Private Hasan Amat

This short AI-assisted video examines the service of Private Hasan Amat, a soldier of the 1st Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment), Canadian Expeditionary Force, killed in action at the Battle of Hill 70 on 20 August 1917. Amat enlisted in Halifax in January 1916, served briefly with the Royal Canadian Regiment, re-enlisted with the 4th Overseas Pioneer Battalion in New Brunswick, trained at Bramshott Camp in England, and was transferred to the 1st Battalion in May 1917. Based on current archival research, he is the first identified Muslim soldier killed in action serving with the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

The archival recovery of Amat’s service file from Library and Archives Canada was published by Daniyal Elahi in Rediscovering Private Hasan Amat: Canada’s First Muslim Soldier Killed in the First World War (ActiveHistory.ca, 29 December 2025) and forms the scholarly foundation for this video. Researched and created by Daniyal Elahi, with contributions by Harris Elahi, as part of the Our Shared Sacrifice educational project recovering the stories of underrepresented soldiers of the First World War. AI was used for visual reconstruction where no original footage exists.