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Philippines Islam
In the early 1990s, Filipino Muslims were firmly rooted in
their Islamic faith. Every year many went on the hajj
(pilgrimage) to the holy city of Mecca; on return men would be
addressed by the honoritic "hajj" and women the honorific
"hajji". In most Muslim communities, there was at least one
mosque from which the muezzin called the faithful to prayer five
times a day. Those who responded to the call to public prayer
removed their shoes before entering the mosque, aligned
themselves in straight rows before the minrab (niche), and
offered prayers in the direction of Mecca. An imam, or prayer
leader, led the recitation in Arabic verses from the Quran,
following the practices of the
Sunni (see Glossary)
sect of Islam
common to most of the Muslim world. It was sometimes said that
the Moros often neglected to perform the ritual prayer and did
not strictly abide by the fast (no food or drink in daylight
hours) during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, or
perform the duty of almsgiving. They did, however, scrupulously
observe other rituals and practices and celebrate great festivals
of Islam such as the end of Ramadan; Muhammad's birthday; the
night of his ascension to heaven; and the start of the Muslim New
Year, the first day of the month of Muharram.
Islam in the Philippines has absorbed indigenous elements,
much as has Catholicism. Moros thus make offerings to spirits
(diwatas), malevolent or benign, believing that such
spirits can and will have an effect on one's health, family, and
crops. They also include pre-Islamic customs in ceremonies
marking rites of passage--birth, marriage, and death. Moros share
the essentials of Islam, but specific practices vary from one
Moro group to another. Although Muslim Filipino women are
required to stay at the back of the mosque for prayers (out of
the sight of men), they are much freer in daily life than are
women in many other Islamic societies.
Because of the world resurgence of Islam since World War II,
Muslims in the Philippines have a stronger sense of their unity
as a religious community than they had in the past. Since the
early 1970s, more Muslim teachers have visited the nation and
more Philippine Muslims have gone abroad--either on the hajj or
on scholarships--to Islamic centers than ever before. They have
returned revitalized in their faith and determined to strengthen
the ties of their fellow Moros with the international Islamic
community. As a result, Muslims have built many new mosques and
religious schools, where students (male and female) learn the
basic rituals and principles of Islam and learn to read the Quran
in Arabic. A number of Muslim institutions of higher learning,
such as the Jamiatul Philippine al-Islamia in Marawi, also offer
advanced courses in Islamic studies.
Divisions along generational lines have emerged among Moros
since the 1960s. Many young Muslims, dissatisfied with the old
leaders, asserted that datu and sultans were unnecessary
in modern Islamic society. Among themselves, these young
reformers were divided between moderates, working within the
system for their political goals, and militants, engaging in
guerrilla-style warfare. To some degree, the government managed
to isolate the militants, but Muslim reformers, whether moderates
or militants, were united in their strong religious adherence.
This bond was significant, because the Moros felt threatened by
the continued expansion of Christians into southern Mindanao and
by the prolonged presence of Philippine army troops in their
homeland.
Data as of June 1991
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