Over 500 years ago, on January
2, 1492 to be exact, Granada, the last Moorish kingdom in the Iberian peninsula,
fell to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Near a small mosque on the banks
of the Xenil River, Boabdil, the king of Granada, surrendered the keys
of the kingdom to King Ferdinand. "These keys," he said, "are the last
relics of the Arabian empire in Spain: thine, 0 King, are our trophies,
our kingdom, and our person. Such is the will of God! Receive them with
the clemency thou hast promised, and which we look for at thy hands."
Thus ended the more than
seven centuries of Muslim presence (if not actual dominance) in the Iberian
peninsula -- 700 years that were marked by continual fighting between
the Moorish and Christian kingdoms. But the prejudices born of centuries
of warfare do not die with the surrender of the enemy.
These prejudices were still
very much alive in the Spaniards of the next century, who colonized our
part of the world. Another Ferdinand Magellan-found here, halfway around
the globe, the co-religionists of the Moors Spaniards had fought at home
for over 700 years. Anti Moorish prejudices became part of the Spanish
legacy to Christian Philippines.
Spain never really conquered
the Muslim South. It was not until the American regime that the intermittent
warfare between Christian and Muslim Filipinos came to an end. Still the
suspicions remained. The Christian migrations to Mindanao -- which became
massive after World War II -- did not foster mutual understanding. Instead
Christian Muslim antagonisms festered as Muslims and Christians competed
for the land and natural resources of Mindanao. Christians usually won
the battle, often with the help of politicians from Manila.
The Muslim secessionist
movement was given impetus by the decision of still another Ferdinand
-- President Marcos to declare martial law and demand the surrender of
all firearms. The Muslims were not about to disarm themselves; they feared
that if they gave up their arms, they would find themselves subject to
the not-too-tender mercies of the Christians.
And so President Marcos
sent the army into the Muslim areas, but the army could not prevail because
the secessionists, at least in the beginning, were better armed, thanks
to support from Muslim countries like Libya.
A good 20 years after Marcos
declared martial law, President Ramos succeeded in persuading the Moro
National Liberation Front to come to the negotiating table, but even as
peace talks were taking place, the cathedral in Davao City was bombed and
several mosques were attacked.
These bombings obviously
are the work of persons who dislike or distrust the peace process. Presumably
some feel that any peace agreement will end up as a farce that the other
party is sure to violate; others fear that peace will force them to give
up some of the resources (and status) that they have won in the course
of the conflict.
Many Manila officials and
commentators fear that the secessionists are not really serious about giving
up their demand for all of Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu; some Muslim leaders,
on the other hand, feel that if they lay down their arms, the Christians
will exploit the Muslim population all over again.
Then there is the third
side that we too often forget. These are the ordinary people of Mindanao,
Christian, Muslim, and neither -- who too often have been caught
in the cross fire. They fear that their own interests could well be sacrificed
by any agreement between the government and the MNLF.
There will be suspicions
of the peace process as long as key persons on either side appear to be
seeking from the other side the kind of unconditional surrender that Boabdil
gave to King Ferdinand 502 years ago.