8/13/2019 How Islam Came to the Philippines
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How Islam came to the Philippines, particularly to Mindanao and
Sulu is a sophisticated inquiry that
cannot be answered instantly, especially if the inquirer is a
non-muslim with only limited knowledge
about Islam. It is crucial to acquire adequate, if not
comprehensive, knowledge regarding the
advent and inception of Islam if you wish to know how Islam came
to the philippines.
The expansion of Islam commenced after the death of Prophet
Mohammad (peace be upon him) in 623AC. The spreading was carried
out through missionary efforts and military victories, expanding
the
Islamic dominion, encompassing the Middle East, Spain, North
Africa, Central Europe and Eastern
Europe. The expansion proceeded towards the Sub-Saharah Africa
and Sotheast Asia, subesequently to
Mindanao and Sulu, via cicuitous route. It is still disputed as
to which group- traders, missionaries,
crusaders, etc- was accountable for the introduction of Islam in
Mindanao and Sulu. Nevertheless,
historians have concurringly and considerately consorted that
the advent of Islam to Mindanao and Sulu
was the outcome of the missionary efforts of Arab traders and
teachers (or sufis) who arrived via the
trade routes.
Nonetheless, there is not enough proof so far to verify the
disceptation that Islam was introduced in
Mindanao and Sulu before the concluding years of the 14th
century. However, the discovery of a
tombstone on the slope of Bud Datu indicating the year of death
of the deceased (710 AH) that could
substantiate the conjecture that Islam might have much earlier.
The tombstone also bear the name of
the deceased - Tuhan Muqbalu or Maqbalu. According to UP
scholar, the title 'Tuhan' entail that the
deceased was a chief or person of high potency.
It was ascertained that those dwelling in or near trading
stations or by the trade routes are the first to
become Muslims in Mindanao and Sulu. This ascertainment is the
reason why most of the historians, if
not all, conceive that the early missionaries of Islam were
traders also. However, it is more likely that the
advent if Islam in this part of the world might have ensued from
the collective efforts of traders,
teaches or sufis, even though the visual aspect of a sentinent,
orderly and organized scheme of
executing the task was patently deficient.
Names of istorical figures should also be noted in the advent of
Islam in Mindanao and Sulu: Tuan
Mashaika, the founder of the first Muslim community; Karimul
Makhdum, who converted a large
number of inhabitants to Islam, and was accountable for the
founding of the first Mosque in the
Philippines; Rajah Baguinda successor of Makhdum; Syed Abubakar,
the first crowned sultan and said to
be a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him);
Sharif Muhammad Kabungsan,
claimed to be of Hashimite descent, credited as being the most
subservient in the propagation of Islam
in the island.
Before the advent of Islam, the inhabitants of Mindanao and Sulu
were animistic. No cummunity was
accounted by word of mouth or in writing to be monotheistic.
They revere or idolize stones, celestial
bodies and other inanimate objects. Anito and diwata were the
only quintessential features of their
belief scheme. Conversion to Islam was usually regarded as
leisurely and unconstrained excluding some
isolated cases where skirmishes that prefaced it. With immensely
superior knowledge, the newcomers
easily got past the local resistance. Doing the task more
leisurely was the Arabian blood running in their
