Mohammad Yazbek (born 1950) is a Lebanese cleric. He is one of the

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 ...

founders and the head of the Sharia or religious council of the organization.

Early life and education

Yazbek hails from a family based in Bodai, a town near

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 ...

in northern Lebanon. He was born there in 1950. He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...

, Iraq, as a pupil of Mohammad Baqr Al Sadr.

Career

After completing his studies in Iraq, Yazbek returned to Lebanon in 1980. He actively contributed to the establishment of khawzas, Shiite religious institutions, in Lebanon. He was a member of

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 ...

before his involvement in the foundation of Hezbollah.

Abbas Musawi Abbas al-Musawi ( ; ; 26 October 1952 – 16 February 1992) was a Lebanese Shia cleric who served as the second secretary-general of Hezbollah from 1991 until his assassination by Israel in 1992. Early life and education Al-Musawi was ...

Subhi Tufayli Subhi al-Tufayli (; born 1947) is a Lebanese senior Shi'ite cleric and politician who helped found Hezbollah in 1982 and served as its first secretary-general from 1989 until 1991. From a comparatively young age, Tufayli achieved a popular follo ...

and Yazbek, all from the Bekaa valley, founded Hezbollah in 1982. Yazbek supported the revolt of Tufayli in 1987 against the power inequality in Hezbollah in favor of those, who hail from southern Lebanon. Then Yazbek became a senior Hezbollah leader in the Bekaa valley in the 1990s. He issues

fatwas A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist (''faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...

in regard to the activities of Hezbollah one of which was in 2006 concerning the production of the exact copies of

Captagon Fenethylline ( BAN, USAN) or fenetylline (INN) is a codrug of amphetamine and theophylline and so a mutual prodrug of both. It is also spelled phenethylline; other names for it are amphetaminoethyltheophylline and amfetyline. The drug was mar ...

by the group. Through this fatwa its production and sale were allowed, but the fatwa also required that it should not be consumed by any Hezbollah member. Yazbek is the representative of supreme leader of Iran,

Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...

, in the Bekaa valley. He is responsible for distributing the financial grants allocated by Khamenei's office to Hezbollah. In addition, Yazbek is the special representative of Hezbollah's secretary general

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

and a member of Hezbollah's supreme council, exclusive shura council. In 2009, Yazbek was again elected to the shura council. He also heads the Sharia council of Hezbollah, which is also known as higher legal committee.

Views

Yazbek praised the

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

of the barracks of the marine peacekeepers in Beirut on 23 October 1983 which killed 241 U.S. military members reporting that it shook America’s throne and France’s might. He also added "Let America and Israel know that we have a lust for martyrdom and that our motto is being turned into reality." He employs an analogy between the

Battle of the Camel The Battle of the Camel, also known as The Battle of Basra () took place outside of Basra, Iraq, in 36 AH (656 CE). The battle was fought between the army of the fourth caliph Ali (), on one side, and the rebel army led by Aisha, Talha and ...

, first civil war among Muslims, and Hezbollah's use of arms in an attempt to make the armed attacks of Hezbollah legitimate. In 2012, he led to tensions when he revived a historical controversy between Sunnis and Shiites publicly criticising

Aisha Aisha bint Abi Bakr () was a seventh century Arab commander, politician, Muhaddith, muhadditha and the third and youngest wife of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. Aisha had an important role in early Islamic h ...

who was the third spouse of

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

Assassination attempt and sanctions

On 9 December 2005, Yazbek escaped an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

attempt unhurt in

. The bomb blast outside his home caused no casualties. In May 2017, Yazbek was subject to the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and some of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in addition to other nine senior Hezbollah figures.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yazbek, Mohammad 20th-century Lebanese people 21st-century Lebanese people 1950 births Hezbollah founders Living people People from Baalbek District Failed assassination attempts in Asia Amal Movement politicians Lebanese Shia clerics People of the Lebanese Civil War