25/06/2026
May Allah ุณุจุญุงูู ูุชุนุงูู grant our beloved founders of Ansano Memorial National High School, Aleem Majeed D. Ansano and Dr. H. Zainab B. Dimakuta-Ansano, the highest place in Jannatul Firdaus.
Their dedication, vision, and service in establishing the school will forever remain an inspiration to generations of learners and educators.
May Allah reward them abundantly for the good they have done. Ameen. ๐คฒ
๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐น๐บ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐. ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ (1943, 2008), more widely known among the Maranao people as Aleem Majeed Ansano or Aleem Majeed Diguro Ansano, was a Filipino ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ, ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ, and ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ from Lanao who became one of the defining figures of 20th century Maranao intellectual and religious life. Recognized as one of the pioneer Ulama of Lanao Province, he served as Professor of the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic, and Asian Studies and later as ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ of the ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐๐๐น๐ถ๐บ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ (๐๐๐๐ฆ-๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ ) in 1996, the agency that would eventually evolve into today's BARMM Ministry of Education and Higher Education. He was also a co-founder of the Ompia Party, one of the most influential political movements in Lanao's history, and a co-developer of the standardized Maranao orthography that is still used to write the Maranao language today.
Though he sought the governorship of Lanao twice and did not win either bid, Aleem Majeed's legacy rests less on electoral office and more on the institutions he built, the students he taught, and the written Maranao language he helped preserve for future generations.
๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
Aleem Abdulmajeed Ansano pursued an academic and religious formation that took him well beyond the borders of Lanao. He began his theological studies at the Theology University in Bagasi, Tripoli, Libya, where he immersed himself in the study of Islamic theology. He went on to study at the University of the Philippines, where he earned a Master's degree in Islamic Philosophy. He later completed two more Master's degrees, one in ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป and another in ๐ฃ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฑ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, both from Mindanao State University in Marawi.
This combination of foreign Islamic education and Philippine graduate study placed him among a small circle of Maranao scholars in his generation who moved fluently between the world of the madrasa and the world of the secular university, a duality that would come to define much of his public life.
๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ
Aleem Majeed was counted among the pioneer Ulama of Lanao Province, the religious scholars whose teachings shaped the moral and spiritual direction of the Maranao community in the years following Philippine independence. His voice carried weight both from the minbar and inside the classroom, and he was known for treating Islamic scholarship and secular education not as competing pursuits but as two halves of the same calling.
He served as Director of the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic, and Asian Studies, an institution dedicated to the study and propagation of Islamic learning in the region. In 1996, he was appointed Secretary of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DECS-ARMM), the predecessor agency of what is now the BARMM Ministry of Education and Higher Education. In this capacity, he helped shape education policy for Muslim Mindanao at a formative period in the region's history, working to ensure that young Maranao learners could grow up grounded in both the teachings of the Qur'an and the sciences of the modern world.
๐ฃ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ฌ
Aleem Majeed twice sought the governorship of Lanao but did not secure the post in either attempt. His more lasting political contribution came through his partnership with his close friend and contemporary, ๐๐ฟ. ๐ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ป, with whom he co-founded the ๐ข๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐. The party became one of the dominant political forces in Lanao, and the bond between its two founders became something of a local legend. As people in Lanao were fond of saying, there was no Mahid Mutilan without Aleem Majeed Diguro Ansano, and no Ompia Party without Aleem Majeed Ansano. Together, the two envisioned a Lanao that was united, educated, and rooted in faith.
๐๐๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐๐ข ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฌ
Beyond his roles in government and religious leadership, Aleem Majeed devoted much of his intellectual energy to preserving Maranao language and culture in written form. He authored a number of books in both Maranao and Arabic, among them the well known work "๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ธ๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ."
His most enduring scholarly contribution, however, may be his work on the ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ต๐, the standardized writing system he helped develop alongside ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ผ "๐๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฒ" ๐๐น๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ and ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ต ๐๐ฏ๐ฑ๐๐น ๐๐๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ด. This orthography would later be referenced in Lobel's 2009 linguistic study and remains foundational to how the Maranao language is written today, helping ensure that the language would continue to be passed down through written as well as spoken tradition.
๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
Aleem Majeed was married to ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ. ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐๐ฎ, a Doctor of Education from ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ด, whose own scholarly accomplishments matched his. Together they raised a family grounded in faith and public service.
Their son, ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ, has continued the family's tradition of service. Atty. Ansano is a lawyer who currently serves as ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ด๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ (๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ), where he has worked on behalf of Maranao farmers, fisherfolk, and landowners. Before his work at MAFAR, he was a founder of the Development Assistance Team, a civil society organization in Lanao known for advocating on behalf of victims of the Marawi Siege.
๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฌ
Aleem Abdulmajeed Ansano died in 2008, but his name continues to be spoken with reverence across Lanao and the wider BARMM region. He is remembered as a politician who, in many ways, served his people most effectively outside the halls of power, a scholar who taught from the dusty roads of his homeland rather than from an ivory tower, and a leader who, by all accounts, never stopped seeing himself as a student.
His influence persists wherever a Maranao child learns to read in their own mother tongue, wherever a farmer works their land with dignity, and wherever a student recites both the Qur'an and algebra in the same breath. Through the continued work of his son and the institutions he helped build, the spirit of Aleem Majeed Ansano remains woven into the foundations of Lanao's religious and educational life.
QUOTE
"๐๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ฎ, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐." (Qur'an 94:5)
Source of data and photo: Hads Chuy
