Karen T.

Dellatan

OBTEC I-3

Written Account
Advent of Islam

Introduction of Islam
What is Islam, and what do Muslims believe?
- In about 610 A.D., the angel Gabriel appeared to a man named Muhammad in the
city of Mecca in present day Saudi Arabia. Gabriel told Muhammad that God had
commissioned Muhammad as His last prophet.
-Islam is a religious system begun by Muhammad. It is a religion that believes in one
God.
- Islam means submission, deriving from a root word that means peace. The
word Muslim means one who submits to Allah.

The Arrival of Islam

The periods following the demise of the Prophet Muhammad - led to the expansion
of Islam to Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, Islam was
promulgated by three methods: by Muslim traders in the course of peaceful trade;
by preachers and holy men who set out from India and Arabia specifically to convert
idolaters and animist and increase the knowledge of the faithful; and by war waged
against heathen states.
It was in North Sumatra that the trade route from India and the west reached the
archipelago, and Islam first obtained a firm footing in Southeast Asia. Malacca, the
main trading center of the area in the 15th century, became the great stronghold of
the faith, from where it spread out. In the 10th century, Islam's influence intensified
and reached as far as ancient Malaysia.
The spread of Islam to Old Malaysia was brought about by the activities of the Arab
traders, missionaries, and teachers who introduced their religious beliefs among the
Malays.
The arrival of Islam to Mindanao and Sulu is most probably was the result of the
missionary activities of Arab traders and teachers or sufis who came along the trade
routes.
The early missionaries who came to the Philippines were guided by Islamic
principles of no religious compulsion, thus the gradual and liberal promulgation of
Islam. Known as Mukhdumin, these missionaries did not mean to conquer the
territories or exploit its inhabitants but to teach, and guide people to the right path.
Tuan Mashaikaaccording to Sulu Geneology, he was the first person to introduce
Islam who arrived in the 13th century.

Karim ul-Makhdum was later called Tuan Sharif Aulia. He was an Arabian scholar
who laid the foundation of Islam in Malaysia.
-

He arrived in the Malay Peninsula about the middle of the 14 th century.

He succeeded in establishing in Malacca, a foothold for Islam, and
proceeded to Sulu and preached the doctrines of Mohammed in 1380. He
was the first Muslim missionary in Sulu.
He built the oldest mosque in the Philippines known as Sheikh Karim-ul
Makhdum Mosque located in Tubig Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi,
Philippines.
He died in Sibuto, Tawi-Tawi.

Raja Baguinda (1390) one of the petty rulers of Menangkabaw, Sumatra.

-

Arrived in Sulu and promptly converted some of the natives of Islam.

Abu Bakr follows Raja Baguindas religious activities and left Palembang for Sulu
about 1450.
-

He belonged to a sharif lineage, which is one of the descendants of Nabi

Muhammad.
He married Paramisuli, Raja Baguindas daughter.
He became a sultan and established a government patterned after the
Sultanate of Arabia. As he rose to power, he assumed five titles affixed to his
name, thus his official name runs as follows: paduka, mawlana, mahasiri,
sharif sultan Hashim Abubakar.
Islam spread rapidly to all parts of Sulu.

Sharif Kabungsuan- arrived to Mindanao from Johore with his men, who quickly
began laying the foundations of Islam.
-

First sultan of Mindanao

When the Spanish fleet led by Miguel Lpez de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines in
1565, they were met by local datus as they traveled in the islands. Arriving in the
Kingdom of Maynila, a vassal-state of the Sultanate of Brunei, in 1570 they were
met by the Muslim rajah, Rajah Sulayman.
Rajah Sulayman- was the Muslim Rajah of Maynila, a kingdom at the mouth of the
Pasig River where it meets Manila Bay, at the time the Spanish forces first came to
Luzon.
Sulayman resisted the Spanish forces, and thus, along with Rajah Matanda and
Lakan Dula, was one of three Rajahs who played significant roles in what was the
Spanish conquest of their kingdoms of the Pasig River delta in the early 1570s.
Second half of the 16th century the arrival of the Spaniards and the subsequent
conquest of Luzon led the Muslims to retreat to the south.
The conversion to Islam give the light to all settlements in this region who were
animists become strong Muslims leaving worshipping the creatures. It gave way to
the uncompromising belief in one single Supreme Being called Allah, on the equality
and brotherhood of the faithful, on the establishment of goodwill and prosperity to

all. And revolutionized the lifestyles of the faithful in all spheres of existence. They
become bravest defenders of Islam against those who trying to destroy their belief.
Relations with the Orang Dampuans
Between 900 and 1200 A.D.
-

Another group of immigrants came to the Philippines form southern Annam

known as Orang Dampuans.

Orang Dampuans or Men from Champa they established trading posts in Sulu.
They were not politically minded and had no intention of dominating the
people of Sulu, who were call Buranus.
-

Their interest lay in trade.

Buranuns their jealousy of the group made them massacred some Orang
Dampuans, who in return, took their revenge back and sailed to their
homeland.
13th century Orang Dampuas returned to Sulu to trade peacefully with the natives.

Relations with Banjarmasin

Banjarmasin and Brunei two of the important sub-states of the Empire of Sri
Vijaya, who sent traders to Sulu.
Sulus famous pearl beds drew the interest of the Banjarmasin merchants and
adventurers. Thus, regular trade relations were established between people of Sulu
and the men of Banjaras the men of Banjarmasin were called.
Men of Banjar more diplomatic and knew how to assuage the wounded pride of
the Buranuns through the power of a beautiful woman.
-

They brought their beautiful princess to Sulu and offered to the Buranun ruler.

Sulu developed into an emporium, and trading ships from Cambodia, China, Java,
and Sumatra cast anchor at Sulu ports to savor wealth and splendor.

Reference:
Raven, P. H., Evert, R. F. & Eichhorn, S. E. (February, 1992). Preface. Biology of
plants (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Agoncillo, T. A., (1990). History of the Filipino People. Garotech Publishing.
Esmula, W. K. (n.d.). Islam in the Philippines. Retrieved from
http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/Philippines/philippines.html
History of Islam in the Philippines (2004). Retrieved from
http://www.muslimmindanao.ph/Islam_phil.html

Nathan, K. S., Mohammed Hashim Kamali (ed.) (2015). Islam in Southeast Asia:
Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21 st Century. Singapore:
Utopia Press Pte Ltd
The History of the Muslim in the Philippines (2015). Retrieved from
http://ncca.gov.ph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-communitiesand-traditional-arts-sccta/central-cultural-communities/the-history-of-themuslim-in-the-philippines/