Final

Examination
in

EDUC 102
(History of Islamic Civilization)

Submitted to:

NORODIN D. SALAM, PhD

Professor

Submitted by:

JUDY ANN E. SOTTO

MAED – 1st Year
 History of Advent of Islam in the Philippines

It is said that Islam first came to our shores in Mindanao in the 13th century, making it the
oldest recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam was reportedly brought by Muslim
traders from the Persian Gulf, Southern India, and from several sultanate governments in the
Malay Archipelago.
Muslim traders were followed by Muslim missionaries in the late 14th and early 15th. Sultanates
began to form in Mindanao and Sulu, as well as Manila. Thus, names like Sultan Kudarat and
Rajah Lakandula and Rajah Suleyman and Rajah Matanda became part of Philippine history
and its quest for independence.

As early as 1380, an Arabian trader by the name of Karim Al Makhdum reportedly

reached the Sulu Archipelago and later established Islam in the country. He established the first
Muslim mosque in the Philippines in Barangay Tubig Indangan on Simunul Island in Tawi-Tawi.
To date, after more than 600 years, a mosque still stands in the area. And, I believe two wooden
posts of the reconstruction of the mosque in the 17th century still remains on site today.

Makhdum, in fact, was buried on Simunul Island. I was told he has a tomb there, near
the mosque that he had built, and that Muslims visit the area to pay homage to the man who
first brought Islam to the country. Unfortunately, that a 638-year-old mosque, or at least its
remains, can be seen on an island in Mindanao — and the remains of the man who started
Islam in the country is there as well — remains unknown to most of us.
Makhdum’s tomb or grave, as well as the six centuries-old mosque, are precisely the kind of
historical sites that should be restored and promoted. They are not simple places of interest but
actual cradles of Philippine history, particularly of the pre-Hispanic period. A lot of Spanish-era
Catholic churches nationwide have been categorized as heritage sites. We should do the same
particularly for structures that preceded the Spaniards.
It also in this line that I support the call to restore or rebuild the Royal Palace of the Sultanate of
Sulu in Maimbung, Sulu. Maimbung is the seat of the Sultanate, which was founded in 1405.

The Daru Jambangan (Palace of Flowers) in Maimbung was the royal palace of the
Sultan of Sulu since historical times. But it was destroyed in 1932 by a huge storm. Only a few
arches and posts now remain. I believe the Palace, with the help of the government, should be
rebuilt.
 While the actual Sultanate of Sulu no longer exists, it also played a significant role in
Philippine and Mindanao history. And, if restoring the Palace can help people learn the
Sultanate’s history, and its role particularly in foreign relations in the past as well as our linkages
to Sabah, then this should be a worthwhile endeavor. A well-rebuilt Palace will also be a major
tourist attraction.
The Spaniards never managed to completely suppress the Muslims in Mindanao. The
Americans, during the colonial period, did not have much success either.
In this sense, Muslim Mindanao is the biggest cultural group that can be considered not
completely “conquered” among Philippine ethnic groups. This, in my opinion, should be a
source of pride, and should be heralded as a sterling example of a people defending their
freedom and independence from foreign invaders.

Muslim Scholar and His Contribution in the Field of Development of

Religion Islam in Mindanao.

Sulu was the first Muslim community in the south to establish a centralized government, the
Sultanate of Sulu in 1450. The introduction of this sultanate implies that the indigenous
institution became Islamized. This sultanate was a superstructure imposed   without destroying
the old foundation. This was one of the reasons that made the Sulu Sultanate strong. Hashim
Abubakar was the founder and the first sultan of the Sulu sultanate. His father was an
Arab from Hadramaut; his mother was a princess from Johore. According to the Tausug salsila,
Abubakar belongs to a sharif lineage, which is one of the descendants of Nabi Muhammad
(S,.A.W.). The term sharif is a title of nobility. When Abubakar rose to power, he assumed five
titles affixed to his name, thus his official name runs as follows: paduka, mawlana, mahasiri,
sharif sultan Hashim Abubakar.

       The Sulu sultanate is multi-ethnic. At the height of its power in the early part of the
18th century, its territory encompassed the whole Zamboanga peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-
Tawi, Palawan and Sabah. On the same period, the sultanate began to intensify its foreign
relations with neighboring Muslim principalities in Brunei, Makassar, Manila, Cebu (before
Spanish era), Maguindanao, Buayan and Batavia including China. This foreign relations of the
Sulu sultanate involved trade, mutual friendship and military alliance. The sultanate had in fact
dispatched ambassadors to different places and also received ambassadors from other
countries.
       Dr. Majul describes the history of the Sulu sultanate as had been one of war. Since 1578 up
to the 1927, the Sulu sultanate was at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and national
liberation. It was able to survive two major colonial waves: the Spanish and the US colonialism.
Despite its political decline in the beginning of the 19 th century, the Sulu sultanate maintained
her status as independent sultanate from 1450 to 1936.

       The spread of Islam to Mindanao between 1450 and 1500 was part of the political goal of
the Sulu sultanate. A Maranao oral report revealed that the first Tausug preachers reached the
Lanao lake before the arrival of foreign Muslim missionaries, possibly the Malay preachers. This
report is sufficient to establish the fact the Muslim settlements had gradually thrived in the Illana
bay up to the lake area and the Pulangi valley. People from these areas were already used to
come to Jolo for trade as well as for Islamic learning. It is for this account that  Sulu became 
known in history as the center of Islamic learning in this country.

Shariff Kabunsuan Brief Autobiography

Shariff Muhammed Kabungsuwan(Malay: Muhammad Kebungsuwan, Jawi: ‫ريف‬III‫ش‬

‫ )کبوڠسووان‬was the first Sultan of Maguindanao in the Philippines. A native of Johore in Maritime
Southeast Asia, Kabungsuwan re-settled in Mindanao in the Philippines where
he preached Islam to the native tribes around the region. Maguindanao genealogy records state
that Kabungsuwan's father was an Arab and a sharif or a descendant of the Islamic
prophet Mohammed while his mother was Malay. His recorded name "Kabungsuwan" in
Maguindanao tradition means "youngest" and is said to the be the youngest among three
children. His eldest brother, Ahmad is said to have established the Bruneian Sultanate while his
other brother Alawi is said to have set up the Sulu Sultanate. Kabungsuwan is generally
regarded as the one who introduced Islam in the Lanao and Maguindanao areas
in Mindanao arriving in the area in the early 16th century. There are several tarsilas or written
genealogy on Kabungsuwan though most of these state that he brought in men when he landed
in Mindanao, his group are composed of seafarers, there was initial force with his group's
interaction with the locals and that there were already Muslims in Mindanao when his
Kangungsuwan and his men landed near the mouth of the Pulangi River. Kabungsuwan formed
alliances with influential royal families of Sulu, Borneo, and Ternate. This led to Islam becoming
the dominant religion around Lake Lanao by the 19th century. Kabungsuwan traded in T'buk
(old name of Malabang) Malabang, Lanao, married to the native princess of Maranao.
Kabungsuwan was of Arab-Malay ethnicity. He married a local princess and established
the Sultanate of Maguindanao in the 16th century. The sultanate was usually centered in the
valley of Cotabato.

Sources of Laws Followed by Muslims in Their Faith

The two major sources of the religion of Islam are the Quran and Hadith. These two are
where the majority of the teachings come from. When looking for guidance, a Muslim often
refers back to one of these two in order to educate them on a topic.

The Quran is the central religious text of Islam. It represents the fountainhead of Divine
guidance for every Muslim. The Islamic sacred book is the words of God and was dictated to
Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, by the Archangel Gabriel and was written down in
Arabic. The chapters in this book touch upon all aspects of human existence, including matters
of doctrine, social organization, and legislation. The Quran confirms the revelations given to
earlier Prophets, though these might not be accessible to us, in the form they were originally
revealed. The most sublime language and a rational message that directly appeals to the
human heart have caused this Divine book to move nations and civilizations. It will continue to
guide those who turn to God with a sincere heart, for all times.

Hadith’s are a collection of traditions containing sayings/actions of the Prophet

Muhammad that, with accounts of his daily practice (the Sunnah), constitute the major source of
guidance for Muslims apart from the Quran. During the first few decades after the Prophet
Muhammad’s death, those who directly knew him (known as the Companions) shared and
collected quotations and stories related to the Prophet’s life. Within the first two centuries after
the Prophet’s death, scholars conducted a thorough review of the stories, tracing the origins of
each quotation along with the chain of narrators through whom the quotation was passed.
Those which were not verifiable were deemed “weak” or even “fabricated,” while others were
deemed “authentic” (sahih) and collected into volumes. The most authentic collections of hadith
include Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and Sunan Abu Dawud.

Reasons Why Our School is Named as Shariff Kabunsuan College

Shariff Kabunsuan was established under Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No.

201 which provided for the creation of the new province comprising the nine municipalities
of Barira, Buldon, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Kabuntalan, Matanog, Parang, Sultan Kudarat, Sultan
Mastura, and Upi, all of the first legislative district of the mother province of Maguindanao. A
tenth municipality, Datu Blah T. Sinsuat, was created within the proposed province on 16
September 2006, weeks prior to the actual plebiscite for the creation of the province.

The plebiscite for the creation of the province was held on 28 October 2006. Muslim
Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 201 was ratified by the affirmative majority (285,372) votes cast in
a plebiscite, thus establishing the province. Only 8,802 voted for its rejection.

The law establishing Shariff Kabunsuan was enacted by the Regional Assembly for the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the first such province established by that local body,
which had been so empowered under Republic Act No. 9054 or the Expanded ARMM law.
Shariff Kabunsuan was the first province since Philippine independence that was not
established through an Act of Congress.

At the time of its creation, Shariff Kabunsuan was the Philippines' 80th province and the
sixth in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The province was named after Shariff
Mohammed Kabungsuwan, an Arab-Malay Islamic preacher who introduced Islam to
central Mindanao in the 16th century.

Promoting Muslim – Christian Good Relationship Framework

Living in peace is a great achievement in someone’s life. In many years Islam and
Christianity have had a mixed relationship. Often these two traditions have taken an exclusivist
position portraying the other in negative terms. Muslims and Christians have often lived in
tension with each other over many issues such as mission and dawa, political and religious
oppression as well as mutual vilification. With these I propose to have a discussion that guide
individual through self – affirmation, build tolerance and empathy, identify shared super ordinate
goals of religious freedom, norms, beliefs, political oppression of each group and finally unsort
themselves by complexifying stereotypes and finding surprising points of convergence related to
religion, norms, beliefs and political oppression. It is best to fully understand and to be open-
minded to someone’s principle and learning to respect them.

A Recommended Policy to BARMM Government

As a teacher, to foster a harmonious relationship between Muslims and Christians, I

would recommend to add a subject in the educational system of BARMM that tackles about the
goals of religious freedom, norms, beliefs, political oppression of Islam and Christianity. I do
believe that understanding each groups’ fundamental principles would help in promoting peace
and order between Muslims and Christians.