Our "Autonomous Territories" Series takes us to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of the Philippines.
The Philippines came under the influence of several nations throughout their history, which means that a great diversity of languages, religions and customs can be found on the many islands that compose the country.
While the great majority of the population in the two northern regions, Luzon and Vizayas, are Catholics due to massive conversions in the time of Spanish sovereignty, a great part of the tribes of the South, on and around the island of Mindanao, are Muslims from the time of the great eastward expansion of islam that converted most of the Indonesian and Malaysian nations to the West and South of the Philippines.
The region has known many clashes between Christian and Muslim communities, until the central government agreed to create an autonomous region. First known as the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao when it was created in 1989, it was renamed Bangsamoro in 2019. This can be translated as the "Nation of the Moros", the Spanish term to designate Arabs, and in this case, people of Islamic faith.
More on Bangsamoro
Bangsamoro in 2022
