Mohammad Salhoot was born in southeast Jerusalem in 1943. He attended high school in the old city of Jerusalem, where he was active in sports. He traveled to Saudi Arabia in 1962, where he taught elementary school in a small village.
His goal was to save enough money to come to the US and attend college. In 1967, the Six-Day War broke out, which resulted in the borders being closed thus preventing him from returning home. With $2,000 in his pocket, he came to the US to attend college. He attended the University of Houston School of Engineering, graduating in 1972 as an electrical engineer. Mohammed worked as an engineer for four years.
An entrepreneur by nature and driven to start his own company, his first enterprise was, Al Ajinah Gulf States, a joint venture doing electrical engineering in Saudi Arabia, where he held the position of president for four years. His first solely-owned company was Base Supply, which sold wholesale industrial supplies.
Mohammad Salhoot is also a co-founder and past president of the Arab American Cultural & Community Center (ACC) in Houston, Texas. In 1995, when the goal of developing a center was gathering momentum, he along with three other leaders, signed the promissory note enabling the purchase of the land on which the ACC was built.
Mohammed established Cashbanc, Inc., a very successful 15-branch retail financial services business, from 1984–2000. It became the largest independent check cashing outlet and the largest Western Union agent in Houston. To advance the business and respond effectively to political issues, he co-founded and was the first president of the Texas Association of Check Cashiers, the first of its kind in the state. Since the year 2000, when he sold Cashbanc, he has concentrated on real estate investments and developing small shopping strips in Houston and Albuquerque.
Mohammed is part of several Arab American organizations. He continues to hold a significant role in ACC, provides leadership in Al-Awda, and he serves as vice president of the Arab American Secular Association founded by Wagih Abu-Rish.
Mohammed is involved in several non-profits. He and Joyce are active in Creativity for Peace in Santa Fe, NM, which brings Palestinian and Israeli teenage girls from the Middle East to a peace camp each summer, where they learn about each other. They are part of a long-term program when they return home. The mission is to grow the next generation of women peacemakers and leaders.
Mohammed and Joyce are active in the New Mexico Governor’s Mansion Foundation and Christus St. Vincent’s Hospital Foundation in Santa Fe. They are also active in the Rothko Chapel and its mission of spirituality, human rights, and art.