Moro people refers to a
population of Muslims in the Philippines
, forming the largest non-Christian group in the
country, comprising about 5% to 10% of the total Philippine
population.
There are ten Moro ethnic groups, although other smaller tribes are
also called
"Moro", as the majority of their populations
are also Muslims. The term came into use during the colonial
period, when the Spaniards used the term
Moros (Moors) to describe Muslim natives.
The Moro
people mostly live in Mindanao
and other
parts of the southern Philippines, and this is considered the
homeland (tanah/lupah) of the Moro peoples.
Due to
continuous movement of peoples from before the 16th century until
the modern day, Moro communities are found in all large cities in
the Philippines such as Manila
, Cebu
and Davao City
, as well as in coastal cities in neighboring
Borneo
and Maluku
in Indonesia
and Malaysia
.
Ethnic groups
The Moro ethnic group comprises the following population located in
the southern islands of the Philippines.
Ethymology
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Moro people remained separated
from the mainstream Philippine society, due to the fact that they
were never brought under the influence of
Western culture.
The term Moro
was a derogatory word used in the 16th century in reference to the
shared Islamic belief between the tribal groups in the Philippines
and the ethnically different Moors of Al-Andalus
in Spain.
Today, the Moro people are still disadvantaged compared to the
majority Christian-Filipino in terms of employment and housing;
they are frequently portrayed and discriminated against in the
media as scapegoats or warmongers. This has established escalating
tensions that have contributed to the ongoing conflict between the
Philippine government and the Moro people.
In addition, the large
exodus of Moro peoples (Bajau, Tausug, Illanun, Maguindanao
) to Sabah
and Kalimantan over the last 30 to 50 years due to
the illegal annexation of their land by Christian settlers has
caused the gradual displacement of the Moros from their traditional
lands.
Society
Region
█ Territory of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao
█ Historical extent
The settlements of Muslim Filipinos are called the
Bangsamoro region, derived from the old Malay word
bangsa, meaning
nation or
people and
Moro.
Their
territory are found in the provinces of Basilan
, Cotabato
, Davao del
Sur
, Lanao del
Norte
, Lanao del
Sur
, Maguindanao
, Palawan
, Sarangani
, South
Cotabato
, Sultan Kudarat
, Sulu
, Tawi-Tawi
, Zamboanga del Sur
, Zamboanga del Norte
and Zamboanga Sibugay
. It also includes the cities of Cotabato
, Dapitan
, Dipolog
, General Santos
, Iligan
, Marawi
, Pagadian
, Isabela
, Puerto
Princesa
and Zamboanga
.
These claims have since been rejected by the Christian residents of
these provinces and cities. The August 5, 2008 attempt by the
Philippine government's Peace Negotiating Panel to sign a
Memorandum of Agreement with the MILF recognizing "Ancestral
Domain" claims exclusive to Muslim Filipinos and the subsequent
creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity was declared
"unconstitutional" by the Philippine Supreme Court. This incident
hurt the peace process in the region.
Government
The
Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is headed by a Regional
Governor. The Regional Governor, along with the Regional-Vice
Governor, act as the executive branch and are served by a Regional
Cabinet, composed of Regional Secretaries, mirroring existing
National Government Agencies of the Philippines.
The ARMM has a
unicameral Regional
Assembly headed by a Speaker. This acts as the legislative
branch for the region and is responsible for regional ordinances.
It is composed of three members for every
congressional
district. The current membership is twenty-four.
Some of this Regional Assembly's acts have since been nullified by
the Supreme Court on grounds that these are "unconstitutional". An
example is the nullification of the creation of the Province of
Shariff Kabungsuwan by the RLA as this will create an extra seat in
the Philippines Congress' House of Representatives, a power
reserved solely for the Philippine Congress, both Senate and House
jointly, to decide on.
Culture
Islam has been the most dominant influence on
the Moro culture.
Islamic polygamous
marriage are approved by public authorities while polygamy is
considered illegal for non-Muslim citizens.
Pork is
not eaten since it is considered
taboo under the
Qu'ran. Another practice is
Islamic circumcision
(
tuli).
Music
The culture of the Moro revolves around the music of the
kulintang, a specific type of gong instrument,
found in the Southern Philippines. This music include the
Tagonggo and the
Kapanirong.
Groups
Dominant Moro groups.
There are
at least ten ethnic groups comprising the Moro of the Philippines,
all descended from the same Austronesian people (Malayo-Polynesian)
that migrated from Taiwan
and
populated the regions of the Philippines, Southeast Asia, the Pacific islands and
Madagascar. Three of these groups make up the majority of
these tribes.
They are the Maguindanaon of North Cotabato
, Sultan
Kudarat and Maguindanao provinces, the Maranao of
the Lanao
provinces
and the Tausug of the Sulu
Archipelago
. Smaller groups include the Banguingui, Samal and the
Bajau of the Sulu Archipelago; the Yakan of Basilan and Zamboanga del Sur, the Illanun and Sangir of Davao, the
Melabugnans of southern Palawan and the Jama Mapuns of
Cagayan de
Tawi-Tawi Island
.
Various Moro groups are not united and they lack solidarity. Each
group is proud of their culture, identity, language and religion.
Internal differences manifested itself in occasional internecine
dispute.
History
Early history
In the
13th century, the arrival of Arab missionaries
from Saudi
Arabia
, including Makhdum
Karim, in Tawi-Tawi initiated the conversion of the native population
into Islam. Trade between Malaysia and Indonesia helped establish the Islamic religion in the
southern Philippines.
In 1457, the introduction of Islam led to the creation of
Sultanates. This included the sultanates of
Buayan,
Maguindanao and
Sulu, which is considered the
oldest Muslim government in the country until its annexation by the
United States in 1898.
The inhabitants of pre-Hispanic Philippines worshipped Islam,
Hindu-Buddhism, and Animism. The
Malay
kingdoms interacted, and traded with various tribes throughout the
islands, governing several territories ruled by chieftains called
Rajah,
Datu and
Sultan.
Spanish period
An 1858 German map of the Southeast
Asia showing the Spanish territory (
Spanische Besitzungen)
in the Philippines.
The
Spaniards arrived in 1521 and the
Philippines became part of the
Spanish
Empire in 1565. The
sultanates,
however, actively resisted the Spaniards, thus maintaining their
relative independence, enabling them to develop an Islamic culture
and identity, different from the rest of the Christianized Malays
which the Spaniards called
"Indios" (Indians).
With intentions of colonizing the islands, the Spaniards made
incursions into Moro territory. They also began erecting military
stations and garrisons with Catholic missions, which attracted
Christianized natives of civilian settlements.
The most notable of
these are Zamboanga and Cotabato.
Feeling threatened by these actions, the Moros decided to challenge
the Spanish government. They began conducting raids on Christian
coastal towns. These Moro raids reached a fevered pitched during
the reign of Datu Bantilan in 1754.
The string of coastal fortifications, military garrisons and forts
built by the Spaniards ensured that these raids, although
destructive to the Philippine economies of the coastal settlements,
were eventually stifled. The advent of steam-powered naval ships
finally drove the antiquated Moro navy of colorful paraws and
vintas to their bases. The Sultanate of Sulu, the only sultanate
left standing, itself soon fell under a concerted naval and ground
attack from Spanish forces.
In 1876, the Spaniards launched a campaign to colonize Jolo and
made a final bid to establish a government in the southern islands.
On February 21 of that year, the Spaniards assembled the largest
contingent in Jolo, consisting of 9,000 soldiers in 11 transports,
11 gunboats and 11 steamboats. José Malcampo occupied Jolo and
established a Spanish settlement with Pascual Cervera appointed to
set up a garrison and serve as military governor. He served from
March 1876 to December 1876 and was followed by José Paulin
(December 1876-April 1877), Carlos Martínez (September
1877-February 1880), Rafael de Rivera (1880-1881), Isidro G. Soto
(1881-1882), Eduardo Bremon, (1882), Julian Parrrado (1882-1884),
Francisco Castilla (1884-1886), Juan Arolas (1886-18930, Caésar
Mattos (1893), Venancio Hernández (1893-1896) and Luis Huerta
(1896-1899).
By 1878, they had fortified Jolo with a perimeter wall and tower
gates, built inner forts called Puerta Blockaus, Puerta España and
Puerta Alfonso XII, and two outer fortifications named
Princesa
de Asturias and
Torre de la Reina. Troops including a
cavalry with its own lieutenant commander were garrisoned within
the protective confine of the walls. In 1880, Rafael Gonzales de
Rivera, who was appointed the governor, dispatched the 6th Regiment
to govern Siasi and Bongao islands.
American period
Philippine independence and government policies
After gaining independence from the United States, the Moro
population, which was isolated from the mainstream by their
leaders, experienced discrimination by the Philippine government,
which gave rise to armed secession movements.
Struggle for independence
The
kris is
the weapon of the Moros.
The
barung is one of several significant weapons of the
Moros in the southern Philippines.
The
struggle for independence has been in existence for several
centuries, starting from the Spanish period, the Moro rebellion during the United States
occupation and up to the present day.
Modern day
Islamic
Insurgency in the Philippines began between the 1960s and
1980s. During that period, the Philippine government envisioned a
new country in which Christians and Muslims would be assimilated
into the dominant culture. This vision, however, was generally
rejected by both groups, who feared that it was just a euphemistic
equivalent of assimilation. Because of this, the government
realized that there was a need for a specialized agency to deal
with the Muslim community, so they set up the Commission for
National Integration in the 1960s, which was later replaced by the
Office of Muslim Affairs, and Cultural Communities.
Concessions were made to the Muslims after the creation of these
agencies, with the Moro population receiving exemptions from
national laws prohibiting polygamy and divorce. In 1977, the
Philippine government attempted to move a step further by
harmonizing Muslim customary law with the national law.
Unfortunately, most of these achievements were seen as superficial.
The Muslims, still dissatisfied with the past Philippine
governments' corrupt policies and mis-understanding established the
Moro National Liberation
Front led by
Nur Misuari with the
intention of creating their independent homeland. This initiated
the Islamic Insurgency in the Philippines, which is still going on
up to the present, and has since created fractures between Muslims,
Christians, and people of other religions. The MNLF is the only
recognized representative organization for the Muslims of the
Philippines by the Organization of Islamic Nations (OIC).
By the 1970s, a paramilitary organization composed mainly of
Christian Ilonggo residents of mainland Mindanao, called the
Ilagas began operating in Cotabato.
In
retaliation, Muslim armed bands, such as the Blackshirts
of Cotabato and the Barracudas of Lanao, began to
appear and fight the Ilagas. The
Armed Forces of the
Philippines were deployed to install peace; however, their
presence only seemed to create more violence. A Chavacano version
of the Ilagas, the
Mundo Oscurro, was also organized in
Zamboanga and Basilan.
In 1981, internal divisions within the
MNLF caused the establishment
of an Islamic paramilitary breakaway organization called the MILF.
The group continued the insurgency when the MNLF signed a Peace
Deal with the Philippine Government in 1994.
Autonomy
In 1987, peace talks with the MNLF began with the intention of
establishing an auotonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao. On
August 1, 1989, through Republic Act No. 6734, known as the Organic
Act, a 1989 plebiscite was held in 18 provinces in Mindanao, the
Sulu Archipelago and Palawan. This was to determine if the
residents would want to be part of an Autonomous Region. Out of all
the Provinces and cities participating in the plebiscite, only four
provinces opted to join, namely: Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu
and Tawi-Tawi. Even its regional capital, Cotabato City, rejected
joining the autonomous region.
This still led to the creation of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao, however. A second plebiscite, held in 2001, included
Basilan (except its capital, Isabela City) and Marawi City in the
autonomous region.
Current situation
Currently, the Philippines is pressed to address the problems
brought about by the continued presence of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(the breakaway faction of the
MNLF), the
Abu Sayyaf (an active cell of the global
terrorist network), and by
Jemaah
Islamiyah.
MILF boycotted the original referendum formed by the Organic Act
referendum process and continued the armed struggle through the
20th and into the 21st centuries. However, it remains a partner to
the stumbling peace process in the southern islands, with the
Philippines unwilling to brand MILF a
"terrorist" group
lest the separatists be driven away from the negotiating
table.
See also
Notes
- Analysis: Philippines, Philippines: Insecurity and
insufficient assistance hampers return, Situation Reports:
Philippines, Philippines: Insecurity and insufficient assistance
hampers return
- Philippines - Muslim Filipinos
-
http://mindanao.com/blog/2007/10/us-cites-muslim-discrimination-in-rp/
- http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0119/p07s01-woap.html
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7599853.stm
- Nick Joaquin, Culture and History: Occasional Notes on the
Process of Philippine Becoming (Pasig: Anvil Publishing, 2004),
226.
- Nelly van Doorn-Harder. "Southeast Asia, Islam in."
Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Edited by
Martin, Richard C. Macmillan Reference, 2004. vol. 1 p. 647.
- http://www.opendemocracy.net/madrid11/philippines_130707
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