Arts of Everyday Cohabitation between Muslims and

Christians in the Southern Philippines:

Conversions and Intermarriages
December 6, 2019
Asuna Yoshizawa (Kyoto University)

1
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Background of the Research Field
3. How Can People with Different Faiths Cohabit
in Everyday Life in Iligan?
Reconstruction of Religious Boundaries through
　 Practices of Balik-Islam
Everyday Negotiation in Multi-Religion Families
4. Conclusion
 Introduction

• The Philippine state has had difficulty in mediating inter-

religious conflicts in the Southern Philippines.

• Despite prolonged conflict and violence, ordinary Muslims

and Christians have cohabited not only as neighbors and
friends, but also as lovers and family members.

• Why is it possible for ordinary people who have suffered

from the conflicts to create and maintain intimate
relationship with others embracing different faith?

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Grassroots Cohabitation and Peace Building

• Studies on Muslim-Christian relations

- Cooperation in peace movements ( 川島 2002, Fuller 2005)
- Friendly relationship during the period in which Christian settlers
　　
　 increased in Mindanao (Hunt 1955, Gomez 2000)

• NGO ？
• Little attention to the grassroots cohabitation
 Research Field
Iligan City, Mindanao
 In 2010, whole population : 321,156
　・ Christian : 89.7% (79.3% Catholic)
　・ Muslim : 9.5%
・ Mountain Tribe (Higaonon) : 0.8%
 Location : One hour and half
from Marawi City

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　 Diversity of religion and ethnicity in Iligan

Maranao
Visaya Muslim
Christian

Marriage

Balik Islam
Conversion
Converts from Christian
to Islam
Half Maranao
Half Christian
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　 Mutual relationship with neighbors

 Supporting sick neighbors, sharing side dishes

 Borrowing and lending of money and items
 Cooperation at the time of disaster

While they remain cautious, do not completely trust

and may gossip about each other,
they need to cooperate for
Securing one’s survival and obtaining opportunity.
　　 Reconstruction of Religious
Boundaries
~Religious Practices of Balik-
 Balik Islam ： Muslim converts from Christian
Islam~
（ Balik means “return” or “go/come back to the former place”)
 They emphasize continuity of Christianity and Islam
→ 　 Christians who are more conscious of the content of Bible
tend to be more interested in convert.

＠ Missionary seminar….
“Islam is the best follower to holly scripts
including holly Bible. ”
“There is no Trinity in Bible. “
“Virgin Mary wore veil like Muslim women.”
“Jesus Crist did fasting for 40days like Muslim.”
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　 Various Protestant groups in Iligan and
their missionary
Appeal to the people who are dissatisfied with Catholicism

-authoritative Catholic Church, worshipping statues of Christ and Mary

 Their missionary discourses are similar to that of Balik-Islam

　 → Islam and Christian groups are equal in appealing
faithfulness to the Bible and Christ

Some people repeatedly move from religion to religion

→ Various Christian groups unintentionally give steps before
converting Islam from Catholic
Meaning of becoming Balik-Islam from Christian is focused
on whether to choose more correct religious practice.
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　 What is important for those who seek “true religion”

Tweets from new converts

“I know that if I become a Muslim I can go to heaven, so I want to hurry up

and convert.”
“I cannot fast because of my age, but now I am finally free, right?”
 Hope to be happy both in life and after death is common
motivation among people seeking “true religion”.

Conversation at a small store

Balik-Islam “I don't think it's written in the Bible that Christ is God.”
Christian “In fact, there is a teaching that Christ is a hidden real God.”
Balik-Islam “Really? Who said that information? I'm interested.”

 Persistent uncertainty of one’s faith and curiosity regarding

different teachings weaken the otherness of different faiths.
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　 Reproduction of boundary

They consider Muslims to be “brothers and sisters who

know the religion of truth,” while pitying Christians as
“those who do not yet know the truth.”

 They admire devout Maranao, but differentiate

themselves from Maranao who do not regularly
practice Islamic teachings and study the Quran.
“They spread a negative image of Muslim.”

Balik-Islam reproduce the “we/they” hierarchical

differences according to the criteria of proximity to
“the religion of truth,” piety, and ethnicity. 11
　 Everyday Negotiation in Multi-Religion Families
and “Ambiguous
Implementation”
Balik Islam woman, Mariam, into conflict with her Christian family over
which religion to conduct the funeral of her mother.
Her mother had also converted to Islam at Mariam’s suggestion.

Two religion were contested

　 in the funeral ceremony
 The time of burial
 Decoration of the coffin and inside the room
 Catholic mass and Islamic missionary seminar
 Buried in Christian cemetery
but no cross decorated

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Former pastor Balik-Islam made dakwah in the burial ritual.
　 Multiple Religions in Inter-Religious Marriages

Muslim woman 　 Christian Christian woman 　　　 Muslim

man man

Very Rare Possible

 In Islam, if Christian man convert  In Islam, they can marry without

to Islam, they can marry.
 In the reality, family relationships
and norms of Maranao hardly
permit the marriage between
Muslim(Maranao) woman and
Christian man.
woman’s conversion.
 There are many cases that
each family member has different
faith and they respect values and
practices each other.

Choosing the religion of their child is a difficult task because

grandparents and other relatives will intervene over the issue
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　 “ Ambiguous Implementation” to Avoid Family
Disputes Over Choosing the Religion of Child

Case 1, Balik Islam man

 He dose not want to force his wife and children to become Muslim.
 Grandparents wish his kids become
 Kids were baptized and go to church on Sunday,
and go to Friday prayer in Mosque.

Postponing the decision to avoid conflicts with grandparents

Case 2, “half” child of inter-religious marriage

 She has difficulty to determine herself as Muslim or Christian.
 “Muslim and Christian is almost same just the way of praying is different.”
 Her family broke up because of the difference of religion.

Multiple religious fragments in her identity 14

　 Crisis of Multi Religion Families due to Polygamy

Polygamy in the Philippines

Islamic Wedding
Code of Muslim Personal Ceremony (agreement of
Civil Code Laws the couple and family)

Only one wife Up to four wives

The couple can choose where they register the marriage or not register.
Combination of some processes is also possible.

Christians Muslims
Christian women married to The idea of emphasizing
Muslims say they never the advantages of polygamy
accept polygamy. exists.
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　 Experience of polygamy ~two Christian
women~
Case 1, “I can’t stand being with him”

 “He is terrible because he married another woman without consulting me.”

 She thinks reason of his behavior not due to Islam or his character,
but an issue with male-dominated Maranao culture.

Case 2, “both of us became devoted Muslims after my husband’s polygamy”

 She started leaning about Islam to understand her husband’s.

 She converted to Islam few months later.
 They went to Islamic seminar together. Her husband started concentrating
religious activity rather than drinking and going outside at the night  

Polygamy forces a Christian wife to choose

between finding her husband and Islam as difficult to accept
OR internalizing the values of her husband and Islam more deeply
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　 How can we avoid the dichotomy ?

Case1 woman emphasized the cause of her divorce was not

Islam, but the male-dominated Maranao culture
→ Plural differences of ethnic group and gender are applied

Variety of opinions and reactions inside Muslims

-Maranao first wife rejects the polygamy when her husband has a second wife
-Maranao man has not registered a marriage with his second wife because of
the fear his first wife get mad at him
-Balik-Islam women fear polygamy, and they rely on the fact that Islam does
not always allow it

Intersection of differences has a possibility

to avoid any one difference becomes absolute and static
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 Summary of the Arts of Cohabitation

• Ordinary Muslims and Christians have cohabited as

neighbors who share mutual help, and companions who
seek “true religion”.
• Even when disputes over faiths escalated in multi-religion
families, they somehow managed to prevent rupture of
relations through “ambiguous implementation” which was
possible due to intersection of various differences in Iligan
City.

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 Why is it possible for ordinary to create and
maintain intimate relationship with others embracing
different faith?

• Their grassroots cohabitation is built on the practices which

blur the boundary between “Muslim” and “Christian”.

Practices of Balik Islam weaken the otherness of different

religion.

Multi-religion families try to coexist the difference of two

religion and preserve ambiguity in a ceremony and individual
identity.

When the dichotomy of "Muslim" and "Christian“ was

strengthened, intersection of differences avoid the dichotomy
　　 Background of their cohabitation

Insufficient social welfare service

Community of transients
Both Muslims and Christians come to Iligan for education and work.
→ easy to form new relationships

 Opportunity of encounter
Muslims and Christian in Iligan frequently encounter
in communities, schools, offices, markets etc...

→ Changing stereotypical images

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東南アジアとの比較

南タイやバリでは、宗教多元的な状況を可能にする地域の伝
統が重要

イリガンでは、都市的生活の要素が背景にある

→ 要素としては珍しくない。むしろ、共存を壊す要素を見
ていくことの方が重要かもしれない。
 Conclusion

• Challenge of my future research

Has the cohabitation at the grassroots level had an impact on the
peace building at the state level? and how?
How can BARMM reflect the grassroots cohabitation in order to
consolidate peace?

• During the plebiscite in 2019, many Christians in Cotabato city

supported to join BARMM. Majority voted for YES as a result.

• Further investigation on that how people interrupt the differences of

religion/ethnicity and the notion of “Bangsamoro” in mixed
settlement areas within and outside BARMM.
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 Reference
s
• Angeles, Vivienne SM. 2011. The Middle East and the Philippines : Transnational
Linkage, Labor Migration and the Remaking Islam in the Philippines. Comparative
Islamic Studies. 7(1-2). 157-181.
• Fuller, Jonathan. 2005. Cross-Currents: The Story of the Muslim and Christian
Encounter in the Philippines. Mandaluyong City: OMF Literature.
• Gomez, Hilario M. Jr. 2000. The Moro Rebellion and the Search for PEACE: A Study
on Christian-Muslim Relations in the Philippines. Zamboanga City: Silsilah
Publications.
• Hunt, Chester L. 1955. Moslem and Christian in the Philippines. Pacific Affairs.
28(4): 331-349.
• 川島緑 . 2002. 「南部フィリピンの紛争― 2000 年ミンダナオ危機と平和運
動―」武内進一編『アジア・アフリカの武力紛争―共同研究会中間成果報告
―』アジア経済研究所 , 123-142.
• Lacar, Luis Q. 2001. Balik-Islam: Christian Converts to Islam in the Philippines, c.
1970-98. Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. 12(1). 39-60.

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Thank you for your
attention!