Muslim-Christian Relations In Mindanao:
Hope for a Broken Land
by Emo Yango and Herbert Ale

Undoubtedly, the spiritual condition of Muslims in Mindanao has generated much interest. The 13 Muslim people groups in this southern island of the Philippines can easily be described as unreached. Globally, Muslim people groups have been categorized as unreached due to the very restrictive, resistive and seemingly “anti-Christian” stance of Islam. This article seeks to present a concise, though not necessarily comprehensive, historical development of Islam in Mindanao Island. It will also trace current Muslim-Christian relations. In the end, it hopes to provide a prophetic voice to the current spiritual condition among Muslim peoples in Mindanao.

The Historical Development of Islam in Mindanao The earliest documentation of Islamic presence in Mindanao can be traced back to the early 13th century. It began through the contacts made with local peoples by Muslim traders from neighboring islands as they searched for trading partners and markets for their goods. Islamic presence arrived in a peaceful way. It brought welcome economic benefits for the people. In turn, local “datus” (rich community leaders) entered into economic alliances with Muslim traders by offering their daughters in marriage. With minimal effort, Islamic presence and influence grew among the local people. By the mid-16th century when the Spaniards arrived, Islam in Mindanao was well entrenched among various people groups, especially those living along the shorelines. It had even extended its influence and acceptance among the people groups in the north. In Manila, there were already several influential Muslim datus. The arrival of the Spaniards, however, began the eventual bitter relationship between Muslims and Christians. Still wounded from the losses to Muslims in Africa and Eastern Europe in the Crusades, the Spaniards wished to redeem “Christianity’s” losses by propagating their faith in a fleshly, vengeful way. War was not only relegated to armed conflicts but also to stories of truth, half-truths, and outright lies portraying the Muslims as butchers of people. Herein grew the stories that Muslims were barbarians and traitors. The Spaniards gave the Muslim peoples the misnomer “Moro,” which they had previously applied to their Moorish conquerors.

The End of a Peaceful Era
Thus ends the period of peace between the various Muslim and non-Muslim peoples in what became the nation of the Philippines. Roman Catholic monasteries, acting both as church posts and reminders of colonial rule, were established all over Mindanao. Over time, these only reinforced deep-seated hostilities. By the time the Americans took over the imperialist role at the end of the 19th century, armed conflicts between Muslims and the colonialists were common events. In fact, the Americans designed an automatic revolver called the Colt 45 which could shoot successive bullets to ensure an enemy’s death. This was their solution to their conflicts with determined Muslims who fought to the death. Although unconquered, the Muslims retreated to limited geographical enclaves. In 1969, with the Marcos administration searching for ways to bring Muslim insurgency under its control, the Jabida massacre was exposed. This exposé revealed a government military cover-up in the murder of 23 Muslim military recruits from the south. The resulting cry for justice gave birth to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). This in turn became the only political and military alternative for all Muslims. After years of escalating armed and political conflicts, the plight of Muslim Filipinos drew international attention and gained acceptance by the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). As a result, the Autonomous Regions of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was established. Viewed as a political extension of the Filipino federal government, however, it was rejected by more militant Muslims. Consequently, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was established as an alternative voice for Muslim Filipinos who rejected the MNLF as being too conciliatory. As both groups continue to exist today, the MILF can be described as more militant, more politically aggressive for separation, and more religiously conservative (demanding imposing Shariya or Islamic law) than the MNLF. More recently, a peripheral and tolerated but more militant Islamic group, called Abu Sayyaf, has come into being. It has intermittently shifted the focus away from the demands of the MILF.

Muslim-Christian Relations in Mindanao Today
To most Muslim Filipinos, especially at the grassroots level, all non-Muslim Filipinos are “Christians”—plain and simple. Thus, “local” conflicts are universalized. As a result, for Muslims, Christian relations are screened from stories of anger and hatred. In this light, peaceful relations are thus always central to Muslim-Christian interaction. At the organized and leadership levels, dialogues between Islamic and Roman Catholic/mainline Protestant leaders have been continuous. But an Islamic-Evangelical dialogue has been non-existent at this level. At the grassroots level, however, local churches have developed points of reference for entering into peaceful relations with Muslims. For evangelical groups who are more focused on oral evangelizing, strategic attempts have resulted by finding “Jesus-in-Islam.” Various contextualized models have been developed ranging from worship styles to conceptualized interpretation of what a Muslim believer would be like. In some areas, “new” Muslim believers are beginning to search for ways to theologize their own faith. At another concrete level, innovative approaches to link Christian communities to their Muslim counterparts have found a friendlier reception via community development activities. The dynamics therein, i.e., community organizing, project implementation, problem-solving, resourcing funds, etc., have all provided opportunities for relationship building, whereby Christian values are visibly demonstrated. Still, the bigger picture shows that there are gaping holes in Muslim-Christian relations. Some churches are still suspicious of Muslim intentions. Some are overtly discriminatory against Muslims. Others are just simply oblivious and unconcerned about the spiritual plight of Muslims. In this state they indicate their anger, and hope for God’s condemnation upon their Muslim neighbors.

Current Spiritual Season in Mindanao
It is not an overstatement to say that the landscape in Mindanao is divided in spite of the advances in some Christian initiatives to build credible relations with Muslims. The very restrictive, resistive and anti-Christian nature of Muslim attitude to Christianity has been a constant reality here. Moreover, while the division shows hope for reconciliation, the land is suffering. And a suffering land is ground for continuing destruction. In this environment of suffering, both Muslims and Christians are losing out to a common enemy: forces of destruction. For their part, Christian faith communities in Mindanao must shoulder in humility the burden of proof that aims to counter these forces of destruction. Be it political, military, or spiritual, our people of faith must strive to nurture what has been gained in their relations with Muslims, granted that the seeds of reconciliation are still being sown. Only in this nurturing can harvest and reaping happen. Centuries of hatred, anger, pain, and suffering cannot be simply wiped out overnight. Admittedly, in the past decade, concerted efforts seeking to bring reconciliation between Christian and Muslim communities have germinated. But patience, forbearance, and humility must accompany this. In the end, our hope is that God’s faithfulness will bring about the fruits of transformation in the broken land of Mindanao. The church must definitely recognize its brokenness in this broken environment. The church needs to feel the pain of separation from her Muslim half-brothers and half-sisters. In turn, she must be compelled to seek them out, and build relationships of reconciliation. Only then can she credibly introduce them, with integrity, into the family of the Kingdom of God.

Emo & Kathy Yango   eyango@skyinet.net