SUMMARY

Moro - from the arcahic Spanish word Moor, meaning Arab or Muslim – is the collective name by which Filipino Muslim ethno-linguisitc groups are usually known. While the terms ‘Muslim’ and ‘Moro’ have been used interchangeably to refer to these groups, the latter is more precise as it denotes a political identity distinct to the Islamised peoples of Mindanao and Sulu, Southern Philippines. Islam reached the region in the 14th century with visiting Arab merchants. As a whole, the Moros comprise roughly 5 per cent of the total Filipino population. However, the Moros are not a homogenous group; there are at least 13 major Moro ethno-linguistic groups. The three largest and politically dominant are the Maguindanaon, the Maranaw and the Tausug. Furthermore, the Moros have not traditionally been united, and the various groups, divided by language and degrees of Islamic orthodoxy, have been hostile to each other. Yet the Moros have shared a common sense of antagonism towards the central authorities which was fuelled by a historical trend of displacement and dispossession of previously Moro territory initiated by the Spanish colonisers and continued throughout post-independence administrations,.

In the 1970s, the Moros’ grievances and self-assertion began to take shape as armed revolutionary movements infused with Islamist ideology. The most significant rebel groups involved in the Moro struggle have been the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

Moros have been involved in the non-state category of violence UCDP organised violence.