Nur Misuari

Nur Misuari (Tausug: Nūr Miswāri, born Nurallaji Pinang Misuari; March 3, 1939) is a Moro revolutionary and politician, founder and leader of the Moro National Liberation Front.

Personal life
Nur Misuari was born on March 3, 1939 in Tapul, Sulu, Philippines. The fourth of ten children, his parents were of Tausūg-Sama descent and came from Kabinga-an, Tapul Island. His father was Saliddain Misuari, who worked as a fisherman, and his mother was Dindanghail Pining. Nur Misuari is a direct descendant of Panglima Mahabasser Elidji, a Tausūg warrior and representative from the Sultanate of Sulu who he claims helped the Sultanate of Brunei forces under Sultan Muhyiddin during the civil war in northern Borneo, after which the eastern part of Sabah was rewarded to the Tausūgs by Sultan Muhyiddin. Misuari's father moved their family from Tapul to Jolo, Sulu when he was still young. He attended Jolo Central Elementary School from 1949 to 1955 and studied at Sulu National High School for his secondary education from 1955 to 1958. Misuari's family experienced financial difficulties and could not afford to send him to college. His teacher assisted him to acquire a scholarship from the Commission on National Integration, which allowed him to study in the University of the Philippines in Manila.

Misuari initially took up a degree in liberal arts, intending to pursue medicine. Instead, Misuari shifted his course to political science in his second semester with the intent of taking up law, despite the fact that his father "hated" lawyers. He became active in many of the university's extra-curricular activities, particularly in debate. After attaining his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of the Philippines in 1962, he entered law school but dropped his law studies in his second year after being convinced by his mentor and now national author, Caesar Majul, to pursue a master's degree related to political science. He finished his master's degree in Asian studies in 1964 at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines. In 1964, Misuari founded a radical student group called the Bagong Asya (New Asia). Together with Jose Maria Sison, he also founded the Kabataan Makabayan (Patriotic Youth).

Until 2016, Misuari had five wives, his first wife was Desdemona Tan, who died of illness in Islamabad, Pakistan. The elder sister of the deceased Desdemona, Eleonora Tan then became his second wife. His third and fourth wives are Tarhata Ibrahim and Maimona Palalisan. His fifth wife comes from the tribe of Subanen, while Sherry Rahim became his sixth wife. As per polygyny, Islam allows men to marry up to four wives currently alive at the same time, thought Misuari already have six wives, this does not include his first wife who have been deceased.

Political career
Through Cesar Adib Majul, Misuari became a lecturer at the University of the Philippines in political science in July 1966 until his retirement as instructor on November 15, 1968. In the 1960s, he helped establish the Mindanao Independence Movement which aimed to organize an independent state in southern Philippines. The Mindanao Independence Movement formed the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that sought political reforms from the government of the Philippines. Unable to gain reforms, the MNLF engaged in military conflict against the Philippine government and its supporters between 1972 and 1976 under the leadership of Misuari. The military resistance to the government of former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos did not produce autonomy for the Moro people. Misuari departed to Saudi Arabia in self-exile, returning to the Philippines after Marcos was removed from office during the People Power Revolution in 1986. Misuari justified the MNLF armed struggle on the non-implementation of the Tripoli Agreement, originally signed by Ferdinand Marcos and later included and accepted in the peace agreement signed by former Philippine president Fidel Ramos in the 1990s. This agreement established an autonomous region for Moros, where Misuari became governor.