Islam in the Philippines

Islam in the Philippines

            Islam touched the shores of the Philippine Islands way before American and Spanish colonizers did (AI-Attas:1969). The Islamization of the Philippine Archipelago was part of the spread of the religion in the Southeast Asian region. Islam is not merely a religion, as noted by many Muslim scholars but is as well a way of life (Doi: 1984). Thus, when Islam spread throughout the country, it also introduced a system of government and a sophisticated culture.

Islam introduced a highly developed political structure, the Sultanate. The traditional Muslim social structure in the Philippines was headed by a sultan who assumed both religious and secular authority. The Datu assumed communal leadership, providing aid and arbitration through agama courts under his leadership. The wealth amassed by the conquests of the Datu is provided to his subjects for aid, employment, and protection when needed. Interestingly, the Datu is not determined by his wealth but by the number of his followers. Further, the holy Qur'an, the source of both secular and religious precepts and laws of Muslims, provides a sense of oneness and fraternal bond between Muslims as an Ummah or Islamic Nation (21:92). Islam changed the country's once fragmented nature into a single nation (Bangsa Tungga). 

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    Thus, when the colonizers came and threatened the growth of their government, much resistance was felt, especially in Southern Philippines where Muslim communities were most concentrated. The Spanish assimilation only succeeded in creating rifts between the Christianized Filipinos under Spanish rule and the Muslim communities that refused subjugation (Majul: 1973). It was the same during the American Regime, if not worse, wherein they employed a process of extermination through military troops when the Muslims refused subjugation and resisted the exploitation of resources within the Mindanao region (Tan: 1977). The Americans realized then that the process was futile and assumed a strategy for winning the Muslims, through the establishment of a special bureau for their affairs and concerns (Gowing: 1983).

However, through these years, from the American initiative to integrate Muslim communities with the majority of the Filipinos, divisiveness in culture and religion has spread and grown into social unrest and conflict situations. The Muslims remained isolated from the developments provided by the government in the northern regions of the Philippines, separatist movements grew, and resentments between Christians and Muslims developed (Fernando: 1979, Rahman: 1954).

The Philippine government in several instances tried to address the issues of the country regarding Muslim separatist movements through policies and the creation of several offices. The Tripoli Agreement was developed to grant political autonomy for two Muslim regions, and recognition of their "cultural values, traditions, and customary and Islamic laws, in the formulation of State policies."

Several agreements have been signed since, and still much has yet to
be resolved.

Five Pillars of  Islam

      

The Philippines has developed a mixed culture from the blending of foreign influences with native elements. Today, the Muslims, and some of the isolated tribes, are the only people whose culture remains unadulterated by Spanish and American influences.

Although traditional theatre, literature and kundimans (love songs) in the national language have experienced a resurgence since Cory Aquino's People Power movement, visitors are more likely to witness beauty contests, lurid soap operas, violent and sentimental Filipino movies, and local bands perfectly imitating Western pop tunes. 

Muslim Dance

The Cultural Center of the Philippines is considered to be the premiere place for performing arts. It has local and international world-class guest artists.

The kundiman folk music is a popular music form that is unique to the Philippine islands. It is music that is a combination of both words and music. Also popular with Filipinos is folk dancing. There are many variations of dances, both ceremonial and traditional, that are performed for many different occasions.

There are several types of dance in the Philippines, those with Muslim or Spanish influences as well as those from the lowlands and mountains.

With over a million Muslim Filipinos residing mainly on the island of Mindanao, there are several dances that are heavily influenced by Islam. A popular dance, the langka-baluang is one that is performed by male dancers as an angry monkey. One of the oldest Filipino dances, the singkil is a noble and difficult dance that is based upon a legend of the Maranao people of Mindanao. This legend, written during the 14th century, retells the plight of a princess in the middle of a forest. While she is in there the forest fairies or diwatas start an earthquake, and only by avoiding trees, along with her slave, is she finally able to be saved by a prince. Even now, royal princesses in the Sulu Archipelago are required to learn this dance. Another ritual is one in which an entire village participates, the pag-ipat. When a family member is ill, the belief is that an ancestral spirit (tinunungan) has caused the disease and needs to be appeased. Depending on the severity of the illness and the financial status of the family, this ritual can last from a day to several days. A folk healer performs the ritual while having possession of the spirit.

The Spanish influence in the Philippines brought about many dances that use a Maria Clara dress (a character in Noli Me Tangere) and an embroidered long-sleeve short made from pineapple fibers for their costumes. The Filipinos adapted these Spanish dances by using bamboo castanets and Asian fans. Carinosa, which means loveable or affectionate, is a dance that is known all through the Philippines. The dancers "flirt" using a handkerchief or fan, by playing hide and seek with them. Part of a wedding ritual, the sabalan lulay, is a dance that begins with a man dancing around a woman (his partner) until she consents to dance with him. 

There were social factors in the early 1990s that militated against the cultural autonomy sought by Muslim leaders. Industrial development and increased migration outside the region brought new educational demands and new roles for women. These changes in turn led to greater assimilation and, in some cases, even intermarriage. Nevertheless, Muslims and Christians generally remained distinct societies often at odds with one another.

Sources:

http://www.muslimmindanao.ph/Islam_phil.html