Bangsamoro (World of Sultans)

The Kingdom of Mindanao and Sulu Abode of Peace (Arabic: المملكة مينداناو وسولو دار السلام, Jawi:  كوتا ميندانااو دان سولو دارالسلام, Malay: Kerajaan Mindanao dan Sulu Darussalam, Chavacano: Reino de Mindanao y Sulu Morada de la Paz) is a country located in Southeast Asia. Bangsamoro is located in the southern and western Philippine Archipelago, comprising of the islands of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. It is also known as the Bangsamoro Kingdom (Arabic: المملكةبانجسامورو, Jawi: كوتا بڠسا مورو, Malay: Kerajaan Bangsa Moro) in many Moro documents. The term originates from the Malay word bangsa meaning nation and Moro, the Spanish and Filipino label for Muslims living in the islands.

Bangsamoro shares no land borders with any country. However, it shares maritime borders with the Philippines to the north - bordering the Visayas islands separated by the Bohol Sea, and to the west, sharing a maritime border with Palawan separated by the Sulu Sea. Malaysia lies to the southeast, also sharing a maritime border between the Sulu Archipelago and the Malaysian state of Sabah. Other neighbors include Indonesia, where it is separated by the Celebes Sea and Brunei.

Bangsamoro has its origins in the various Islamic kingdoms and states in the area, which from 1521 to 1898, fought wars with the Spanish Empire that colonized the Philippine archipelago. From 1898 to 1945, they fought the Japanese Empire and from 1945 to 2008, the Philippines.

It is a member of the Global Alliance of Islamic Nations, the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Etymology and History
When Spain invaded the Philippines, the natives of southern Mindanao showed fierce resistance to Spanish rule. The natives contained steel blades which allowed them to defeat the Spanish forces, eventually making the Spanish give up and stop attempting to convert western Mindanao's natives. Bangsamoro literally means "Bangsa" which is Malay for "country/state" and "Moro" which is Spanish for "Moors", the moniker for the Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula.

Though the official name is "The Kingdom of Mindanao and Sulu Abode of Peace", the name "Bangsamoro", its official short name, and official alternative, has become much more overwhelmingly common. There have been talks within the Bangamoro Parliament, to officially drop "Mindanao and Sulu" and replace it with "Bangamoro" entirely to enforce the Moro Islamic identity of the nation.

Politics
Bangsamoro's political system runs on a semi-theocratic monarchy, the sultan is the current supreme source of political power. However, that political power is rightfully exercised within the Prime Minister - resembling southern neighbor Malaysia's adaptation of Westminster politics. And much like Malaysia, the sultan is also an elected position. Islam is the state religion of Bangsamoro, and the Qu'ran, the Islamic holy text is part of the country's legislature, although not the sole document and a separate constitution does exist to accommodate the non-Muslims.

The indigenous term datu or dato is used almost by all royals of Mindanao and Sulu, regardless of their religion of ethnic group. It has become a symbolic term for Bangsamoro.

Islamic Nobility and Politics
By law, all political leaders must profess Islam as their faith, since Islam is the state religion. Non-Muslims wanting to run for any political position must convert to Islam. All of Mindanao and Sulu's highest and most prestigious ranks require one to be a Muslim.

According to the Constitution of Mindanao and Sulu, one must be a Muslim to become the king or sultan of Bangsamoro.

Bangsamoro is divided into regional rajahnates, carved out of the original regions and borders set by the Philippine government in Mindanao and Sulu. Each region is ruled by a powerful Muslim prince known as a rajah, where the term has been revived. These rajahs are to oversee the functions of each region, and hold the second greatest power in Mindanao and Sulu.

Each province in Bangsamoro is ruled by a lower-ranking Muslim prince or maharaja a tradition adopted from the Sulu Sultanate, used for provincial princes. Misuari liked the idea of using the title maharajah for a provincial title, although it originated from an Indian term meaning "high king" - in contrary to its use.

Marawi City is the religious capital of Bangsamoro, known as the Islamic City of Marawi.

Administrative Regions
Like its northern neighbor Philippines, Bangasmoro's smallest units of political divisons are known as barangays. Zamboanga City is the administrative capital of Bangsamoro, and Marawi City is the Shariah courts operate. The provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi form the Bumiputra Moro ("Moro World" in Malay), which was carved out of what was once the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or the ARMM when Mindanao and Sulu were part of the Philippines - since technically almost all of Bangsamoro is now populated by Muslims at this point. The Bumiputra Moro was extended to include Lanao del Norte, Cotabato and Zamboanga del Sur when the Christian population of Lanao del Norte and the Zamboanga Peninsula decreased significantly due to the mass exodus of Ilocanos and Cebuanos in Lanao del Sur, once-more making the area predominantly Muslim. Although Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte are not located in the Moro Bumiputra, they are administered from Marawi City and under the jurisdiction of the Moro Bumiputra. The Zamboanga Region also was dissolved, and was split up among different regions.

Immigration Policies
Currently, Bangsamoro migration laws only permit Muslim migrants to settle in the kingdom, this contributes to the growing Muslim population of Bangsamoro. The reason for this was to undo what Ferdinand Marcos and Glorya Macapagal-Arroyo had done in encouraging illegal Catholic migrations to Mindanao when it was part of the Republic of the Philippines. Occasionally, however, Then-sultan Nur Misauri allowed few Christian families to settle in Bangsamoro but they had to pay the jizyah tax and take an oath not to disrupt the lives of Muslims. But this can only be achieved if a Christian migrant can prove to be a positive impact on Moro society. According to a 2015 research, about 103 Christians have been allowed to migrate and settle in the country, as dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens). The majority being Filipino Christians, as well as noticeable numbers of Indonesian Christian and Malaysian Christian expatriates.

As for the Muslim migrants, many tend to be impoverished Indonesians and Malaysians finding work in Bangsamoro. In 2016, about 5,024 Indonesian expatriates, and 456 Malaysian expatriates were granted Bangsamoro citizenship.

Misauri said that the ban on non-Muslim migrants is to "... protect the presence of Islam in Mindanao and Sulu." He also said, "It is my job to do so, but also to protect the Christians already living in the kingdom but not to let anymore Roman Catholics settle and outnumber the Muslims as had happened when they called us Filipinos."

Army and Law Enforcement
The National Bangsamoro Armed Forces forms the armed wing of the Bangsamoro government. They are under the command of the sultan.

The Bangsamoro Armed Forces is currently a "developing army", lacking the modern technology to that of its northern Philippine neighbor and southern Malaysian neighbor. The Philippine Armed Forces had ordered the destruction of all its equipment in Mindanao and Sulu when they retreated in defeat.

Due to this, the Bangsamoro Constitution set up a "Citizens Defense Oath", in which citizens own arms - as the Bangsamoro government decided not to legislate firearms ownership.

The Bangsamoro National Police is the national law enforcement group.

Religion
Islam accounts for about 87% of Bangsamoro's total population, and 10% are Christians, 3% belong to Animist and indigenous traditional religion. When Mindanao and Sulu received independence from the Republic of the Philippines, its Christian population, which had been at 70% dropped to 10% following the mass emigration of Cebuanos and Ilocanos back to the Philippines who feared religious persecution - making many areas, once-more predominantly Muslim such as Lanao del Norte, Cotabato Province and many areas of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Roman Catholicism continues to decrease as Catholics continue to emigrate to the Philippines, in fears of religious persecution. It is estimated that Bangsamoro may be entirely Muslim by as early as 2025. As of 2016, about 6,083 Roman Catholics and non-Muslims have emigrated to the Philippines.

Most Muslims are either followers of traditional Sunni Islam or Folk Islam. The Shariah Court has some influence on the politics, sales of pork and alcohol are not permitted in any predominantly-Muslim territory or space, they are, under strict supervision, allowed in Christian areas. Muslims are not permitted to work for businesses that deal with the sale of swine meat or alcohol. Those transporting alcohol and pork are required by law to put labels on their vehicles, known as "Haram stickers", indicating that they have non-Halal and Haram foods and items in their possession. However, this doesn't apply to regulate non-Muslim civilians who simply have non-Halal foods in their vehicles.

A new bill is currently underway and being discussed, that would ban non-Muslims from bringing any pork or alcohol products into predominantly Muslim areas, the law would establish police patrols in every entrance to a Muslim-majority barangay checking commuters for Haram food products, similar to drug checks. However, exceptions would be Haram-labeled transportation passing through the territory to get to their destination.

The constitution of Bangsamoro does offer some limited religious freedom, but Islam is the state religion and non-Muslims are obligated to pay the jizyah, the special tax applied to non-Muslims living in a Muslim nation. In addition, non-Muslims cannot serve in government, political or military positions (though they are allowed to keep personal arms, via the Citizens Defense Oath). Every province is also required to have an Islamic center, complemented by a madrasa as the government supports active attempts to spread Islam through the islands. There have been proposals by the Moro Islamic Front Party to completely strip non-Muslims of citizenship, adopting Saudi Arabian-style laws for citizenship.

The Bangsamoro government currently allows churches to operate in the country. However, the constitution also says that proselytizing with Muslims is illegal, Muslims may only convert out of Islam if one chooses to but that ex-Muslim may not preach any outside religion to his Muslim counterparts. In addition, people converting out of Islam lose certain rights and privileges. Churches also have proximity limits to Muslim areas.

The Bangsamoro Parliament still lets Christian churches operate in Zamboanga City, such as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zamboanga - however they are only allowed to preach to Christians, and non-Christians that are not Muslims. All non-Muslim houses of worship must register with the government.

Language
Bangsamoro contains a melting pot of languages, it has four officially recognized languages, they are Arabic, English, Malay and Chavacano. Modern Standard Arabic is the standardized dialect of Arabic official to Bangsamoro, and is used in media and newspapers. Arabic is spoken by the top elites.

The majority of Bangsamoro's population can speak proficient English, an everlasting influence from American and Philippine occupation. English is an official language, and used as a language of education.

The language with the largest amount of native speakers is Maguindanaoan, followed by Tausūg, Maranaoan, Iranun, Surginaonaoan in that order. Other widely-spoken languages include T'boli, B'laan and Manobo.

Visayans (particularly Cebuanos and Hiligaynons) still make large populations in Mindanao and Sulu, these are those who chose to help Misuari's independence movement and pay jizyah taxes rather than to be expelled back to the Philippines. However, more Cebuanos and Hiligaynons continue to emigrate back to the Philippines, due the burdensome laws imposed against non-Muslims.

Ilocanos once made up one of the largest populations in Mindanao, joining their Visayan and Tagalog counterparts in forming a part of the majority. However, almost all Ilocano-speakers have fled to Philippines, with with little to no known Ilocano population remaining in what is now Bangsamoro.

Tagalog and Filipino are still widely understood, even spoken, for the sake of being a former Philippine territory and being the former national language. However, it has no official status. It is expected that future generations will no longer speak Tagalog. However, Filipino is taught as a foreign language. There has been a transition move by the Bangsamoro's Department of Education to replace Filipino with either English, Arabic or possibly Malay as the medium of instruction in many former Philippine schools, particularly Mindanao State University based in Marawi City.

Chavacano is a Philippine Spanish Creole from the Zamboanga Peninsula, it has gained much popularity in Mindanao and Sulu, it is also an official language in Mindanao and Sulu and is also used by many of the royalty (especially in the Zamboanga Peninsula). It is also an official language. In fact, many of Zamboanga's madrasas also use Chavacano alongside Arabic or English.

Most of the languages are written in the Latin script. However, Jawi is used in the Moro Bumiputra regions, especially with Marawi City where along with Arabic, Jawi is the alphabet used for most public signs and used to print the Malay and the Maranaoan language. Members of the Muslim nobility along with Arabic, use the Jawi script to send each other letters.

Economics
Upon independence, Bangsamoro has been listed as a "developing nation" by the United Nations. As of 2015, it is.currently just below the "middle power" status. Yet, the government continues to make efforts to develop Bangsamoro's economy. The country's economics are based the exports of durian, gold, oil, and coconuts. Durian, coconuts and mangoes are cash crops of Mindanao and Sulu, often exported to Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

The Davao region is known for its durian which is known as the cash crop of Bangsamoro. In 2014, Misuari re-opened the durian industry in the Philippines, and allowed many former Filipino durian industry workers to return, as overseas Filipino workers.

Mining and archaeological projects in various regions has led to the discovery of gold - both in its raw form and artifacts of gold belts used by the datu classes of pre-Hispanic Philippines, and another abundance of what Misuari claims to be a remnant or even a part of Yamashita's lost treasure. Bangsamoro enjoys a gold abundance, which contributes to its emerging economic boom, attracting many migrants from Indonesia and India.