Muhammad Kudarat

Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat (1581–1671) was the 7th Sultan of Maguindanao from 1619 to 1671. During his reign, he successfully fought off Spanish invasions and hindered the spread of Roman Catholicism in the island of Mindanao much like the other Muslim rulers of the southern Philippine archipelago. He was a direct descendant of Shariff Kabungsuwan, a Malay-Arab Johor noble who brought Islam to Mindanao between the 13th and 14th century. The Soccsksargen province of Sultan Kudarat is named after him, together with the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, where his descendants of Datus and rulers are still the current political leaders.