The ··Muslim Problems:And the Government's Response

The ··Muslim Problems :and the Government's Response MOHAMMED FATTHY MAHMOUD* 1" I Introduction the people found a rallying point, a ·SLAM, the. r~li~ion of peace, came source of identification. I to the Philippines "fully two cen The spread of Islam in the Philip turies before the first Westerner set pines can be attributed to the impor foot in the islands. In fact, when the tant role it played in the politics of the Spaniards arrived in 1521, Islam the era. This political role acquired already had many adherents in Lu greater significance at the beginning zon, Visayas and Mindanao. In Ma of the sixteenth century and there nila, several Muslim settlements exist after with the appearance of the Euro ed under the leadership of Rajah La peans, among them the Portuguese kandula, Rajah Matanda, and Rajah and the Spaniards, who came not only Sulayman, among others. Pampanga, with the intent of monopolizing the .~, another Luzon province also. had a spice trade but also of spreading .... small Muslim settlement. In Minda Christianity; In fact, their arrivalin nao, two powerful Muslim sultanates Southeast Asia was in many respects - Sulu and Maguindanao - were an extension of. the struggle which had founded. already been going "on in Europe for centuries and subsequently carried in Prior to the coming of the Spaniards to the Indian Ocean between Chris in the Philippines, the Muslims al tians and Muslims. Shortly after the ready possessed a highly developed Portuguese captured Malacca, they and workable socio-political system, a sent their first missionaries to the system of writing, an informal albeit Moluccas. The one and a half cen religious 'educational system, and a turies which followed might be des progressive economy. The religious cribed as a race between Islam and political organizations which went be Christianity to convert people of the yond vlllage levels resulted in political region.1 groupings that were strong because they were broadly-based, In Islam, With the landing of Ferdinand Magellan (a Portuguese explorer un * D.P.A. candidate, College of Public Ad der the employ of Spain) in the Philip- ministration, University of the Philippines; currently Director-General, Public Rela 1 D.J.M. Tote, The Making of Modern tions Department, Supreme Council for Is Southeast Asia (New York: Oxford Uni lamic Affairs, Arab Republic of Egypt. varsity Press, 1971), I, p. 34. 215 .. PHILIPPINE JOURNAL"OF ·PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIOi-f 216 \. ~ . : " ------------~=---'---'----'-"-'--'-'---'---, . '. pines in 1521, the archipelago gradual represertted centralized political in: ly came under Spanish rule and re stitutions more complex than the sim mained so until 1898 when, by the ple village-type barangay organiza provisions of the treaty of Paris, so tions found in the Northern Philip vereignty was transferred to the pines. Soma sultans ruled over scores United States. The Spaniards, like of settlements under subordinate ru the Portuguese, came to convert the lers and thus, the loss of one did not inhabitants of the Philippines into necessarily spell the loss of the others. Christianity as well as subjects of the Another factor was that Islam served Spanish King. The Muslim settle as a rallying point, a source of identi ments of Manila under Rajah Matan fication. As. it was, patriotism became da and Rajah Sulayman fell into their firmly fused with religious duties. De hands in 1571. The Spaniards waged fense of land, home, wife and' children centuries of protracted war against became in effect an Islamic duty.. the Muslims. of Mindanao and Suhi in order tosubjugate them but to no Muslim Problem vis-avis avail. National Governments The Muslims, fighting under the From the preceding discussion, one Sulu Sultanate,. the Maguindanao can trace the Muslim- problem to the Sultanate, or as individual warriors, time when the Spaniardscarne for the determinedly resisted the Spanish in" purpose not only of 'subjugating them cursions into their territory until the but also of converting them to Chris Americans, another colonial group, ar tianity. This .started in .~565. rived in the 1900's to replace them. Through the years, the Muslim prob Likewise, the Muslims resisted· the lem continued to plague the govern Americans, thinking that they had ment. the same plans as the' Spaniards. However, with the Americans' shift of 2 We use the term Muslims in' the Phil policy from that of open war to' that ippines to refer to the islamized Filipino of attraction," many Muslims put groups in the country rather than the term Muslim Filipinos, which though more down their arms. The "war" there popular, is historically incorrect. This fore shifted from the battlefield to is because the term Muslim which means other areas of human life such as edu "a' person who follows the religion. of is cation, culture, economy, agriculture lam or a person who submits completely and the like: Nevertheless, the Mus to th~ will of God" antedates the term lim resistance to colonization.. and Filipinos or Philippines. The second rea son for the choice, is that in. Islam, all westernization continued. ' Muslims are brothers, regardless of race., The Muslims' determined and 'con color, ;'country, of origin, or .political be liefs.' IIi other words, -in' the concept, of tinued resistance is attributed to a a 1\1 uslim, every. Muslim belongs .to: a 'l1Wnber of factors, the most signifi world brotherhood called Dar-uI-Islam .or cant being thatthe Muslim sultanates Islamic 'World. , .. " ,.".: ." July • MUSLIM ·PROBLEMS AND GOVERNMENT'S :RESPONSE· 217 When the .Philippines was working When the Americans introduced a for its independence, the Muslims pe universal system of primary educa tion, most Muslims refused to send titioned to form a separate govern their children to school for fear that ment patterned after the Muslim Sul they might be converted to Christiani tanates but their petition was not ty. When the American authorities offered scholarships, the leading fami heeded. This is indicated in the Dan lies refused to send their children to salen Declaration which said that: oblige the Americans.s .With regards to the forthcoming Phil Given their low standard of living, ippine independence we foresee what poor health and sanitation, and high conditions we will be in and those of our children when independence is rate of illiteracy, the Muslims scarce granted these islands. This condition ly improved. But worst of all, the will be characterized by unrest, suf cultural and religious animosity which fering and misery. the Spaniards engendered in their minds under their policy of "divide Should the American people grant the Philippines independence, the is and rule" deepened. lands of Mindanao and Sulu should The chronic problems of the Mus not be included in such independence.3 lims in the Philippines alarmed the However, with the assurance of 'government so it conducted several Christian Filipino leaders, the Mus studies in its desire to identify these lims grudgingly acknowledged citizen problems and seek solutions. Thus, ship in the new Republic of the Philip the so-called "Muslim Problem'" or pines whose government is patterned what was earlier erroneously known after the Western countries, It was as "Moro Problem" with its long his partly this Muslim desire to form a tory, dating back as it does to the separate government like the one they coming of the Spanish colonizers to had before the coming of the Spa the Philippines since 1521, finally be niards which propelled them to con came an official government concern. tinue with their struggle in preserving However, much as it wanted to solve • their culture, religion, and society. the problem of the Muslims, the gov ernment was handicapped by certain . The early years of Philippine Inde prevailing factors and conditions such pendence saw the problems of the as crisis of leadership among the Mus Muslims aggravated further by their lims, too much politics, and ignorance refusal to send their children to school of the culture of the Muslims. As a for fear that they would become Chris 'result, only stop-gap measures. were tians. employed. Every time, the Muslims 3 From the Dansalan Declaration, which 4 Cezar Adib Majul, ISlamic Iniluence in was forwarded to the U.S. Congress through the Philippines and Cultural and Reli the President of the' United States, "The gious Responses to Development and So Philippine Muslim News," Vol. II, No.2, cial Change (Manila: CONVISLAM, 1971), July 1968. P. 15. 1974 218 PHILIPPINE JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, complained, the government urider ever, that whilethere seems to 'be a took 'some kind of' reforms' only .to general agreement 'on the outward abandon them after some. time. manifestations of the Muslim prob lem, the fundamental problem is not Several studies' of the so-called very clear., In other words, the peri Muslim problem' were undertaken, one pheral problems or symptoms are ob- of Which was authorized by the Philip OJ; pine Congress." More recently; a pri .vious but the core problem is. not. vate .foundation, the Filipinas Foun Differences in the proposed solutions dation, Inc.valso came up with. what spring from .this difficulty: All this it considers an in-depth study of the appears to stem from a lack of a the problems of the Muslims in the Philip oretical framework with which to view and analyze the Muslim problem. pines. In addition to these studies, several position papers on the prob Theoretical Framework lems of the Muslims in the, Philip pines were prepared by both experts The Muslim problem is not a simple and laymen. 'The'1'(~ were also individ one. There arevarious aspects involved ual researches made by Mus'lim in defining the problem. The first scholars on specialized aspects of the deals with the origins of the Muslim Muslim problem.t One notes, how- problem.

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