Sulu is a province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Tawi-Tawi is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital of Tawi-Tawi is Bongao.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was an autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that consisted of five predominantly Muslim provinces: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. It was the only region that had its own government. The region's de facto seat of government was Cotabato City, although this self-governing city was outside its jurisdiction.
The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled the Sulu Archipelago, parts of Mindanao and certain portions of Palawan in today's Philippines, alongside parts of present-day Sabah, North and East Kalimantan in north-eastern Borneo.
The Tausūg or Suluk, are an ethnic group of the Philippines and Malaysia. A small population can also be found in the northern part of North Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Tausūg are part of the wider political identity of Muslims of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. Most of the Tausugs have converted into the religion of Islam whose members are now more known as the Moro group, who constitute the third largest ethnic group of Mindanao, Sulu and Palawan. The Tausugs originally had an independent state known as the Sultanate of Sulu, which once exercised sovereignty over the present day provinces of Basilan, Palawan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga City, North Kalimantan and the eastern part of the Malaysian state of Sabah.
Islam was the first-recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf, southern India, and their followers from several sultanates in the wider Malay Archipelago. The first missionaries then followed in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. They facilitated the formation of sultanates and conquests in mainland Mindanao and Sulu. Those who converted to Islam came to be known as the Moros, with Muslim conquest reaching as far as Tondo that was later supplanted by Bruneian Empire vassal-state of Maynila.
Jolo, officially the Municipality of Jolo, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 137,266 people.
Bongao, officially the Municipality of Bongao, is a 2nd class municipality and capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 116,118 people.
Arab traders have been visiting the Philippines for about 2,000 years, playing a prominent role in the trade networks of the time. They used Southeast Asia for stopovers and trading posts. Since the 14th century, Arab travelers such as Makhdun Karim is known to have reached the Philippines and brought Islam to the region. They moved from the southern islands such as Mindanao and traveled towards the north and converted the Filipinos to Islam, many of these early Arabs married Filipina women.
Makhdum Karim or Karim ul-Makhdum was an Arab Sufi Muslim missionary from Arabia who came from Malacca. Makhdum Karim was born in Makdonia, him and the Wali sanga were affiliated with the Kubrawi Hamadani missionaries in the late 14th century. He was a Sufi who brought Islam to the Philippines in 1380, 141 years before Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the country. He established a mosque in Simunul Island, Tawi Tawi, Philippines, known as Sheik Karimal Makdum Mosque which is the oldest mosque in the country.
The Sheik Karimol Makhdum Mosque is located in Barangay Tubig Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines. It is the oldest mosque in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, according to local folklore, it was built by an Arab trader named Sheikh Makhdum Karim in 1380. It was first thought that the pillars of the old mosque found within the current mosque are the pillars of the original allegedly built in 1380. However, studies from the National Museum of the Philippines have confirmed that the pillars found within the present mosque dates back to the 17th century. The four pillars are regarded as sacred and have high status in Philippine culture as they are at least 400 years old and are the oldest known Islamic artifacts in the entire Philippines. The mosque has been declared as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum.
Sanga-Sanga is an island in the southwestern Philippines, part of the Sulu Archipelago between the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea. It is sandwiched between Tawitawi Island to the east and Bangao Island to the south.
The Sama language, Sinama, is the language of Sama-Bajau people of the Sulu Archipelago, Philippines; Sabah, Malaysia and parts of Indonesia. The Sama are one of the most widely dispersed peoples in Southeast Asia.
Mardanas Island is an island in the municipality of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. With an area of 0.1 square kilometres (0.039 sq mi). It is officially known as Siluag in the 1939 Census Atlas of the Philippines, however locals and the Philippine Navy disputes this name. It is one of the last islands of the Sulu Archipelago nearest the Philippine-Malaysian border and is next to Panguan Island.
Andulinang Island is an island in the municipality of Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi. With an area of 0.02 square kilometres (0.0077 sq mi). It is located at the western edge of the Andulinang Reef. It is one of the last islands of the Sulu Archipelago nearest the Philippine-Malaysian border next to Panguan Island and Mardanas Island.
Panampangan Island is an island in the municipality of Sapa-Sapa, Tawi-Tawi. With an area of 0.1 square kilometres (0.039 sq mi). It is located inside Basibuli Shoal, to which its sandbar extends to 3,128.37 metres (10,263.7 ft). It is considered as the longest sandbar in the Philippines and is characterized with fine white sand beach in the Sulu Archipelago.
In the Philippine history, the Lupah Sug was a predecessor state before the establishment of Sultanate of Sulu.
The Sulu Archipelago rain forests ecoregion covers the Sulu Archipelago, excepting Basilan Island at the northern end, in the southwest of the Philippines. The islands are separated enough from Borneo to the south and Mindanao to the north that they have developed their own distinctive floral and faunal communities. Most of the original rainforest has been removed or disturbed for agriculture, and political instability in the islands has hampered conservation efforts.
Bongao Island is one of the islands of the Sulu Archipelago, a chain of islands between Mindanao and Borneo. Bongao Island is the town center of the municipality of Bongao, the capital of the province of Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost province of the Philippines.
