Note 10 — Chapter III · Rise and Prosperity of Sulu

The two prominent characters who mark this era are Makdum and Raja Baginda. Makdum was a noted Arabian judge or scholar who arrived at Malacca about the middle of the fourteenth century, converted Sultan Mohammed Shah, the ruler, to Islam and established this religion throughout the state of Malacca. He evidently practised magic and medicine and exerted an unusually strong influence on the people of Malacca. Continuing farther east, he reached Sulu and Mindanao about the year 1380.10 In Sulu, it is said, he visited almost every island of the Archipelago and made converts to Islam in many places. The Island of Sibutu claims his grave, but the places at which he was most successful are Bwansa, the old capital of Sulu, and the Island of Tapul. It is said that the people of Bwansa built a mosque for him, and some of the chiefs of the town accepted his teachings and faith. The Tapul people claim descent from him, and some of them still regard him as a prophet.