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Early life
Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr was born in Qom, Iran in 1928 to the prominent Lebanese aṣ-Ṣadr family of theologians. His father was Ayatollah Ṣadr ad-Dīn aṣ-Ṣadr, originally from Tyre. Grand Ayatollah Muḥammad Bāqir aṣ-Ṣadr is a distant cousin.
Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr attended his primary school in his hometown and then moved to the Iranian capital Tehran where he got in 1956 a degree in Islamic Jurisprudence and Political Sciences from Tehran University. Then he moved back to Qom to study theology and Islamic philosophy under ‘Allāmah Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabā'ī. He then edited a magazine called Maktab-e Eslām in Qom. Eventually he left Qom for Najaf to study theology under Ayatollah As-sayyid Muḥsin al-Ḥākim and Abū l-Qāṣim Khū'ī.
Activities in Lebanon
The aṣ-Ṣadr family was originally from Lebanon, and in 1960 Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr accepted an invitation to become the leading Shi'ite figure in the city of Tyre. 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 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 ...[1]
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. He was a vocal opponent of Israel but also attacked the PLO for endangering Lebanese civilians with their attacks.
In 1969, Imām Mūsá was appointed as the first head of the Supreme Islamic Shi'ite Council (SISC), 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.[2]
In 1974 he founded the Movement of the Disinherited 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.
Civil War
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 Afwaj al-Muqawma al-Lubnaniyyah, better known as Amal. However, in 1976 he withdrew his support after the Syrian invasion on the side of the Lebanese Front.
Disappearance
In August 1978, aṣ-Ṣadr and two companions departed for Libya to meet with government officials. The three were never heard of again. It is widely believed that the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi ordered aṣ-Ṣadr's killing, but the motivation for why this happened is not known. Libya has consistently denied responsibility, claiming that aṣ-Ṣadr and his companions left Libya for Italy. Some others have reported that he remains secretly in jail in Libya. Aṣ-Ṣadr's disappearance continues to be a major dispute between Lebanon and Libya.[3] 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 Alawsat, a Saudi-run pan-Arab daily reported on 27 August 2006.[4][5][6]
According to Iranian General Mansour Qadar, the head of Syrian security, Rifaat al-Asad, told the Iranian ambassador to Syria that Gaddafi was planning to kill aṣ-Ṣadr.[7] On August 27, 2008, Gaddafi was indicted by the government of Lebanon for al-Sadr's disappearance. [8]
Legacy
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After his disappearance on August 31 aṣ-Ṣadr became viewed as a spiritual leader of the Lebanese Shī‘ah, a martyr, and "vanished imam."[9] It is said a tribute to his popularity is that it is popular in parts of Lebanon to mimic his Persian accent.[9] The Amal Party remains an important Shī‘ah organization and looks to aṣ-Ṣadr as its founder.
Aṣ-Ṣadr is most famous for his political role, but he was also a philosopher. As Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr said,
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.citation needed
One of his famous writings is a long introduction for the Arabic translation of Henry Corbin's History of Islamic Philosophy.
Mūsá aṣ-Ṣadr's niece is married to Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran.
See also
References
- ^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton) (2006), p.112
- ^ Syria's Alawis and Shiism, by Martin Kramer
- ^ Court in Lebanon summons Gaddafi, 3 August, 2004
- ^ بري يحمل النظام الليبي ورئيسه مسؤولية «الجريمة المنظمة» في اختطاف موسى الصدر ورفيقيه, أخبــــــار
- ^ المجلس الشيعي في لبنان يدعو ليبيا إلى «كشف لغز» اختفاء موسى الصدر, أخبــــــار
- ^ Libya is responsible for Musa Sadr’s disappearance: paper
- ^ Interview of General Mansour Qadar with Gholam Reza Afchami 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
- ^ "Gaddafi charged for cleric kidnap". BBC News, 27 August 2008.
- ^ a b Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival (Norton) (2006), p.113
External links
- Imam Moussa Al-Sadr Online News
- Imam Moussa as-Sadr Website
- The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon
- Libya is responsible for Imam Musa Sadr's disappearance: paper, Mehr News Agency, August 27, 2006.
- Beirut court summons Qaddafi over Sadr, Press TV, February 27, 2008.
- Imam Sadr Foundation
- The Imam Musa Sadr
