Maḥmūd Muḥammad Dadab, better known as Cheikh Hamou, is a scholar and master calligrapher in Mali.

As a leading scholar in the Islamic sciences in Timbuktu, and a specialist in the sciences of hadith and fiqh, Cheikh Hamou trained numerous students in the region. He also specializes in manuscripts produced and kept in Mali and worked at the Ahmed Baba Institute (IHERI-ABT) as a prospector of manuscripts for several years. He was also Pedagogical Advisor at the Pedagogical Animation Centre of Timbuktu (CAP) and was in charge of the ISESCO-AMAI library. He has written numerous works on the history of manuscripts, such as the one entitled “Quelques heritages de Tombouctou et du Sahel” published with ISESCO, or the article “The works of Shaykh Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Kunti” in The Meanings of Timbuktu (Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2008). He is also the author of several other works on traditional Islamic themes.

In addition to his scholarly activities, Cheikh Hamou is one of the last remaining Masters of West African Arabic Calligraphy in Timbuktu. He was trained by the great masters of the region and has been producing his own pieces for the last 20 years as well as recopying local manuscripts.