Musa al-Sadr
Moussa al-Sadr | |
---|---|
موسى صدر الدين الصدر | |
1st Leader of the Amal Movement | |
In office 6 July 1974 – 31 August 1978 | |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Hussein el-Husseini |
1st President of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council | |
In office 23 May 1969 – 31 August 1978 | |
Preceded by | Office established |
Succeeded by | Mohd. Mehdi Shamseddine |
Personal details | |
Born | Cleric | 4 June 1928
Nicknames |
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Went missing on 31 August 1978 (aged 50) in the for 45 years, 8 months and 2 days | |
Part of a series on |
Amal Movement |
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Musa Sadr al-Din al-Sadr (
Born in the Chaharmardan neighborhood in
Some years later, Sadr went to
On 25 August 1978, Sadr and two companions, Sheikh Mohamad Yaacoub and Abaass Bader el Dine, departed for Libya to meet with government officials at the invitation of Muammar Gaddafi. The three were last seen on 31 August. They were never heard from again. Many theories exist around the circumstances of Sadr's disappearance, none of which have been proven. His whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
Early life and education
Family background
Musa al-Sadr came from a long line of clerics tracing their ancestry back to
His great-great-grandfather
The second son of Ismail, also named Sadreddin, was born in Ottoman Iraq and also decided to settle permanently in Iran. He became Musa al-Sadr's father. While living in Iran, Sadreddin married a daughter of Ayatollah Hussein Tabatabaei Qomi, an Iranian religious leader. She would become Musa al-Sadr's mother.[4][page needed]
Early life
Musa al-Sadr was born in the Cheharmardan neighborhood of Qom, Iran, on 4 June 1928.[7][8]
He attended Hayat Elementary School in Qom where he attended seminary classes informally; he started his official seminary education in 1941. His teachers considered him a "quick learner and remarkably knowledgeable for his young age". After a while he started teaching other students "lower-level" courses. This coincided with the "liberalizing of Iranian politics", the political climate of his time was secular, so that most religious scholars "felt politically and socially marginalized".[4][page needed]
To have some influence in the "national life" he concluded that he had to become familiar with "modern science and contemporary world". As a result, he started a "full secular education" alongside his seminary studies. He moved to
In Iraq
Following the death of his father in 1953, he left Qom for Najaf to study theology under Ayatollah
Return to Iran
After the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état and the overthrow of the monarchy in Iraq, Sadr returned to Iran. There, he accepted the request of Ali Davani, who was sent by Ayatollah Shariatmadari, and became an editor of Darsha'i az maktab-e Islam, also known as Maktab-e Eslam, a journal published by the Hawza of Qom and endorsed by Ayatollah Broujerdi.[9] He began contributing with the third issue, focusing on Islamic economics, "a novel subject at the time".[citation needed] His articles in this field were then published as a book. He soon became the journal's "de facto editor-in-chief". He left the journal in December 1959 along with some of its original founders.[4][page needed]
Musa Sadr also took part in devising a new scheme for Hawza called the "Preliminary plan for reforming the Hawza" (Persian: طرح مقدّماتی اصلاح حوزه, romanized: ţarḩe moqaddamātīye eşlāḩe ḩowzeh), which was then withdrawn, in cooperation with Mohammad Beheshti. In 1959, Sadr founded a private high school which provided an alternative to the state educational system for "observant parents".[4][page needed]
Departure to Lebanon
Musa al-Sadr declined Ayatollah Broujerdi's request to go to
He left Najaf for Tyre in late 1959,[7] as the "emissary" of Ayatollah Broujerdi and Ayatollah Hakim.[6] At the request of some clerics, he later made several trips to Iran delivering several lectures such as "Islam is a Religion of Life" and "The World is Ready to Accept the Call of Islam." The latter included presenting his experiences in Lebanon and emphasizing the need to work "towards the betterment of Muslims."[4][page needed]
In 1967, Imam al-Sadr traveled to West Africa to get acquainted with the Lebanese community and inspect its affairs and worked to link them to their homeland. He also met with Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor and provided symbolic assistance to orphans in Senegal. Senghor praised the Imam's gesture, pointing out that he is following his activities with great interest, which had a great influence in spreading the feeling of love and faith among the citizens.[11]
Sadr, who became known as Imam Musa, quickly became one of the most prominent advocates for the Shia population of Lebanon, a group that was both economically and politically disadvantaged.[12]
"[Sadr] worked tirelessly to improve the lot of his community – to give them a voice, to protect them from the ravages of war and inter communal strife," said
In 1969, Imam Musa was appointed the first head of the
For the next four years, Sadr engaged the leadership of Syrian
He revived the Jami'at al-Birr wal-Ihsan charity, founded by S. Salih b. Muhammad Sharafeddin and gathered money for The Social Institute (al-Mu'assasa al-Ijtima'iyya), an orphanage in Tyre. In 1963, Sadr established a sewing school and nursery named The Girls' Home (Bayt al-Fatat). The same year, he established The Institute of Islamic Studies (Ma'had al-Dirasat al-Islamiyya). In 1964, Sadr started Burj al-Shimali Technical Institute, whose funding was provided by Shi'a benefactors, bank loans, and the Lebanese Ministry of Education.
During the war, he aligned himself with the
However, in 1976, he withdrew his support after the Syrian invasion against Palestinian and leftist militias. He also actively cooperated with Mostafa Chamran, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, and other Iranian Islamist activists during the civil war.[22][23] Sadr and Chamran had an important role in the Islamic Revolution of Iran. They were involved in protests against the Shah out of Iran. According to Amal deputy, Ali Kharis, "Musa Sadr and Chamran were the backbone of the Iranian revolution and how one can not speak of the Iranian revolution without mentioning these two people."[19][page needed]
In addition, Sadr was instrumental in developing ties between
Personal life
Musa al-Sadr maintained strong family relations with political leaders in Iran, Lebanon and Iraq. He is related to noted Iranian individuals namely Sadeq Tabatabaei (his nephew),[26][27][28][29] as well as Mohammad Khatami (his wife was a niece of Musa al-Sadr),[30][31] and Ayatollah Khomeini's son Ahmad Khomeini (his wife was another of Musa al-Sadr's nieces).[25][30] Sadr's son was married to Khomeini's granddaughter.[25] His sister, Rabab al-Sadr, is a social activist who does charity work, and also a painter trained in Italy who earned a doctorate in philosophy,[32] her paradigm being influenced by Søren Kierkegaard.[33]'
Charisma
Musa al-Sadr has been referred to by
Standing at 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in),[35] scholar Fouad Ajami describes Sadr's charisma and magnetism as such:
Lebanon has long been a country finicky about the looks, the aura, al haiba of a leader. The Shia in particular have been noted to be a people of some vanity. In the Shia tradition, the Imams were not only morally infallible men (an Imam was said to be masum, not subject to error), but also physically perfect beings. A blind man or a lame man would not have been accepted as an Imam. Musa al Sadr, a handsome man of striking looks, was true to his people's fantasy of what a man of piety and distinction and high birth slated for bigger things should look like. He was, in addition, a dazzling speaker in a culture that exalted the spoken word and those who could express in classical Arabic what was on the minds of others.[36]
and
Sayyid Musa winked at traditions with a daring uncommon to men of his clerical calling and background. He was a hit with women, who admired his looks and his elegance and were pleased that they did not have to scurry out of living rooms and meetings when he arrived, as they did with ulama of more conservative outlook. As befitting a man of the religious mantle, he refrained from shaking hands with women, and his aides and companions forewarned Christian women who were to meet him that they should not try to shake hands. But even this prohibition was violated now and them. A woman who admitted being drawn to him, being nearly hypnotized by him, once held out a hand to him, and he took it between his two hands, saying that he was not supposed to do so, and that he was doing what he shouldn't be doing, that he would not do it again.[37]
Disappearance
On 25 August 1978, al-Sadr and two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine (fr), departed for Libya to meet with government officials[3][38] at the invitation of Muammar Gaddafi. The three were last seen on 31 August.[3] They were never heard from again.[3][12]
It is widely believed, at least by Lebanese Shia Muslims, that Gaddafi ordered al-Sadr's killing,[34] but differing motivations exist. Libya has consistently denied responsibility, claiming that Sadr and his companions left Libya for Italy.[39] However, supporters of the missing cleric pointed out that al-Sadr's baggage was found in a Tripoli hotel and there was no evidence of his arrival in Rome.[39] Airlines could not confirm that al-Sadr had ever flown to Italy from Libya.[39]
Al-Sadr's son claimed that he remains secretly in jail in Libya but did not provide proof.[40] Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri claimed that the Libyan regime, and particularly the Libyan leader, was responsible for the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, as London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, a Saudi-run pan-Arab daily, reported on 27 August 2006.[41][42][43]
According to Iranian General Mansour Qadar, the head of Syrian security,
Political analyst Roula Talj has said that Gaddafi's son,
According to a former member of the Libyan intelligence, al-Sadr was beaten to death for daring to challenge Gaddafi at his house on matters of theology.[50] In an interview with Al Aan TV, Ahmed Ramadan, an influential figure in the Gaddafi regime and an eyewitness to the meeting between al-Sadr and Gaddafi, claimed that the meeting lasted for two and a half hours and ended with Gaddafi saying "take him". Ramadan also named three officials who he believes were responsible for the death of al-Sadr.[51][52][53]
In 2011, Abdel Monem al-Houni claimed that Sadr's body was sent to Sabha in Gaddafi's private jet and buried there. The plane was flown by Houni's cousin, Najieddine Yazigi, who was later murdered to preserve the secret.[48][54][55]
In 2021, Muqtada al-Sadr, the cousin of Musa al-Sadr and leader of the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, announced that a committee has been formed to investigate the fate of Musa al-Sadr.[56]
Legacy
Imam Musa al-Sadr is still regarded as an important political and spiritual leader by the Shia Lebanese community. His status only grew after his disappearance in August 1978, and today his legacy is revered by both Amal and Hezbollah followers.[48] In the eyes of many, he became a martyr and a "vanished imam." A tribute to his continuing popularity is that it is popular in parts of Lebanon to mimic his Persian accent.[13] The Amal Party remains an important Shia organization in Lebanon and looks to al-Sadr as its founder.
According to Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr,[57]
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.
Works
Al-Sadr wrote a long introduction to Henry Corbin's History of Islamic Philosophy.[58]
Al-Sadr's paper Islam, Humanity and Human Values was published by Ahlul Bayt World Assembly.[59]
Unity of the Islamic Schools of Thought According to Imam Musa Sadr includes a biography and an English adaptation of one of his books, Imam Musa Sadr: surush-e wahdat, Majma’ Jahani-ye Taqrib-e Madhahib-e Islami, 2004.[60]
Institutions
- Imam Moussa Al Sadr Center for Research & Studies - Beirut, Lebanon[61]
- Sadr Foundation - Tyre, Lebanon[62]
- Sadr Foundation - Dearborn, Michigan, United States[63]
- Imam Mousa Sadr High School - Tehran, Iran
See also
- Lebanese people in Iran
- List of people who disappeared
- List of Shi'a Muslim scholars of Islam
- Modern Islamic philosophy
- Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr
- Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr
References
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Another pro-Amal figure in the provisional government was Musa Sadr's nephew, Sadeq Tabatabai (...)
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Sadr was born in 1928 and grew up in Iran. He was a widely respected personality both in Iran and in Iraq, in addition to Lebanon, with strong family relations with various prominent leaders in both countries, including former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami (who married his niece).
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