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-Sulat