Musa al-Sadr

Musa Al-Sadr
موسى الصدر
Born Musa Al-Sadr Al-Charaffeddine
موسى بن صدر الدين بن إسماعيل بن صدر الدين بن صالح شرف الدين
(1928-06-04)4 June 1928[1]
Qom, Iran
Disappeared 31 August 1979 (aged 51)[2]
Libya
Other names Imam Musa
Ethnicity Iranian-Lebanese
Alma mater University of Tehran
Hawza 'Ilmiyya Qom
Known for being the co-founder of Amal Movement
Religion Islam
Denomination Twelver Shia
Parent(s) Sadr al-Din al-Sadr
Relatives Ismail as-Sadr (grandfather)
Muhammad al-Sadr (cousin)

Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr (Persian: امام موسى صدر‎‎, Arabic: السيد موسى الصدر‎, also Musā-ye Sader and Moussa Sadr; 4 June 1928 – disappeared in Libya on 31 August 1978) was an Iranian-Lebanese[3] philosopher and Shī‘ah religious leader who went missing in Libya. Many theories exist around the circumstances of his disappearance, none of which have been proven. Due to the lasting influence of his political and religious leadership in Lebanon, he has been referred to by Fouad Ajami as a "towering figure in modern Shi'i political thought and praxis."[4]

Early life and education

Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr was born in the Cheharmardan neighborhood of Qom, Iran, on 4 June 1928.[5][6] He came from a long line of distinguished clerics tracing back their ancestry to Jabal Amel.[7] His great-great-grandfather S. Salih b. Muhammad Sharafeddin, a high-ranking cleric, was born in Shahruhr, a village near Tyre (in modern-day Lebanon). Following a turn of frantic events related to an anti-Ottoman uprising, he left for Najaf.[8] Sharafeddin's son, Sadreddin, left Najaf for Isfahan, which was then the most important centre of religious learning in Iran.[9] He returned to Najaf shortly before his death, which occurred in 1847. The youngest of his five sons, Ismail (as-Sadr), was born in Isfahan, in Qajar Iran, and became eventually a leading mujtahid.[10] The second son of this Ismail, also known by the name of Sadreddin, born in Ottoman Iraq, also decided to decisively settle in Iran.[11] He whould become the father of Musa al-Sadr.[12] While settled in Iran, Sadreddin married a daughter of Ayatollah Hussein Tabatabaei Qomi, an important Iranian religious leader, who would thus become the mother of Musa al-Sadr.[13]

Through his sisters, Musa al-Sadr is related to noted Iranian individuals namely Mohammad Khatami, Sadeq Tabatabaei, and Ahmad Khomeini.[14]

Musa al-Sadr attended primary school in his hometown and then moved to the Iranian capital Tehran where he received a degree in Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh) and political sciences from Tehran University.[5] Then he moved back to Qom to study Theology and Islamic philosophy under ‘Allāmah Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabā'ī. He then edited a magazine called Maktab-e Eslām in Qom. In 1953 following the death of his father he left Qom for Najaf to study theology under Ayatollah Muhsin al-Hakim and Abul Qasim Khui.[5]

Activities and views

Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr with Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1960s

In 1960, Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr accepted an invitation to become the leading Shi'i figure in the city of Tyre to succeed former Shi'i leader of the city, Abdul Hussein Sharif Al Din, who died in 1957.[5] Aṣ-Ṣadr, who became known as Imām Mūsá, quickly became one of the most prominent advocates for the Shī‘ah population of Lebanon, a group that was both economically and politically disadvantaged. He is said by Vali Nasr to have:

worked tirelessly to improve the lot of his community - to give them a voice, to protect them from the ravages of war and intercommunal strife...[15]

Aṣ-Ṣadr was widely seen as a moderate, demanding that the Maronite Christians relinquish some of their power but pursuing ecumenism and peaceful relations between the groups.

In 1969, Imām Mūsá was appointed as the first head of the Supreme Islamic Shi'ite Council (SISC), (in Arabic المجلس الإسلامي الشيعي الأعلى) an entity meant to give the Shī‘ah more say in government. For the next four years, he engaged the leadership of the Syrian ‘Alawīs in an attempt to unify their political power with that of the Twelver Shī‘ah. Though controversial, recognition of the ‘Alawī as Shī‘ah coreligionists came in July 1973 when he and the ‘Alawī religious leadership successfully appointed an ‘Alawī as an official mufti to the Twelver community.[16][17]

In 1974 he founded the Movement of the Disinherited (in Arabic حركة المحرومين) to press for better economic and social conditions for the Shī‘ah. He established a number of schools and medical clinics throughout southern Lebanon, many of which are still in operation today. Aṣ-Ṣadr attempted to prevent the descent into violence that eventually led to the Lebanese Civil War, but was ineffective. In the war, he at first aligned himself with the Lebanese National Movement, and the Movement of the Disinherited developed an armed wing known as Afwāj al-Muqāwamat al-Lubnāniyyah (in Arabic أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية), better known as Amal (in Arabic أمل). However, in 1976 he withdrew his support after the Syrian invasion on the side of the Lebanese Front. He also actively cooperated with Mostafa Chamran, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh and other Iranian Islamist activists during the civil war.[18][19] In addition, Aṣ-Ṣadr was instrumental in developing ties between Hafez Assad, then Syrian president, and the opponents of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.[20][21]

Personal life

Aṣ-Ṣadr was tall, flamboyant and elegant and fluent in stylish Arabic.[5] He was related to Ayatollah Khomeini by marriage.[22] Khomenei's son, Ahmad, was married to Aṣ-Ṣadr’s niece, and Aṣ-Ṣadr’s son was married to Khomeini’s granddaughter.[21]

Disappearance

On 25 August 1978, al-Sadr and two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, departed for Libya to meet with government officials.[2][23] The visit was paid upon the invitation of then Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The three were last seen on 31 August.[2] They were never heard from again.[2]

It is widely believed that Gaddafi ordered al-Ṣadr's killing, but differing motivations exist. Libya has consistently denied responsibility, claiming that al-Ṣadr and his companions left Libya for Italy. Sadr's son claimed that he remains secretly in jail in Libya but did not provide proof.[24] Al-Ṣadr's disappearance continues to be a major dispute between Lebanon and Libya.[25] Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri claimed that the Libyan regime, and particularly the Libyan leader, were responsible for the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr, London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, a Saudi-run pan-Arab daily reported on 27 August 2006.[26][27][28]

According to Iranian General Mansour Qadar, the head of Syrian security, Rifaat al-Assad, told the Iranian ambassador to Syria that Gaddafi was planning to kill al-Ṣadr.[29] On 27 August 2008, Gaddafi was indicted by the government of Lebanon for al-Sadr's disappearance.[30] Following the fall of the Gaddafi regime, Lebanon and Iran appealed to the Libyan rebels to investigate the fate of Moussa al-Sadr.[31]

In an interview political analyst Roula Talj said that the son of Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, told her that Imam Mousa Sadr and his aides, Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin, never left Libya.[32] According to representative of Libya’s National Transitional Council in Cairo, Gaddafi murdered Imam Mousa Sadr after discussion about Shia beliefs. Imam Mousa Sadr accused him of unawareness about Islamic teachings and about the Islamic branches of Shia and Sunni, following which Gaddafi became enraged and ordered the murder of Imam Mousa Sadr and his accompanying delegation.[33] According to other sources the murder of Moussa al-Sadr was done by Muammar Gaddafi, they claim, at request of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The Shias and the Palestinians at that time were involved in armed clashes in Southern Lebanon.[34][35] According to a former member of the Libyan intelligence, Sadr was beaten to death for daring to challenge Gaddafi at his house on matters of theology.[36] In an interview with Al Aan TV Ahmed Ramadan an influential figure in the Gaddafi regime and an eye witness of the meeting between al-Sadr and Gaddafi, mentioned that the meeting lasted for two and a half hours and ended up with Gaddafi saying "take him". Ramadan also named three officials who he believes were responsible for the death of Al Sadr.[37][38][39] When Ahmed Jibril who had a strong relationship with Gaddafi asked him about these allegations, Gaddafi denied them saying he had no reason to kill Musa al-Sadr.[40]

Dr. Andrew Scott Cooper of Columbia University[41] wrote a book claiming a much darker reason for the death of the al-Sadr delegation.[42] In The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran (Henry Holt and Co.), set for publication on July 19, 2016, Cooper alleges that Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, The Shah of Iran, was in alliance with al-Sadr, and that the forces of the Iranian revolution, including Ayatollah Khomeini himself, were the ultimate motivating factors behind the death of al-Sadr, implying that Col. Gaddafi may have staged his argument with al-Sadr.[42] Later, Iran and its forces claimed al-Sadr as their own in an attempt to co-opt the followers of al-Sadr's Amal Movement into supporting the armed conflicts of Hezbollah.[42]

Legacy

Imam Musa aṣ-Ṣadr is still regarded as an important political and spiritual leader by the Shī‘ah Lebanese community. His status only grew after his disappearance in August 1978, and today his legacy is revered by both Amal and Hezbollah followers.[43] In the eyes of many, he became a martyr and "vanished imam."[44] A tribute to his continuing popularity is that it is popular in parts of Lebanon to mimic his Persian accent.[44] The Amal Party remains an important Shī‘ah organization in Lebanon and looks to aṣ-Ṣadr as its founder.

Aṣ-Ṣadr is most famous for his political role, but he was also a philosopher. According to Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr,

“ His great political influence and fame was enough for people to not consider his philosophical attitude, although he was a well-trained follower of long living intellectual tradition of Islamic Philosophy. ”

One of his famous writings is a long introduction for the Arabic translation of Henry Corbin's History of Islamic Philosophy.

See also

References

  1. ↑ سيرة سماحة الإمام القائد السيد موسى الصدر Arabic
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Lebanon FM to interview Gaddafi’s top spy about Sadr’s fate". Ya Libnan. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Chehabi, Hussein; Abisaab, Rula Jurdi (2006). Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years. I.B.Tauris. pp. 137–409. Seyyed Musa Sadr was born in the spring of 1928 in the Cheharmardan neighborhood of Qom. (...) His great-great-grandfather S. Salih b. Muhammad Sharafeddin, a high-ranking cleric, was born in Shahruhr, a village near Tyr. (...) His [Sharafeddin's] grandson, Sadreddin, decisively moved and settled in Iran around the late 19th century/early 20th century (..)
  4. ↑ Nasr, Seyyed H. (1989). Expectation of the Millennium: Shiʻism in History. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, Albany. p. 425., chapter 26
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Samii, Abbas William (1997). "The Shah's Lebanon policy: the role of SAVAK". Middle Eastern Studies 33 (1): 66–91. doi:10.1080/00263209708701142. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  6. ↑ ʻAlī Rāhnamā. Pioneers of Islamic Revival Palgrave Macmillan, 1994 ISBN 978-1856492546 p 195
  7. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  8. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  9. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  10. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  11. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  12. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  13. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  14. ↑ Houchang Chehabi,Rula Jurdi Abisaab. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years I.B.Tauris, 2 apr. 2006 ISBN 978-1860645617 pp 137-140 (Centre for Lebanese Studies, Great Britain)
  15. ↑ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton) (2006), p. 112
  16. ↑ Syria's Alawis and Shiism, Martin Kramer
  17. ↑ Talhamy, Yvette (Autumn 2009). "The Syrian Muslim Brothers and the Syrian-Iranian Relationship". The Middle East Journal 63 (4): 561–580. doi:10.1353/mej.0.0088. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  18. ↑ Ostovar, Afshon P. (2009). "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution Ideology, Politics, and the Development of Military Power in Iran (1979–2009)" (PhD Thesis). University of Michigan. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  19. ↑ Badran, Tony (8 September 2010). "Moussa Sadr and the Islamic Revolution in Iran… and Lebanon". Now Lebanon. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  20. ↑ Badran, Tony (22 June 2010). "Syriana". Tablet. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  21. 1 2 "Musa al Sadr: The Untold Story". Asharq Alawsat. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  22. ↑ Saud Al Zadeh; Elia Jazaeri (23 February 2011). "Mousa Al Sadr alive in Libyan prison: sources". Al Arabiya (Dubai and Beirut). Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  23. ↑ Dakroub, Hussein (3 September 2012). "Mansour, Lebanese judge to question Sanousi on Sadr’s fate". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  24. ↑ Staff (31 August 2010) "Imam Sadr and companions still alive in captivity of Libya, son tells news agency" The Daily Star (Lebanon).
  25. ↑ Court in Lebanon summons Gaddafi, 3 August 2004
  26. ↑ بري يحمل النظام الليبي ورئيسه مسؤولية «الجريمة المنظمة» في اختطاف موسى الصدر ورفيقيه, أخبار
  27. ↑ المجلس الشيعي في لبنان يدعو ليبيا إلى «كشف لغز» اختفاء موسى الصدر, أخبار
  28. ↑ Libya is responsible for Musa Sadr’s disappearance: paper
  29. ↑ Interview of General Mansour Qadar with Gholam Reza Afkhami in the Oral History of Iran Program, Foundation of Iranian Studies, Bethesda, MD, 1986, pp. 40-56. Quoted in Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton) (2006), p. 112.
  30. ↑ "Gaddafi charged for cleric kidnap". BBC News, 27 August 2008.
  31. ↑ Lebanon and Iran urge Libyan rebels to probe 33-year-old mystery
  32. ↑ Imam Moussa al-Sadr never left Libya
  33. ↑ Gaddafi has martyred Imam Mousa Sadr
  34. ↑ Gadhafi and the Vanished Imam
  35. ↑ As Gaddafi Teeters, Will the Mystery of Lebanon's Missing Imam Be Solved?
  36. ↑ Worth, Robert F. (25 September 2011). "Qaddafi's Never-Neverland". The New York Times. p. 26.
  37. ↑ Mousa, Jenan. "احمد رمضان يكشف اسماء الاشخاص الذين قاموا بتصفية موسى الصدر". Akhbar Al Aan. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  38. ↑ "Lebanon Shiite leader was 'liquidated' in Libya". Yahoo Maktoob. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  39. ↑ "Lebanon Shiite leader was 'liquidated' in Libya". France24. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  40. ↑ TV interview with Ahmed Jibril about Gaddafi and Moussa al-Sadr
  41. ↑ Cooper, Andrew. "Biography". Department of Political Science. Columbia University. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  42. 1 2 3 Friedman, Yaron (26 January 2016). "A Shi'ite genie has escaped the bottle – and is threatening Hezbollah". Ynetnews (Yedioth Ahronoth Group). Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  43. ↑ "As Gaddafi Teeters, Will the Mystery of Lebanon's Missing Imam Be Solved?". TIME Online. 22 February 2011.
  44. 1 2 Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton) (2006), p.113

External links

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