Islamic migrant community formation and integration: The case of Salam Compound, Barangay Culiat, Quezon City

This paper provides an examination of how integrated is the Muslim way of life in Salam Compound today to understand Muslim migrant community formation and integration into mainstream society. The primary factors that served as catalysing agents in the formation of a unique leadership model in the community include the community members’ Muslim and ethnic affiliation, attributions of Salam Compound as a dedicated land (waqf), the land dispute issue with Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and the reception of the host community. The reception of the Barangay Culiat is primarily influenced by the community’s affiliation to Islam, the stigma associated with their Muslimness, the entry of a more favourable INC community, and tokenism. All of these factors contributed to the development of a “kadatuan within,” a distinct leadership model of inter-regional migrant Muslim communities. This “kadatuan within” is necessary to sustain the religious attributions of Salam Compound as an ummah within a dedicated land (waqf) amidst the issue of property ownership and legal recognition. © 2018, © 2018 Philippine Political Science Association (PPSA)

The identity affiliation and educational experiences among Muslim Maguindanaoan high school students in Cotabato City, Mindanao, Philippines

This dissertation aimed to examine the influence of interactional dimensions of school experiences to identity affiliation among Muslim high school students in Cotabato City, Philippines. This study on identity was framed based on the three assumptions. First, the self is a multi-dimensional construct. Second, an individual identifies one aspect of the many selves to be the most salient or central. Lastly, social interactions influence the invocation of an individual’s identities and the centrality of identity affiliation. This examination primarily focused on the ethnic, religious and national identities. Correspondingly, this dissertation examined the influence of personal, parent and family characteristics to the relational dimensions of education. A survey among 520 randomly selected students and focus-group discussion with 47 participants from private Madaris, integrated Madaris, and public secular schools were conducted. The results of the study suggest that there is high level of affiliation to being Muslim, Maguindanaoan and Filipino among the participants of the study. However, the evidence suggests that Muslim identity was the most central among their social identities. The seeming fusion of both religious and ethnic values, customs and traditions promotes the understanding that the Muslim and Maguindanaoan self-understanding are inseparable. Thus, advancing the idea of the presence of ethno-religious self-understanding among Muslim-Maguindanaoan youth. Additionally, this study provides strong evidence on as regards to the significant relationship between student-teacher relationship (STR) and student-classmate relationship (SCR) with their identity affiliation. Furthermore, this investigation determined that only grade level, religiosity of parents and parent-child relationship (PCR) were related with the relational dimension of their educational experiences (STR & SCR). This dissertation advances the conceptualization of identity affiliation, formation of central identity, the predictive relat

Sources and consequences of happiness among Alangan Mangyan women in the municipality of Baco, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines

This article describes the meanings and experiences of happiness among a few select married Alangan Mangyan indigenous women in the Municipality of Baco, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. A total of 10 informants were interviewed for the study. Narrative analysis through coding was employed to be able to explore themes and patterns. Overall, there are four ideas that point to the character of happiness in the context of indigenous women. First, while it is an emotional state that is experienced by the individual, happiness emanates from a social field be it the family or community and expression of it requires the existence of that social field. Thus, the Filipino notion of “pakikipagkapwa-tao” (relating to others) works well in understanding the concept of happiness. Second, being able to access basic rights such as food, employment, and education has become a source of happiness amongst this indigenous populations, thus making happiness a human development issue. Third, happiness is an emotional state that is ever ubiquitous if one argues that family and community are sources of happiness. However, such an emotional state is also highly capricious. Even if one chooses to be happy, there are negative external situations that affect the maintenance of one’s happiness. Fourth, happiness, while it is dependent on social space by and large, is also affected by the physical environment. The impact of physical environment on the Alangan Mangyan provides us insights regarding the nature of happiness that goes beyond one’s agency. Thus, happiness indeed is a relative emotional yet a social experience. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Exploring marine citizenship among young people in select urban and rural villages in the Philippines

This article explores the understanding of marine citizenship among young people from two villages (urban and rural) in the Philippines. The purpose of the article is to examine the differences and similarities of their attitudes toward and engagement in marine environment conservation in rural and urban contexts. Young Focus Group Discussion (FGD) participants in both villages are familiar with the concept of marine citizenship. Participants from the island barangay, however, look at the marine environment as a source of identity. Meanwhile, FGD participants from the urban barangay seemed to have a “distant” connection. However, they expressed concerns about the status of marine environment. © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC