Nur Misuari †Founding Leader and Chairman of the Central...

Nur Misuari Introduction Nurallaji (Nur) Misuari was born on March 3, 1942 in Jolo, the fourth son in a family of 10 children. His parents were simple Tau Sug and Sama fisherfolks from Kabinga-an, Tapul Island. According to friends, Nur was so poor that he could never have gone to college were it not for a kindly teacher in Jolo who recognized his potentials and pulled off a scholarship for him as a Commission on National Integration (CNI) scholar at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Manila. Nur recalls being an ordinary child without ambition. All I wanted was to go to school and serve my family. In 1958, Nur left Jolo to attend the university, where friends say he was soft spoken, reserved, and a disciplined student.†¦show more content†¦Training as a Revolutionary The Malaysian government of Tunku Abdul Rahman, on the other hand, responded to the incident by promising Muslim leaders, especially Sultan Haroun Al-Raschid Lucman, the Congressman from Lanao, that it would help train and provide arms to dedicated young Muslims. Nur Misuari, together with Abul Khayr Alonto, were part of the first batch of 90 young Muslims, composed of 67 Maranaos, 8 Maguindanaos, and 15 Tausug-Samal, recruited by MIM leaders and Lucman, who began military training in Pulao Pangkor, Malaysia, by Malaysian officers, in 1969. In the midst of their military training, this group of 90 conducted political discussions and analysis of Moro history and aspirations of an independent state, among themselves. Thus was the conception of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). This group of 90 later became the hardcore of the Bangsa Moro Army (BMA), the military arm of the MNLF. Within this period of training, without the knowledge of Rashid Lucman and the MIM leaders who had recruited them, the group organized a seven-man Provisional Central Committee, electing Nur Misuari as Chairman and Abul Khayr Alonto as Vice Chairman. The other major portfolios were given to Otto Salahuddin of Basilan, Ali Wali of Zamboanga. Hashim Salamat was tasked to head the undivided Empire Province of Cotabato where a provincial committee was set up immediately. Upon the arrival of the first batch