Hussein Al-Musawi
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Hussein al-Musawi (also Hussein Musawi; ; died in 1990) was a Lebanese radical
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
Islamist militant founder and leader of Islamic Amal, a pro-
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
Shia Islamist Shia Islamism is the implementation of Shia Islam in politics. Most study and reporting on Islamism has been focused on Sunni Islamist movements. Shia Islamism, a previously very small ideology, gained in popularity after the Iranian Revolution ...
militia. he was well-known for his pro-
Khomeinism Khomeinism, also transliterated Khumaynism, refers to the religious and political ideas and practices connected with the leader of the 1979 Iranian Islamic RevolutionRuhollah Khomeini. While primarily referring to the ideas and practices of Kh ...
views and for his activities against the
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
is also seen as notable founding member of
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
in
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. Musawi was a "chemistry teacher turned militia commander" who became the deputy head and official spokesman of the
Amal movement The Amal Movement () is a Lebanese political party and militia affiliated mainly with the Shia community of Lebanon. It was founded by Musa al-Sadr and Hussein el-Husseini in 1974 as the "Movement of the Deprived." The party has been led by ...
/party/militia,
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
's largest
Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...
movement. He was a
Shia Muslim Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
activist and chemist from
Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...
. On June 21, 1982, he defected from Amal to start the Islamic Amal splinter group, operating out of Baalbek, Lebanon. Musawi disapproved of Amal leader
Nabih Berri Nabih Mustafa Berri ( ; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese politician who has been serving as Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon since 1992. He heads the Amal Movement and its parliamentary wing, Development and Liberation Bloc. Early lif ...
's participation in the first session of the six-man Lebanese National Salvation Committee, his acceptance of "U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli siege of West
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, which was also Amal's strong hold," and his opposition to the pledging of pan-Islamic allegiance by Amal to Iranian Revolutionary Islamist leader Ayatollah
Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...
. Under his leadership, Islamic Amal captured the Lebanese
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
barracks in Baalbeck on November 21, 1982. The barracks were later used by the Iranian Islamic
Revolutionary Guards The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also known as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It was officially established by Ruhollah Khomeini as a military branch in May 1979 i ...
Corps.Baer, Robert, ''See No Evil'', Crown Publishers, New York, NY. 2002 Musawi was a strong supporter of Iran. Musawi's pro-Iranian position was in part a reflection of having been trained in Iran and having been one of the elite protégés of
Mostafa Chamran Mostafa Chamran Save'ei () (2 October 1932 – 21 June 1981) was an Iranian physicist, politician, commander and guerrilla fighter who served as the first defense minister of post-revolutionary Iran and a member of parliament as well as the ...
, the Iranian Defense Minister who had worked in Lebanon with Amal before the Shah's overthrow.
We are her ran'schildren. We are seeking to formulate an Islamic society which in the final analysis will produce an Islamic state. ... The Islamic revolution will march to liberate Palestine and Jerusalem, and the Islamic state will then spread its authority over the region of which Lebanon is only a part.
Musawi was also a prominent member of
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
(where he served on the consultative council.) When then French and American MNF peacekeeping force was attacked by suicide bombers killing over 300 he denied responsibility but expressed his admiration
"I salute this good act, and I consider it a good deed and a legitimate right, and I bow to the spirits of the martyrs who carried out this operation"
He is also reported to have been involved in the kidnapping of foreigners in Lebanon during the
Lebanon Hostage Crisis The Lebanon hostage crisis was the kidnapping in Lebanon of 104 foreign hostages between 1982 and 1992, when the Lebanese Civil War was at its height. The hostages were mostly US, Americans and Western Europeans, but 21 national origins were repr ...
, holding the victims in the village of Ras al-Ein, in the
Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...
of East Lebanon. In 1986 Iranian officials pressured Husayn Al-Musawi to dissolve Islamic Amal. He refused.''Middle-East Quarterly'' V.19 P.45, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. 1997 Others date Islamic Amal being subsumed by Hezbollah much earlier.
Robin Wright Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress, producer and director. She has received accolades including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for eight Primetime Emmy Awards. Wright first gained attention for her role ...
says the two groups were "effectively becoming one under the Hizbollah label," by August 1983 when they infiltrate West Beirut's poor Shi'ite suburbs, while "by late 1984" Hezbollah "had absorbed" Islamic Amal along with "all the known major extremist groups." He was killed in 1990 by an Israeli rocket in an ambush in southern Lebanon.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musawi, Hussein Musawis Amal Movement politicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People of the Lebanese Civil War 1990 deaths