Islamization in the Philippines

Islamization in the Philippines: Key Figures and Historical Accounts

• The introduction and spread of Islam in the Philippines has not received much attention from scholars due to lack of archeological data and contemporary accounts.
• The Islamization of the southern Philippines occurred alongside the Islamization of Borneo Sulawesi, Celebes, and the Moluccas.
• Tarsilas or salsilas, primarily written genealogical accounts, are indispensable documents to reconstruct the history of the Bangsamoros.
• Dr. Najeeb Mitry Saleeby, a Christian Arab brought by the Americans, studied the tarsilas in Mindanao and wrote on the histories of Maguindanao and Sulu.
• Tuan Maqbalu is a sacred grave/tombstone on the slope of Bud Datu that bears the year of the death of the deceased, 710 A.H, which corresponds to 1310 A.C.
• Tuan Mashaika founded the first Muslim community and converted people to Islam in Maimbung, Sulu.
• Karimul Makhdum, an Arab who arrived in 1380 A.C., founded the first Masjid in the Philippine archipelago at Tubig-Indangan on Simunul Island.
• Rajah Baguinda arrived in 1390 and strengthened Islamic consciousness in the area, evolving a flourishing Muslim community in Sulu.
• Sayyid Abubakar, an Arab from South Arabia, founded the Sultanate of Sulu and consolidated Islam in Buansa, shaping political institutions along Islamic lines.
• Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan, descended from an Arab father and Malay mother, came from Johore to the mouth of Pulangi River in 1475, and out of his marital union with local maidens, the Maguindanao sultanate and Buayan sultanate came into existence.
• Sultan Qudarat was Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuan's great-grandson who was the first Maguindanao ruler spoken of in the tarsilas as "Sultan."
• Sharif Awliya, from Johore, introduced Islam to the people of Mindanao around 1460 and his story is wrapped in myth, including coming to Mindanao in the air in search of paradise and marrying a celestial maiden who bore him a daughter.