Ethno-Religious Separatism: Strategies to Cope with Minority Status
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ETHNO-RELIGIOUS SEPARATISM
STRATEGIES TO COPE WITH MINORITY STATUS
What strategies have the Muslim in the Philippines use to cope with minority status. “Senses of identity, belonging and being part of a group or community have always existed. This distinction between them and us helped create a sense of shared values and identity within perceived communities. These boundaries were created to protect, include and exclude, and continue to be used now as in the past. Whilst ones opinion of the most important identity factor might vary, most Muslims take Islam and their overall religious identity to be the middle of their existence upon the idea that Islam is not simply a religion but an honest and holy guide to a good and righteous life. The Islamic concept, din wa daula, (religion and state) establishes that in other for a Muslims to live a righteous life they need to live in a society that understands and support an Islamic ways of life. This call for an Islamic state makes one wonder how Muslims who live in secular nations managed to maintain their religious identity. Due to the fact that identity can be a factor that integrates and segregates, this essay is going to be aimed at investigating the strategies Muslims in the Philippines have adopted to cope with minority status in a highly Christian nation that has a history of ethno-religious conflict. This paper will aim to discuss the themes of national integration, separatism/self-determination as a way to explore the most noticeable strategies that have been adopted by the Muslim in Philippines to cope with their minority status. Due to the somewhat public idea that the Islamic idea of religion and state is central to the unrest in the Philippines, this paper will aim to question weather religion is the central theme to the crisis in the Philippines, whilst also demising the thought that Muslims in
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ETHNO-RELIGIOUS SEPARATISM
STRATEGIES TO COPE WITH MINORITY STATUS
What strategies have the Muslim in the Philippines use to cope with minority status. “Senses of identity, belonging and being part of a group or community have always existed. This distinction between them and us helped create a sense of shared values and identity within perceived communities. These boundaries were created to protect, include and exclude, and continue to be used now as in the past. Whilst ones opinion of the most important identity factor might vary, most Muslims take Islam and their overall religious identity to be the middle of their existence upon the idea that Islam is not simply a religion but an honest and holy guide to a good and righteous life. The Islamic concept, din wa daula, (religion and state) establishes that in other for a Muslims to live a righteous life they need to live in a society that understands and support an Islamic ways of life. This call for an Islamic state makes one wonder how Muslims who live in secular nations managed to maintain their religious identity. Due to the fact that identity can be a factor that integrates and segregates, this essay is going to be aimed at investigating the strategies Muslims in the Philippines have adopted to cope with minority status in a highly Christian nation that has a history of ethno-religious conflict. This paper will aim to discuss the themes of national integration, separatism/self-determination as a way to explore the most noticeable strategies that have been adopted by the Muslim in Philippines to cope with their minority status. Due to the somewhat public idea that the Islamic idea of religion and state is central to the unrest in the Philippines, this paper will aim to question weather religion is the central theme to the crisis in the Philippines, whilst also demising the thought that Muslims in