

imprints. The m

oro

  n

ational

  l

iberation

 F

ront

(MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front 

(MILF) continue to challenge the Philippine gov-

ernment’s national integrity. In 1976 the Tripoli 

Agreement was signed between the MNLF and 

the Philippine government, providing autonomy 

to 13 provinces, and creating Islamic courts and 

banks for Muslim Filipinos. The Autonomous 

Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was cre-

ated in 1983 by the Republic Act 6734, in which 

4 of the 13 provinces were incorporated into the 

ARMM. Every presidency since the Tripoli Agree-

ment has attempted to implement parts of the 

agreement, but not the whole, and thus hostilities 

continue between the MNLF and the Philippine 

government. Malaysia is also brokering a peace 

agreement between the MILF and the Philippine 

government.

See also c

hristianity

 

and

 i

slam

; 

colonialism

; 

i

slamism

.

Tara Munson