Islamization of the Philippines Essay

Contrary to the methods of Spanish conquistadors who handled colonization at swordpoint, the introduction of Islam to pre-colonial Philippines and to the rest of Southeast Asia was generally achieved with minimal bloodshed. By marrying into the lively and ruling class, Muslim traders, teachers and kickaries facilitated the transmit of Islam as they travelled to Java, Sumatra, Jahore, Malacca, Borneo and other nigh islands to conduct their mission. By the 13th century, most of the lands of Southeast Asia were Islamized, and pretty soon the southern part of the Philippines followed this trend during the 14th century.But of course, this phenomenon could have not been possible without notable Muslim people who spearheaded the strewing of Islam. Based on the tarsila or the genealogies, the offset one who introduced Islam in the country was Tuan Mashaika, the supposed give-and-take of Jamiyun Kalisa and his wife, Indira Suga, who were both sent to Sulu by Alexander the Great (Mong cal). Tuan Masaika married the girl of raja Sipad of Patikol in Buansa, present-day Jolo (Scribd.com). He was followed by Karim-ul Makhdum, or only when Mukdum, a noted Arabian scholar who introduced Islam in Malacca in the middle of 14th century and continued his travel to the east. He and so reached Simunol, Sulu after passing through Sambuwangan (Zamboanga) and Basilan in 1380 (Mongcal). He built the graduation mosque in Sulu, and he continued to preach Islam until the time of his death. Around 1390, rajah Baginda, a minor prince from Menangkabaw, Sumatra arrived with soldiers and conquered Sulu.Afterwards, in 1450, they were followed by a Jahore-0-born Arab explorer-1 and religious scholar-2 named Sayyid Abu Bakr Abirin, or simply Abu Bakr (Sultanate of Sulu- Wikipedia). Upon coming to Sulu, Abu Bakr married Paramisuli, the local dayang-dayang or princess, and daughter of his predecessor, Raja Baginda. Then, he founded the first-ever sultanate of Sulu with him as the sulta n, and thus he assumed the title Paduka Mahasari Maulana al Sultan Sharif ul-Hshim. But it was Shariff Muhammad Kabungsuwan Ibrahim, son of a royal-blooded Arab from Hadramaut (Scribd.com), who stretched the borders of Islamization beyond Sulu, and into the entirety of Mindanao. In 1475 he and his soldiers invaded the natives of present-day Cotabato and married the princess Putri Tonina. He then founded the sultanate of Mindanao with him as the head.It wasnt just the natives in Mindanao who had been affected by the spread of Islam. Malay traders from Borneo facilitated the spread of Islam to some of the provinces of Luzon, namely Batangas, Mindoro and Pampanga. By the time the Spaniards arrived during the 16th century, they were surprised to con that natives from certain parts of Luzon, including pre-colonial Manila and Tondo, practiced Islam. It is common knowledge, however, that technically and generally, the Spaniards had been more successful in propagating their religion all t hroughout the Philippines, thus contain and paralyzing the spread and influence of Islam. Today, the Philippines is one of the most predominant Roman Catholic nations in the world, second to East Timor in Southeast Asia. Only or so 5% of todays Philippine population practices Islam.The Roots of procreation in the PhilippinesIt is common for Filipinos to place a high regard on facts of life not only as a predestined debt instrument to their children, but also as an important means to a high social and economical status. According to the National Statistics Office or NSO, as of May 2012, 58 million out of the estimated 67 million Filipinos sr. 10 to 64 years old argon functionally literate, substance they can read, write, compute, and comprehend (Mercene). Most Filipinos who are functionally literate are those whose who have at least finished high school.In pre-colonial Philippines, however, education in hunting-gathering communities or Primitive Communal societies was informa l, unstructured, and devoid of methods (DepEd). It is less cogitate on academics characterized by the 3Rs which are reading, writing and arithmetic, and more compliant to vocational activities. The learners were taught by their parents or in the houses of tribal educators such as the babaylan or the katalonan, who are believed to possess wisdom and knowledge on spirituality with lever to their beliefs and traditions (Sribd). An ancient Southeast Asian writing placement, called the Baybayin, was used as a teaching medium.Baybayin, from the Tagalog term baybay which means to spell is a member of the Brahmic family-3 and is preserve as being in use in the 16th century, up until the late 19th century (Baybayin Wikipedia). It is not to be confused with Alibata, which is Arabic in origin. Ancient writing tools consist of leaves, palm fronds, tree bark, product rinds, daggers as panulat and materials made from bamboo. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, these native communities are al ready a great deal and technically literate using the Baybayin.There had been several major changes to the fictitious character of education in the Philippines during the Spanish period, as their teachings were centralized on the political theory of Catholicism. The tribal tutors were replaced with Spanish missionaries, and the responsibility for providing primary education to indigenous populations was remaining to religious orders, headed by parish friars. The concepts of church and school were merged. This elitist, religious-oriented and exceedingly patriarchal quality of education continued until it was partially liberalized through the enactment of the Educational rules of order of 1863 which provided for the establishment of at least one primary school for boys and girls in each town under the responsibility of the municipal government (DepEd). The first book printed in the Philippines, a version of Doctrina Christiana or Christian teaching in the Chinese language, was printed in 1590, to be followed by versions in Tagalog and Spanish in 1593.There were four major groups of Spanish missionaries who established Christian schools in the Philippines, most of these institutions still teaching at present. The Augustinians established a school in Cebu in 1565, and then the Franciscans took charge of educating the natives in 1577. The Jesuits followed in 1581, with the youth as their focus. They also founded the Unibersidad de San Ignacio, which was later incorporated into the University of Santo Tomas, and also the Colegio de San Jos in 1601 that took over the management in what became Escuela Municipal, now Ateneo de Manila University (Education in the Philippines- Wikipedia). The stand up group of missionaries were the Dominicans, who established a school on their first mission in Bataan in 1587, and later founded Colegio de San Juan de Letran in 1620. In general, however, education during the Spanish period was inadequate, suppressed, and controlled (DepEd).A free and adequate secularized public school system only came with the first decade of the American rule, with respect to recommendations of the Schurman Commission, or the firstly Philippine Commission a five-person group headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman-4, president of Cornell University-5, to study conditions in the islands and make recommendations (Schurman Commission Wikipedia). The Taft Commission or the Second Philippine Commission established by President William Mckinley came later in 1900. This commission, headed by William Howard Taft-6, was granted legislative as well as limited executive director powers (Taft Commission Wikipedia), and thus it focused on training the people for the duties of citizenship and avocation. The spread of public schools throughout the Philippines came afterwards in 1901, when the Thomasites, the five hundred lead up teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines due to shortage of teachers, arrived and established baranga y schools. whole works Cited ListMongcal, MAJ SAMUEL T . Sulu Our Ancestral Domain. The Philippine Marine Corps formalized Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .Sultanate of Sulu Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .The Spread of Islam in the Philippines. Scribd. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. .REPORT IN HUM 10Javier, Jess G.Hum10 B1-0 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johore-1 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_people-2 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_scholar-3 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmic_family-4 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Gould_Schurman-5 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_University-6 http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft