Cesar Adib Majul (October 21, 1923 - October 11, 2003) was a

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

historian best known for his work on the history of

Islam in the Philippines Islam was the first-recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf, southern India, and their followers from several sultanates i ...

, and on the life of

Apolinario Mabini Apolinario Mabini y Maranan (, July 23, 1864 – May 13, 1903) was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the first ...

. Majul was born in

Aparri Aparri ( ilo, Ili ti Aparri; tl, Bayan ng Aparri), officially the Municipality of Aparri, is a 1st class municipality in the province of , Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 68,839 people. It sits at the mouth of ...

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the C ...

Philippine Islands The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, to an Ibanag mother and a

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

father. He was educated at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

Education

He studied his primary and secondary education at the De La Salle High School. At the advent of the Second World War, he postponed his studies and only entered college after the war. In 1947, he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and afterwards, got his Master's degree in the same course at the same university, six years after (in 1953). His masteral thesis advisor was Dr. Ricardo Pascual, one of the eminent Filipino philosophers. In 1957, he went to Cornell University to obtain his doctorate degree.

Career

From 1961 until 1966, Majul was Dean of the University College at the University of the Philippines, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1969 to 1971. Majul studied and wrote about the

Moro people The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...

and the history of

. He helped the future Moro revolutionary leader

Nur Misuari Nur Misuari ( Tausug: ''Nūr Miswāri'', born Nurallaji Pinang Misuari; March 3, 1939) is a Moro Filipino revolutionary and politician, founder and leader of the Moro National Liberation Front. Early and Personal life Nur Misuari was born on ...

become a lecturer at the University of the Philippines. He converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in his adulthood, later living in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He died of prostate cancer on Saturday, October 11, 2003 in his home in

San Pablo, California San Pablo (Spanish for "St. Paul") is an enclave city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city of Richmond surrounds nearly the whole city. The population was 29,139 at the 2010 census. The current Mayor is Rita Xavier. Curr ...

Awards

He received the Republic Heritage Award for "the most outstanding contribution to historical writing" during the period from May 1, 1960 to April 30, 1961, as well as the First Prize in the Biography Contest on the life of

in 1964. He also received the Distinguished Scholar Award in 1968 from the University of the Philippines.

Selected works

*''Muslims in the Philippines'', University of the Philippines Press (1973, 1999) *''The Political and Constitutional Ideas of the Philippine Revolution'', University of the Philippines Press (1957, 1999) *''Apolinario Mabini: Revolutionary'', National Historical Commission (1964) *''Mabini and the Philippine Revolution'', University of the Philippines Press (1960)

References

1923 births 2003 deaths Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from prostate cancer Converts to Islam Cornell University alumni Islam in the Philippines University of the Philippines faculty Filipino Muslims Filipino people of Syrian descent People from Cagayan Filipino expatriates in the United States {{Philippines-academic-bio-stub

Education

Career

Awards

Selected works

See also

References