The Philippines today is the 12th most populous country in the world, with over 120 million people, the vast majority of whom are Christian. Estimates suggest that nearly 90% of the Filipino population adheres to Christianity, and 80% of them belong to the Roman Catholic Church. In contrast, Muslims now represent only about 5% of the population, with over half of them concentrated in the southern island of Mindanao.
Currently, the number of Muslims in the Philippines is estimated at around 13 million. Their presence is strongest in the southern regions, particularly in Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, and Palawan Island. However, Muslim populations have significantly diminished in the central and northern islands, which are now predominantly Christian — Catholic, Protestant, as well as Buddhist and animist.
This demographic shift is a direct result of 333 years of Spanish colonial rule, followed by 42 years of American occupation.
Before Christianity entered the Philippines, Islam was the first and only religion practised on the islands. It played a foundational role in shaping the region’s identity and culture.
Many historians who specialise in Philippine history argue that, had it not been for the 375 years of Spanish and American colonisation, the Philippines today would likely be a Muslim nation.
Islam Was the First Religion in the Philippines
According to an article by The Mackenzie Institute, historians trace the introduction of Islam to the Philippines to an Arab merchant named Karim Al-Makhdum (or Al-Makhzoumi). He arrived as early as 1380 in the island of Sulu, which is now part of the southern Philippines. There, he built the first mosque in the country, located on Simunul Island — a mosque that still stands today.
Some scholars argue that Islam may have reached the Philippines even earlier. As far back as the 10th century, Arab and Muslim traders had already arrived in East Asia and the Philippines islands. Many of them settled, intermarried with local populations, and succeeded in spreading Islam peacefully through trade and da‘wah (religious outreach).
By the 15th century, the majority of the Sulu population had embraced Islam, leading to the establishment of the Sulu Sultanate on November 17, 1450. This Islamic state was initially a vassal of the Brunei Empire before gaining full independence in 1578.
The first sultan of Sulu was Sharif ul-Hashim Sayyid Abu Bakr, an Arab-born leader from Makkah who married into the ruling families of the region. He established the first recognised Islamic authority on the island and assumed the title:
“Paduka Mahasari Maulana Sultan Sharif ul-Hashim.”
The Rise of Islamic States in the Philippines
During the first half of the 18th century, the Sulu Sultanate extended its authority over Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Zamboanga Peninsula, southern Palawan, and even parts of Borneo, which is today part of Malaysia.
Sulu was not the only Islamic kingdom in the archipelago. In 1475, the Sultanate of Mindanao was founded by Sharif Muhammad Kabungsuwan, who established Islamic governance in Mindanao, Lanao, Cotabato, Davao, and the surrounding islands.
After settling in Mindanao, Sharif Kabungsuwan consolidated his rule and expanded the reach of Islam, successfully converting the entire population of Mindanao in a short span of time.
When Muslims reached the area now known as the capital, Manila, they named it “Amanullah” (meaning “peace of Allah”). They established the Islamic Kingdom of Manila, which became one of the strongest regions implementing Shariah law in the Philippines.
Before Colonisation: An Islamic Society
By the 16th century, the Philippines was composed of numerous Islamic kingdoms and sultanates, and the vast majority of its people were Muslim. These Muslims were not only preserving their faith but were also actively engaged in spreading Islam throughout Southeast Asia.
This Islamic expansion came to a sharp halt with the rise of Christian imperial powers, particularly the Spanish Empire, which emerged as the global leader in Christian missionary activity.
What is now known as the Republic of the Philippines only came into existence in the second half of the 16th century, specifically in 1565, when the Spanish military commander Miguel López de Legazpi landed on the shores of the islands and began its colonisation.
The Spanish Colonisation That Christianised the Philippines
Before that, the archipelago consisted of Muslim islands and Islamic kingdoms, each with its own identity and governance.
Upon invading, the Spanish falsely claimed they had “discovered” the islands and renamed them “The Philippines” in honour of their king, Philip II, who had ordered their conquest.
It took Spain nearly 50 years to colonise the rest of the islands. The modern Philippine nation did not emerge until the late 16th and early 17th centuries, proving that Islam predates the state known today as the Philippines.
Spanish colonisation began with the arrival of the Spanish explorer and Catholic missionary Ferdinand Magellan in the island of Cebu in March 1521. This marks the beginning of Christianity’s presence in the region.
Magellan allied with the local ruler, who converted to Christianity. Shortly after, Magellan launched his campaign to evangelise the islands. However, his mission was cut short — he was killed during a battle on the coast of Mactan Island. His surviving men fled and returned to Spain.
Following Magellan’s death, King Philip II sent a second military expedition led by Miguel López de Legazpi, who launched a brutal invasion from the north with newly converted pagan troops. He succeeded in conquering the entire archipelago and committed horrific massacres against Muslims, reminiscent of the Spanish atrocities in Andalusia.
“Moros” and Forced Conversion Campaigns
Spanish colonisers referred to the Muslims of the Philippines as “Moros”, the same term they used for Muslims in Al-Andalus and North Africa.
Legazpi was accompanied by five zealous Catholic friars who began preaching Catholicism in Cebu and beyond. After seizing control of the northern regions, Catholic missionary activity intensified. Churches were built across the capital and provinces, and a doctrine of forced conversion was implemented: “Convert or be killed.”
The Spanish administration also exploited sectarian division, deliberately sowing discord between Christians and Muslims. The Christian-majority north rose several times against the Islamic south.
Despite this, the Spanish were never able to fully control the Muslim regions. The Sulu Sultanate remained under Islamic rule throughout the occupation.
The American Occupation and the Decline of Islam
Spain’s 333-year campaign failed to completely Christianise the Philippines. After its defeat in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, the Spanish handed over the Philippines to the United States under the Treaty of Paris.
The Americans then began their own mission to subjugate the Islamic territories. It took 17 years to do so. In 1915, the Carpenter Agreement was signed between the United States and the Sulu Sultanate, under which the Sultanate recognised American sovereignty in exchange for religious autonomy.
Nevertheless, Filipino Muslims rejected integration into a Christian-majority state and demanded independence for their sultanates.
The American occupation lasted nearly half a century. During that time, Muslims were pushed into minority status in their ancestral lands. Even islands like Mindanao and Sulu, which once had Muslim majorities, witnessed demographic shifts that turned Muslims into marginalised minorities.
A brief Japanese occupation during World War II changed little for the Muslims.
Post-Independence and the Rise of Islamic Resistance
In 1946, the Philippines was granted independence — by then, Catholicism had become the dominant religion. Yet the suffering of the Muslim population continued.
During the dictatorship of Ferdinand E. Marcos, elected in 1965, military campaigns were launched against Muslim communities, triggering widespread violence and repression.
In response, armed Islamic movements emerged, most notably the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), founded in 1968 by Nur Misuari and Salamat Hashim. This marked the beginning of a new phase of resistance aimed at gaining independence for the Muslim regions of the Philippines — a struggle that continues to this day.
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