mga Arabo | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| Estimated 2% of population have partial Arab ancestry[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mindanao · Metro Manila · Visayas | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic · Filipino · English · other languages of the Philippines | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam · Greek Orthodox Christianity · Catholicism · Others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arab diaspora |
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.[2] Since the 14th century, Arab travelers such as Makhdun Karim is known to have reached the Philippines and brought Islam to the region.[3] 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.[citation needed]
That same century Syrian Arabs also brought Christianity to the region along with pre-Islamic belief systems[citation needed] An estimated 2% of the population of the Philippines, about 2.2 million people, could claim partial Arab ancestry.[4]