Learning Task 3: Case Study

1.) Describe the group of people that you chose. Who are they? What do they do? Where did they come
from? What do you know about them?
The group of people I chose are the Muslims of Mindanao. All Muslim groups that inhabit the Philippines
are called Moro. They are usually found in the uplands of Tagabili, Subanon, Bukidnon, Bagobo, Manday,
and Manobo. The Moros possess a culture which is different from Christian Filipinos. Their culture has
been greatly influenced by Islam and they mostly live in Mindanao.

2.) Discuss their way of life in terms of:

a. Social organizations –
When the Spaniards came to Mindanao, they found that the different groups of muslims had organized
governments with written laws. Each group had its own separate government headed by a ruler called
a sultan. The sultan is similar to a king or an emperor. There is sultan of SuLu, a sultan of Miguindanao
and sultan of Lanao. There is one important sultan and other sultans of less importance for each group.
There are other lower officials who help the sultan run the government. A datu is a chief under a
sultan. A datu may govern thousands of people occupying large tracts of land. The religious
instructions are called Panditas. A gadji is a Muslims who has made a journey to Mecca, the holy city of
the Muslims. He is a man of importance among the Muslims.

The Muslims sultans were absolute monarchs so were datus with their own territories. The sultans and
other rulers inherited their powers. The power of a sultan was inherited by the nearest male relatives.
His eldest son succeeded him as a ruler. The power of the sultans has diminished today. Many of the
heredity Muslim rulers are now officials in our local and national governments.

b. Language –
Arabic, being the liturgical language of Islam, is spoken by a small number of Moros. Most Filipino
Muslim people, however, do not know Arabic beyond its religious uses.The most-spoken native
languages of the Moros are Maguindanaon, Tausug, and Maranao.

c. Religion - The Muslims are believers of Islam. Islam means complete submission to the will of Allah. 

d. Arts and literature –

Islamic art is characterized by designs of flowers, plant forms and geometric designs. It is used in
calligraphy, architecture painting, clothing and other forms of fine art. As Islam spread around the
world, this distinct form of art has become an integral part of the identity of its followers, including the
Philippines.  Islamic art in the Philippines is found predominantly in Muslim ethnic groups where every
group offers their own distinct flavor of Islamic art. This distinct art is commonly seen in homes,
clothing and places of worship of Filipino Muslims. Mosques in the Philippines have a common
architectural feature that is similar with its Southeast Asian neighbors. It is made of light materials such
as wood, bamboo and cogon grass and was used in the building of the early types of mosques but
these light materials did not last long. Today’s mosques, however, are now structurally patterned after
the design of its Middel eastern counterparts.

The Moros are unacquainted with the art of printing, their literary monuments being all in manuscript
form, written in a slightly modified variety of the Arabic alphabet, similar to that used by the Malays of
the Malay peninsula. Almost all Moro manuscripts begin, just as most Arabic books do, with the Arabic
 phrase bismi 'ZZdhi 'rrahmdni 'r~ahhi, "in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful." This is
usually followed by a sentence or two in Malay. The Moros derive their learning from Arabic and Malay
sources, and consequently take pride in airing their Arabic and Malay erudition. Practically all Moro
books are thus written by the Moros themselves.

e. Economic systems –
The Islamic economic system is the collection of rules, values and standards of conduct that organize
economic life and establish relations of production in an Islamic society. These rules and standards are
based on the Islamic order as recognized in the Koran and Sunna and the corpus of jurisprudence opus
which was developed over the last 1400 years by thousands of jurist, responding to the changing
circumstances and evolving life of Muslims all over the globe. The central features of an
Islamic economy are often summarized as: (1) the "behavioral norms and moral foundations" derived
from the Quran and Sunnah; (2) collection of zakat and other Islamic taxes, (3) prohibition of
interest (riba) charged on loans

f. Values, beliefs and traditions -

Muslims practice faithfully five religious duties, The first duty is the declaration of the creed that there
is no God but a and Mohammed is His mesenger. Second is the Sa which means prayer. Third is the
Sakah, or the giving during Ramadan of about two and a half percent of one's earning throughout the
whole year. Fourth, is Fasting during the day throughout the month of Ramadan. The Ramadan is the
ninth month of the Moslem year, a period of daily fasting from sunrise to sunset. Muslims are required
to fast so that they will be less occupied with worldly matters and to be strong in resisting temptation.
The Muslim's fifth duty is making the pilgrimage to Mecca and to the temple of Abraham within once
life time, if possible.
The Muslims have strict rules about their clothing. The women are required to wear long sleeves and
have the neck of their coat-like blouse cut high and closed. They wear a sarong as their skirt, The
sarong Is a strip of cloth about a meter wide and two or three meters long. The men wear tight-fitting
jacket with tight sleeves. Their trousers are either tight-fitting or very wide and loose. The pants are
made of cotton. They are either black, pink, green. purple or red. A long, bright colored sash is tied
around the waist. The men wear a turban or fez on their heads.

3.) Summarize what you have learned using the 3-2-1 chart below:

3 Things I learned from them

1- When it comes to food, the Moro have strict rules. They never eat pork because they believe it to
be unclean. However, they are allowed to eat meat if the animal was killed following their religious
practices. They also use a lot of coconut in their cooking.
2- They faithfully practice five religious duties. These are the declaration of their sacred creed, their
prayers, Sakah, Fasting during Ramadan, and making the pilgrimage to Mecca.
3- The Muslims believe the Koran to be the word of God which Mohammed preached to his
fellowmen. The Koran sets down the guidelines of conduct among people as well as the
relationship of man with God. It is the basis of Muslim laws and the final authority in many Islamic
problem.

2 Things I found interesting

1 – For more than three hundred years, the Moros passionately defended their community, their
freedom and their faith against Spain. The Moros, therefore, developed a distinct identity intensified
by Islam and self-preservation, which was far different from the Christianized natives - the Indios. 
 2 – About 6% of the Philippines’ population are Muslims.

1 Thing I realize
1 – War and conflict in Mindanao is one of the country’s biggest issues that roots back with their
disputes over ancestral land and religion. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is
the home of the Muslims who fight for their self-determination and aspirations for a peaceful and
progressive region.

Learning Task 4: Unity in Diversity: Pagkakaisa sa kabila ng pagkakaiba-iba

Give some concrete instances when unity exists even though there are differences
happening among people.

During WW2 , the Chinese democrats and communist both fought against the Japanese. Even if they
have different ideologies, they still united and fought against a common enemy.