Muslim Ethnic Identity: Its Maintenance, Construction and Reproduction among Migrants in a Municipality in the Philippines

Christopher Allen S. Marquez^1, , Fe Yolanda G. del Rosario², Joseph Philip A. Addauan¹, Marianne C. Eugenio¹ and Lady Beatriz A. Labuzon¹

¹Social Sciences and Philosophy Department, Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya 3700, Philippines

²University Research Center, Saint Mary’s University, Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya 3700, Philippines

Cite this paper:
Christopher Allen S. Marquez, Fe Yolanda G. del Rosario, Joseph Philip A. Addauan, Marianne C. Eugenio and Lady Beatriz A. Labuzon. Muslim Ethnic Identity: Its Maintenance, Construction and Reproduction among Migrants in a Municipality in the Philippines. World Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 2018; 4(3):154-161. doi: 10.12691/wjssh-4-3-3

Abstract

Migration is not new in cultural studies. This study dealt mainly on patterns of migration, push and pull factors and coping mechanisms of migrants and the acceptance and/or intolerance of the host community. This paper contributes to an understanding of why migrants maintained their identity while being integrated into the host community. The data needed for the study were obtained using in-depth interviews with the purposively selected Muslim migrants in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. Their lived experience in the point of origin and destination with regard to their marriage and family, religious, and economic life were explored and used to facilitate a construction of theory that was grounded on their lived experiences. Findings revealed that in as much as the respondents were very observant of their Islamic responsibilities, their inclusion into Solano’s mainly Christian population made them enjoy their uniqueness through the practice of their Islamic beliefs and practices. At the same time an inconsequential reconstruction of their Islamic identity was observed that allowed them to be integrated in the host community.

Keywords:
migration coping mechanisms lived experiences reconstruction

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