Kris-Crossing Mindanao  The last sultan  By |  How copious is
our understanding of the Sultanate of Sulu? If Malacañang’s
statement is true, that it has only begun consulting historical
documents, then that understanding is miserably wanting. Manila
has always had an ambivalent appreciation of the sultanate and
its rightful place as an institution in Philippine polity.
Islamic scholarship contends that the first-ever sultan was the
Prophet Muhammad. Because of the high religious regard for him
as messenger of God, his earthly conduct as spiritual leader
became an example and tradition. Sultanates thus became a
prescription for sustaining that tradition. All sultanate
countries hold that belief.  Sulu’s early years are not lacking
in historical literature. From the 17th to 18th centuries, the
fulcrum of power was not in Luzon but in East Southeast Asia, a
vast maritime territory of several insular nations—sultanates
mostly of fragmentary polities that relied on alliance-building
and trade reciprocity for thei