Historic Philipines – It is this Islam that actually produced heroic resistance against western colonialism

“The Philippine Muslims was once a dominant group in the country. They have 500 years of political history, so far the longest political experience compared to other groups in the whole Philippines. Their culture is a blend of Islam and adat. Adat is the sum of both pre-Islamic culture and the philosophical interpretation of the Muslims on the teachings of Islam. It is itself the lasting contribution of the Philippine Muslims to the country’s national body politic. However, to know the Muslim history, one should understand the role of Islam in bringing about historical development. It is this Islam that actually produced heroic resistance against western colonialism. The Philippine Muslims today became known as cultural communities owing to their culture surviving foreign hegemonism to this day.

The history of the Philippine Muslims is part of the backbone of the historical development of the whole country. Filipino historians like Dr. Renato Constantino asserted that no Philippine history can be complete without a study of Muslim development (1990:29).

The Philippines has two lines of historical development. The first line, which is the older, came to develop in Mindanao and Sulu. And this refers to the Muslim line of historical development . Had not this line of historical development been disturbed by western colonialism, Islam might have charted the entire destiny of the Philippine nationhood. External factors swept into the country and brought the second line. The Hispanized Filipinos were central to the development of this second line. This is the product of the great historical experiences of the Filipino people under western rule.”

Source: http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-a/article.php?igm=4&i=232