Nur Misuari – Founding Leader and Chairman of the Central Committee of the Moro National Liberation Front (Mnlf)
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. Former Secretary Ruben Torres, who went to the university with Misuari, recalled that Nur's only recreation was billiards. "He was very religious," says Torres. "He never drank or chased women."
Nur took a degree in Political Science and soon after blossomed and became the embodiment of campus charisma through his campus activities particularly as a debater.
Upon graduation, Nur went to law school in 1962, but dropped out in his second year. He took a Master’s degree in Asian Studies and finished it in 1966. Through the help of the noted historian, Dr. Cesar Adib Majul, Nur landed a job as a Political Science instructor in UP.
Emergence as a Leader
In 1964, Nur founded the Bagong Asya, a radical student group. Together with Jose Maria Sison, Nur also became one of the founding fathers of the Kabataan Makabayan (Patriotic Youth) or KM. KM was founded as a comprehensive organization for student, worker, farmers, and professional youth. It undertook political demonstrations and trained large numbers of young people for a “proletarian revolutionary party.” It drew membership from students and young professionals. With Sison as the Chairman of KM, Nur was appointed Chairman of KM’s Western Mindanao unit. KM became widely known as a
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. Former Secretary Ruben Torres, who went to the university with Misuari, recalled that Nur's only recreation was billiards. "He was very religious," says Torres. "He never drank or chased women."
Nur took a degree in Political Science and soon after blossomed and became the embodiment of campus charisma through his campus activities particularly as a debater.
Upon graduation, Nur went to law school in 1962, but dropped out in his second year. He took a Master’s degree in Asian Studies and finished it in 1966. Through the help of the noted historian, Dr. Cesar Adib Majul, Nur landed a job as a Political Science instructor in UP.
Emergence as a Leader
In 1964, Nur founded the Bagong Asya, a radical student group. Together with Jose Maria Sison, Nur also became one of the founding fathers of the Kabataan Makabayan (Patriotic Youth) or KM. KM was founded as a comprehensive organization for student, worker, farmers, and professional youth. It undertook political demonstrations and trained large numbers of young people for a “proletarian revolutionary party.” It drew membership from students and young professionals. With Sison as the Chairman of KM, Nur was appointed Chairman of KM’s Western Mindanao unit. KM became widely known as a
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