Hashim championed the struggle to reclaim the southern island of Mindanao, Islam's birthplace in the Philippines.

MANILA, February 19, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike will soon be able to explore the life story of Salamat Hashim, one of the eminent modern-day leaders of the Bangsamoro people (Filipino Muslims) who sowed the seeds of and championed the struggle to reclaim the southern island of Mindanao, Islam's birthplace in the Philippines.

"We are proud to announce that the production of a documentary on Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) founding Chair Salamat Hashim is proceeding on full swing," acclaimed filmmaker Gutierrez Mangansakan II told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, February 19.

He said the documentary, expected to be finished in six months, aims to "find out who the person was behind the historical figure."

Hashim was a brother, an uncle, a cousin, a friend and a nephew before being the leader of the Bangsamoro people, noted Mangansakan.

"He was sincere with what he knew was best for the Bangsamoro people. He was sincere with the peace process."

Amir [Arabic for prince], the working title of the documentary, will show how "his revolutionary ideas sprang and bore fruit."

Hashim passed way on July 13, 2003, at the age of 61 in the Mindanao province of Lanao del Sur. He succumbed to an acute ulcer and cardiac arrest.

Challenges

To prepare for the film, Mangansakan read Hashim's writings apart from "talking to a lot of people--family, friends, media and comrades in the MILF."

The filmmaker admitted he was under "tremendous" pressure.

"A lot of people have been telling me to be careful. In fact, MILF Chair Al Hadj Murad wrote me a note saying that the late Chairman wanted to be remembered as a very simple man."

Salamat was a former government librarian before becoming a revolutionary under the Moro National Liberation Front.

He formed the MILF in 1978 after a spat with then MNLF chairman Nur Misuari.

Salamat obtained an Islamic philosophy degree from the Cairo-based Al-Azhar University in 1967.

Admitting he does not have the money needed for the whole project, the acclaimed filmmaker is "relying on family and friends to share their resources (camera, food, accommodation, transportation, etc.)"

He is seeking a $10,000-budget for the documentary.

"It's a huge amount to ask for an independent filmmaker like myself who is used to shooting films with zero-budget. However, I want this film to be both technically and artistically polished.

"I will be hiring a production team. I will be paying for music and some copyrighted materials unless I can persuade the intellectual property rights owners to share them with me," said Mangansakan.

Welcome

"I believe I owe it to my family and my people," said acclaimed filmmaker Mangansakan.

Mangansakan wants to "unlock the person behind the principled historical figure providing a better understanding of this man as well as the social and ideological impact of the organization which he founded."

He further wishes explore the ideological and historical impact of the MILF, which Hashim founded, not only on the Bangsamoro people but on Muslims in general.

Dr. Talib Benito of the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic and Asian Studies of the Mindanao State University welcomed the project.

"Making people understand who is Salamat Hashim is a good project. It is a welcome development," Benito said told IOL.

Neither Benito nor Mangansakan would speculate on the impact of the documentary on the ongoing peace process.

Malaysia hosted last week a new round of talks between the Manila government and the MILF to end more than three decades of strife in the mineral-rich southern region of Mindanao, home to about 5 million Muslims.

They agreed to a Muslim homeland under the ancestral domain concept.

Ancestral domain refers to the MILF demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland.

It is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the MILF can reach a political settlement.

In September, Manila and MILF negotiators signed several agreements centered on the ancestral domain - its concept, territories and resources - and how the MILF shall govern these places.

The negotiations were launched in 2001.

Mangansakan considers this project as his personal contribution to the Bangsamoro struggle as all his films delved on different facets of the struggle.

"I believe I owe it to my family and my people."

His first film House under the Crescent Moon was a personal reflection on the Bangsamoro struggle.

"Using our ancestral house in Pagalungan, Maguindanao as metaphor, it also recounted my memories of my grandfather, Datu Udtog Matalam. He founded the Muslim Independent Movement (MIM) in 1968."

Mangansakan maintains that there are "no Moro filmmakers out there. As far as I know, I am the only one who exclusively works on Bangsamoro issues."

This project will be the fourth installation of a series of documentaries on the armed conflict in Mindanao.

Mangansakan, also a writer, has been named "Defender of Cultural Heritage" by the 2005 edition of the Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook for his efforts in nurturing the rich tradition of his Maguindanaon ancestry.

"We ask everybody to pray for the success of this production. We also encourage everybody to help us through research, financing, logistical, and moral support."