Qualla: Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque

Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque: Introduction

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Public domain. Four wooden pillars hold up more than a ceiling. Inside the Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque on Simunul Island in Tawi-Tawi, these pillars, confirmed by the National Museum of the Philippines to date from the 17th century, are the oldest known Islamic artifacts in the entire Philippines. They stand inside a building constructed in the 1960s, which replaced a structure burned during the Japanese occupation in World War II, which in turn succeeded what local tradition holds was the original mosque established in 1380. Whether you count from that legendary founding or from the confirmed age of the pillars, this place has been a site of Muslim worship for longer than any other in the archipelago.

Image: National Historical Commission of the Philippines | Public domain

Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque: The Trader from Syria

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Laila Aripin for the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), Public domain. According to local folklore, the mosque was built by Sheikh Karimul Makhdum, a Syrian Arab trader and Sunni Sufi scholar who arrived on Simunul in 1380. If the tradition is accurate, his mosque predates the establishment of the Sultanate of Sulu and represents the earliest instit...

Image: Laila Aripin for the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO) | Public domain

Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque: Destruction and Rebuilding

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Laila Aripin for the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO), Public domain. The mosque that preceded the current building was largely destroyed in 1941, when Japanese forces occupied the Philippines during World War II. Whether the burning was deliberate targeting or collateral damage in a broader campaign, the loss was devastating to the community. When...

Image: Laila Aripin for the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO) | Public domain

Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque: National Treasure on a Remote Island

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Historical Commission of the Philippines, Public domain. The mosque has been declared a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum. On 7 November 2023, the National Historical Commission unveiled a new historical marker at the site. These designations place...

Image: National Historical Commission of the Philippines | Public domain

Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque: Living Faith at the Edge of an Archipelago

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Kleomarlo, Public domain. Simunul sits in the Sulu Archipelago, a chain of islands where Islam arrived centuries before Spanish colonizers brought Christianity to the northern Philippines. The province of Tawi-Tawi is 99 percent Muslim, and the Sheik Karimul Makhdum Mosque remains a functioning place of w...

Image: Kleomarlo | Public domain