Salamat Hashim, also known as Hashim Salamat, was a Filipino militant who served as leader of the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...

. He is the founder of the group.

Early life and education

Hashim was born in

Midsayap Midsayap, officially the Municipality of Midsayap ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Midsayap'', Jawi: ايڠايد نو ميدسايڤ; Iranun: ''Inged a Midsayap'', ايڠايد ا ميدسايڤ; hil, Banwa sang Midsayap; ceb, Lungsod sa Midsayap ...

Cotabato Cotabato or North Cotabato ( hil, Aminhan Cotabato; ceb, Amihanang Cotabato; Maguindanaon: ''Pangutaran Kutawatu'', Jawi: ڤڠوترن كوتاواتو; fil, Hilagang Cotabato), officially the Province of Cotabato, is a landlocked province in ...

(now

Pagalungan Pagalungan, officially the Municipality of Pagalungan ( Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Pagalungan''; Iranun: ''Inged a Pagalungan''; tl, Bayan ng Pagalungan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Maguindanao del Sur, Bangsamoro, Philippines. ...

Maguindanao Maguindanao (, Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun language, Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the ...

) on July 7, 1939 to a religious family, one of seven siblings. At age six, he was taught by his mother on how to read the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. In the 1950s, Hashim received formal elementary and high school education and was an honor student. In the 1958, Hashim joined the Hajj and decided to stay in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

to be mentored by Sheikh Zawawi. He was a regular attendee of the ''halaqat'' at the

Masjid al Haram , native_name_lang = ar , religious_affiliation = Islam , image = Al-Haram mosque - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg , image_upright = 1.25 , caption = Aerial view of the Great Mosque of Mecca , map ...

. He also underwent studies at the Madrasat as-Sulatiyah ad-Diniyah. The following year, Hashim moved to Cairo to pursue further studies. He enrolled at the

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

where he accomplished a bachelor's degree in theology, majoring in Aqeedah and Philosophy in 1967 and a post-graduate masters degree in the same university in 1969. He also pursued a doctorate degree but was not able to finish writing a dissertation due to his decision to return to the Philippines to organize a Moro revolutionary movement.

Militant career

Hashim along with other militants including

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 ...

founded the

Moro National Liberation Front The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The M ...

(MNLF) in the 1970s. Hashim later left the group in the later part of the decade to form the

(MILF).

Death

Hashim died on July 13, 2003 while in one of the MILF's camps in Butig, Lanao del Sur, due to complications caused by a heart disease and acute ulcer. The MILF only publicly confirmed their leader's death days later on August 5.

Murad Ebrahim Ahod Balawag Ebrahim (born 15 May 1949), better known as Al-hajj Murad Ebrahim, is a Moro Filipino politician and former rebel leader currently serving as the first chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. As the cu ...

succeeded Hashim as leader of the MILF.

Books

* ''The Bangsamoro Mujahid : his objectives and responsibilities'', 1985. * ''The Bangsamoro people's struggle against oppression and colonialism'', 2001. * ''Referendum : peaceful, civilized, democratic, and diplomatic means of solving the Mindanao conflict'', 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hashim, Salamat Filipino Muslims 2003 deaths Filipino Islamists Filipino activists Al-Azhar University alumni People from Maguindanao 1942 births Filipino expatriates in Egypt Filipino expatriates in Saudi Arabia Moro Islamic Liberation Front members