The Mindanao Conflict

The Philippines is composed of over seven thousand islands and islets and is the only Christian majority nation in Southeast Asia. Of these islands, Mindanao makes up one-third of the island of the Philippines and is home to twenty one million residents who represent a quarter of the Filipino population. For decades, Mindanao has experienced ethno religious conflict. The Mindanao conflict between the Muslims of the Philippines and the Christian Filipino government dates back over forty years. The Muslims believe that they have never been a part of the Philippines and that the struggle today can be related back to the war of independence from Spanish and then American rule. On the other side, the Filipino government argues that the Muslims have to obtain land that is in accordance with the law and is accepted by the community. This disagreement has been the underlying conflict between the state and the Muslim community. Among the reasons for conflict in Mindanao today, religious beliefs best represent why problems arose, not merely because it was the underlying factor for years, but because of its impact on all aspects of culture: its affect on the comminutes identity, the political roles, and the nationality of the region.

The conflict in Mindanao began in the late sixteenth century when the Philippines were colonized by Spain. This colonial rule influenced the ethnic and religious structure of the Philippines, in huge part by bringing Catholicism to the country. The Muslims, who prefer to be called Moros, believed that this conflict resulted mostly from land titles, patronages, and prejudice amongst the two groups. As large Christian communities sprouted from the 1930’s onward, the Moros became the minority of the land they once considered their own and the total population of Muslims fell fifty-eight percent by 1976 from ninety eight percent to forty percent. Today, the Moros own less than seventeen percent of property on the island and the land they do own is...