Intergroup Conflict in the Southern Philippines: An Empirical Analysis
| DOI | 10.1177/002234337701400403 |
| Date | 01 December 1977 |
| Published date | 01 December 1977 |
| Author | Federico V. Magdalena |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Intergroup
Conflict
in
the
Southern
Philippines:
An
Empirical
Analysis*
FEDERICO
V.
MAGDALENA
University
of
Hawaii-Manoa
This
study
explores
the
utility
of
social-psychological
factors,
inferred
from
aggregate
or
ecological
data,
which
had
brought
about
(or
depressed)
the
emergence
of
intergroup
violence
between
Muslims
and
Christians
in
Mindanao,
Philippines
in
the
early
1970s.
Eight
variables
underlying
the
theme
of
social
strain
or
tension
were
selected
and
analyzed
(by
MSA-1)
for
80
municipalities,
half
of
which
were
violent
and
the
other
half,
nonviolent.
A
violent
community
was
one
which
experienced
physical
manifestations
of
civilian
attacks
and
depredations
on
either
Muslims
or
Christians,
resulting
in
death,
in
jury,
and
destruction
of
property
around
1970
and
1972,
and
confirmed
by
newspaper
reports.
Five
variables
were
found
to
be
facilitators
of
violence,
namely:
relative
deprivation,
Muslim
displacement,
size
of
Muslim
population,
rate
of
uneducated
population,
and
tenancy.
The
remainder
were
considered
inhibitors,
namely:
size
of
Christian
population,
land
ownership,
and
farm
population.
Some
interpretive
conclusions
were
attempted
and
implications
for
policy
drawn.
It
is
suggested
that
more
research
be
done
along
these
lines
for
a
meaningful
theory
of
social
tension
valid
for
the
observed
intergroup
conflict,
and
around
which
reasonable
policies
or
action
programs
may
be
formulated
and
applied.
The
Philippines
is
one
among
many
countries
in
our
contemporary
era
that
have
slid
into
chaos
from
problems
of
intergroup
relation-
ship.
During
the
early
1970s,
violence
broke
out
between
Muslims
and
Christians
in
the
southern
region,
Mindanao,
claiming
over
two
thousand
human
lives
and
destroying
an
enormous
amount
of
property.
’Morolandia’,
home
of
some
three
million
Muslims
in
the
province
of
Lanao,
Cotabato,
Zamboanga,
and
Sulu,
has
become
a
hotbed
of
warring
ethnic
groups’
on
a
scale
never
seen
before.
The
conflict
reached
bigger
and
alarming
proportions,
so
intense
and
convulsive
that
it
culminated
into
what
has
now
been
po-
pularly
called
Muslim
Rebellion.
Truism
or
not,
the
Muslim
Filipinos
confront
at
least
two
kinds
of
adversaries:
the
Christians
themselves,
and
the
Philippine
government.
Christian
Filipinos
are
considered
an
enemy
not
for
religious
reasons
but
because
they
symbolize
the
Establishment.
Intergroup
conflict
involving
Muslims
and
Christians
is
the
subject
of
this
paper
largely
because
it
precedes
the
current
unrest
(i.
e.,
the
infamous
Muslim
secessionist
move-
ment),
which
is
as
old
as
Philippine
history
itself.
This
article
focuses
on
pre-Martial
Law
conditions
in
1972,
moving
backward
in
time,
and
analyzes
relevant
material
by
the
application
of
a
profile
technique
of
data
reduction.
1.
Background
to
Muslim-Christian
Conflict
Animosity
between
these
two
ethnic
groups
runs
deep
in
tradition
dating
back
in
the
1600s.
The
’war’
between
Muslims
and
Christians
was
known
to
have
been
started
by
the
unfortunate
circumstances
of
colonial
history;
first,
during
the
Spanish
exaction
and
imposition,
and
second,
during
the
American
regime
(see
Majul
1973).
The
Spanish
crusaders,
who
conquered
the
Philip-
pine
Islands
under
the
banner
of
the
cross,
found
it
expedient
to
convert
native Filipinos
*
Part
of
the
data
for
this
study
came
from
a
paper
requirement
submitted
by
the
author
to
the
Department
of
Sociology,
University
of
Hawaii,
where
he
was
doctoral
candidate
at
the
time
of
this
writing.
(He
obtained
his
Ph.
D.
degree
in
May
1977.)
He
is
grateful
to
Drs.
Harry
V.
Ball,
Herb
R.
Barringer,
Bruce
Koppel,
Kiyoshi
Ikeda,
Ben
R.
Finney,
and
the
anonymous
reviewer
of
this
journal
for
their
valuable
comments
on
an
earlier
draft
of
this
paper,
and
for the
editorial
assistance
of
Ms.
Macaria
A.
Agtane,
UH
graduate
student
in
Communication.
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