Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr
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Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (March 1, 1935 – April 8, 1980) was an Iraqi Shia cleric born in al-Kadhimya, Iraq. He is the father-in-law of Muqtada al-Sadr and cousin of both Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and Imam Musa as-Sadr. His father Haydar al-Sadr was a well respected high ranking shi'a cleric. His lineage goes back to Mohammad, the prophet of Islam through the seventh Shia Imam, Musa Al-Kadhim. (See Sadr family for more details.)
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[edit] Name
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr (Arabic: آية الله العظمى السيد محمد باقر الصدر )
[edit] Biography
His father died in 1937, leaving the family penniless. In 1945 the family moved to the holy city of Najaf, where al-Sadr would spend the rest of his life. Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr completed his religious teachings at religious seminaries under al-Khoei and Muhsin al-Hakim at the age of 25 and began teaching.
While teaching he became a prominent member of the Iraqi Shia community, and was noted for his many writings. His first works were detailed critiques of Marxism that presented early ideas of an alternative Islamic form of government. Perhaps his most important work was Iqtisaduna, one of the most important works on Islamic economics. This work was a critique of both socialism and capitalism. He was subsequently commissioned by the government of Kuwait to assess how that country's oil wealth could be managed in keeping with Islamic principles. This led to a major work on Islamic banking that still forms the basis for modern Islamic banks.
He also worked with Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim in forming an Islamist movement in Iraq. This attracted the attention of the Baath Party, which resulted in numerous imprisonments for the Ayatollah. He was often subjugated to torture during his imprisonments, but continued his work after being released. One of the founders of modern Islamist thought he is credited with first developing the notion, later put in operation in Iran, of having western style democratic elections, but with a body of Muslim scholars to ensure all laws corresponded with Islamic teachings. He was a close ally and supporter of Ayatollah Khomeni, but maintained a more moderate view than him and was said to have disagreed with the concept of Velayat-e faqih.
In 1977, he was sentenced to life in prison following uprisings in Najaf, but was released two years later due to his immense popularity. Upon his release however, he was put under house arrest. In 1980, after writing in the defense of Khomeni and the Islamic Revolution, Sadr was once again imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the regime of Saddam Hussein. His sister, Amina Sadr bint al-Huda, was also imprisoned, tortured, and executed. It has been alleged that Sadr was killed by having iron nail hammered into his head and then being set on fire.
During the execution of Saddam Hussein, chants of "Long live Mohammed Baqir Sadr!" were heard being chanted by some of the Shi'a guards. CNN article
[edit] Notable colleagues and students
- Ruhollah Khomeini
- Mohammad Hussein Fadlullah
- Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim(Late)
- Mohammad Mohammad Sadiq as-Sadr
- Kathem al-Haeri
- Ibrahim al-Jaafari
- Abbas al-Musawi
- Hasan Nasrallah
[edit] Political Following
[edit] Books
[edit] See also
- Muhammad al-Tijani — a student
[edit] References
- Two of his books: Falsafatuna (Our Philosophy), Iqtisaduna (Our Economics - synopsis only)
- Mallat, Chibli. "Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr." Pioneers of Islamic Revival. ed. Ali Rahnema. London: Zed Books, 1994
- Arabic Biography
