ebook img

The vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon PDF

229 Pages·1993·25.606 MB·English
by  AjamiFouad
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview The vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon

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 [7] 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- [9]

See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.