The unity of the nation is hardest to obtain when it is composed of many different groups with varying cultures and beliefs. This much is true in our country with our never-ending trouble with our Muslims brothers in Mindanao.
For two different groups to unite, the first thing to be done is for each group to understand each other’s culture and beliefs. Failing this, it is very hard to know what motivates a group to act in a certain manner, leading to misunderstanding. However, culture and beliefs are not built in a day but evolve through the years. For better understanding, therefore, I suggest we learn more of our history and that of our brothers in the south. What would you discover if you care to learn the history of our Muslim brothers in the south, for example? There you will know that before the coming of the Spaniards, the Muslims in the south already had a much higher level of civilization than most of other areas in the country. From worshiping the “anitos” or other forms of pagan beliefs and practices, they were already embracing Islam which taught only of one Supreme Being above everyone else. They also had the Sultanate of Sulu which for all intents and purposes was already a much higher form of government than our barangay system at the time.
Unlike our barangays which were small and governed independently of each other, the Sultanate encompassed areas beyond the island and nearby islands of Sulu and includes practically the southern half of Mindanao, Palawan and a chunk of Borneo. Jolo, the Sultanate’s capital, was where the Chinese traders from China and the Indians and other traders from the south and west met to transact business. Like those who came, the Muslims themselves were also traders, buying in one distant place and selling in another. Like the ubiquitous Chinese, it was not uncommon for the Spaniards to see Muslim traders transacting business with the people of the Visayas and Luzon.
You wonder why the Spaniards were unable to subjugate the Muslims? It was because unlike the powerless barangay heads in the Visayas and Luzon, the Sultan of Sulu could easily muster in a short time a strong force by the thousands to resist the invading Spaniards when needed. The Sultan had no standing army but each Muslim that respond to his call would come armed with the much dreaded kris or barong, along with some cannons and harquebus purchased or acquired from somewhere else by force.
How determined were the sultan’s men when they fought?
In his book, Swish of the Kris-The Story of the Moros, Vic Hurley said: “Every one of them is valiant. There never was a Moro who was afraid to die. Death on the field of battle is a privilege, and they guard their privileges jealously. History can never forget the Moros, for they did something in the 1500s, and the 1600s, and the 1700s and clear down into the 1800s, that was supposed to be impossible. They proved too strong for the Spanish conquistadores!”
How did the long fight between the Moros and Spaniards start?
In the first Spanish invasion of Jolo, Najeeb M. Saleeby in his book, History of Sulu, wrote: “The sixth sultan was Mohammedul Halim Pangiran Buddiman. During his reign Governor Sandé equipped and directed large expeditions to Borneo and Sulu. The armada sent to Sulu was commanded by Capt. Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa and reached the town of Jolo in June, 1578. It is asserted that Rodriguez defeated Pangiran and exacted tribute from the Sulus. Rodriguez, however, did not occupy Jolo, and no permanent advantage was derived from his victory.”
“This invasion marked the beginning of a state of war between Sulu and Spain, which covered a period of three hundred years and caused considerable devastation and loss of life . . . The magnitude of this strife, its far-reaching effects, and its bearing on the Spanish and American occupation of Sulu, invites special attention to the causes of the war and the Sulu character which it depicts.”
“The expedition to Jolo formed part of and immediately followed the expedition which was directed by Governor Sandé against Borneo. There is no doubt that, besides the reasons Sandé gave for the expedition to Borneo, he was really actuated by jealousy of the Portuguese, whose influence had reached Bruney and the Moluccas, and by a strong desire to conquer Borneo, Sulu, Mindanao, and the Moluccas.”
The reason for sending the expedition against Sulu could be found in Sandé’s letter of instructions to Capt. Rodriguez de Figueroa. In summary, Saleeby said that clearly the Governor intended, first, to reduce Sulu to a vassal state; second, to exact tribute in pearls; third, to secure the trade of Sulu for the Spaniards; fourth, to punish the Sultan of Sulu for the help he rendered the Sultan of Bruney against the Spanish forces; fifth, to rescue the Christian slaves in Sulu; sixth, to deprive the Sulus of their artillery and ammunition and of all vessels except fishing vessels, in order to stop their piracy; seventh, to compel the Sulus to become peaceful agriculturists; eighth, to uproot the “accursed doctrine” of Mohammed and to convert the Sulus to the Christian religion.
Unfortunately, Sandé and the rest of the governor generals that followed him in Manila underestimated the strength and will of the Moros to fight and defend their freedom with their lives. It was for this that our undefended Christian communities suffered, too, from the incessant attacks of the Moros in revenge for the Spanish attacks on their own homes.
What is the solution? Let us search our souls to find one but first let us know our brother Muslims better.