Muslims or Moros: not an Ethnic group or race, Muslims are those who practice the religion of Islam

Muslim by definition is an individual practicing the religion of ISLAM. Not all the Muslim people in the Philippines are indigenous. There are several races in the Philippines practicing the religion of Islam and they are Muslims. But not all of them are indigenous. Take the Chinese Muslims in Tawi-Tawi, the Indian Muslim in Zamboanga, or the caucasian Muslim in CDO; all three belong to different races and ethnicity.

Muslim scholars, Muslim academia, Muslim politicians, and Muslim leaders will forever continue break the line that divides religion from ethnicity, race, ancestry and inherited status. They will continue to complicate issues until the dividing line simply becomes a shade of gray. This push will not stop until the world will define the word Muslim as an ethnicity and classify Muslims as indigenous people.

To the Muslim, governance and religion are synonymous. If a Muslim is within a country that is not Islamic, he will simply tolerate the government. The Muslims in that country will cluster and unite in their unending effort to assimilate that country into their ISLAMIC fold. Time is not a factor.

A Muslim is trained from childhood when asked for his/her race, to answer with "I am Muslim".