The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon

229 Pages·1986·22.96 MB·English

by  Fouad Ajami

The Vanished Imam

The Vanished Imam
MUSA AL SADR AND THE
SHIA OF LEBANON
Fouad Ajami
Cornell University Press
ITHACA AND LONDON
Copyright © 1986 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts
thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing
from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, 124
Roberts Place, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 1986 by Cornell University Press.
Second printing 1987.
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 1987.
Second printing 1992.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ajami, Fouad.
The vanished Imam.
Includes index.
1. Shĩ ah—Lebanon. 2. Sadr, Mūsá. 3. Shiites—Lebanon—Biography.
I. Title.
BP188.8.L4A38 1986 297.82 095692 85-48194
ISBN 0-8014-1910-7 (alk. paper)
ISBN 0-8014-9416-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Printed in the United States of America
@ The paper in this book meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.
To Richard H. Ullman

Contents
A Note on Sources and Purpose 9
For the Nonspecialist Reader
15
Prologue: The Disappearance of Imam Musa al Sadr 21
The Intimate Stranger: Sayyid Musa of Qom
29
The World the Cleric Adopted 52
The Path the Cleric Took: Sayyid Musa and His
Companions 85
Reinterpreting Shiism: Imam al Sadr and the Themes
of Shia History 123
The Tightrope Act
159
The Legacy and Its Inheritors 191
Index
223
Map: Lebanon 20
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A Note on Sources and Purpose
In writing this book I have used three kinds of material, which call
for a few words of explanation.
I drew on American diplomatic cables and consular reports ob­
tained under the Freedom of Information Act, covering the years
1965-1978. Much has been said, and appropriately so, about the folly
of American policies in Lebanon and in other realms. But the diplo­
matic cables, sent by professionals from the field, were unusually
thorough and reliable, stripped of any great illusions and doctrines.
The diplomatic reports may not have been read back home; there is
ample evidence that American policies toward Lebanon were not
burdened by the knowledge and wisdom imparted in them. Rather
like messages in a bottle, the reports tell us of the clear-sightedness of
those who sent them; it is not their fault that the messages were not
received on the other shore. For all the frustrations of acquiring this
material, I found that the results vindicated the effort.
The second body of material consists of long interviews and discus­
sions with many people who knew the Shia cleric at the center of this
tale. The Shia of Lebanon, like similar disadvantaged populations in
other parts of the Third World, are a people without much written
and documented history. The oral material corrected some of this
shortfall. A number of individuals gave freely of their time—and
memory.
Sayyid Hussein Husseini, elected speaker of Parliament in 1984,
was one of Musa al Sadr's early friends and companions in Lebanon;
he sparked my interest in Musa al Sadr. In the fall of 1983, over a pe-
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