The Moro problem; an academic discussion of the history and solution of the problem of the government of the Moros of the Phillipine Islands, by Najeeb M. Saleeby ...

We find a considerable number among them who can read and write
and have a distinct desire to learn and improve. Thousands can
read and write in Arabic characters and stand ready to convey knowledge and learning to the masses. They have books, courts,
judges, and a governmental system and, with adequate effort,
well developed and civilized communities can at once be organized
among them, if properly qualified American officers are available
for such work. Strictly speaking, the masses are ignorant and illiterate, but there is sufficient intelligence among the members of the
better classes to enable the government to make a beginning at least,
and the future is no doubt promising. Schools have been established
among the Moros with undoubted succ ess. Moro students are
fairly apt and capable of development and their education can follow
the same general lines as those adopted for the education of the Christian tribes further north. However, having no means of communicating with the Moros except through their own dialects, the knowledge of the Arabic system of writing and of the local dialects become
necessary as qualifications for office and as part of the curriculum
of the primary schools.
4. The Question of Religion.
Religion as a governmental difficulty can easily be brushed aside;
yet indeed it can be encouraged and promoted to the advantage of
either side. the government and the people. Religion has never been
a cause of hostility between Americans and Moros. Datu Utu and
his whole household knew Iwas a Christian, yet they tookconsiderable
pleasure in my attendance at some of their religious ceremonies and
festivities. Datu Mastura gave me free access to his whole library
most of which were religious manuscripts and books on law and magic.
There was no book on religion, law, or history in the possession of
Datu Ali that I could not get, and the Sultan of Sulu placed his precious Luntar in my hands. The Moros have not that bigotry and
religious fanaticism which we observe in India, Western Asia, and
Africa. They do not understand the principal doctrines of Mohammedanism, and have so little religion at heart that it is impossible
for them to get enthusiastic and fanatic on this ground. They do
not know the five prayers and seldom enter a mosque. Some of the
panditas attend the Friday service once a week and pray for the
Sultan and the whole nation. "Juramentados" are not religious
fanatics. Not one juramentado in ten could say his prayers or knew
the doctrines of his creed. There has been no greater misunderstanding by Spaniards and Americans on any one Moro subject than on
this-the juramentado question. The juramentado is not actuated
by a religious feeling. It is fierce patriotism that excites his rashness
and provokes his craziness. A juramentado's state of mind during
the execution of his purpose is a condition of frenzy or temporary
insanity closely allied in its nature to that of being amuck. A man
who runs amuck in a manner avenges himself and his personal grievances, but the iuramentado avenges his people and his chief. His
chief's call for vengeance rings in his ears and he immediatly comes
forward as the hero and avenger of the datuship and gets ready for
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