Ragheb Harb (; 1952–1984) was a Lebanese Shia Muslim cleric and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was an

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

who led resistance against the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, thus becoming a face for popular resistance, including being a leader in Amal Movement. In March 1983, he was detained by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, but following wide spread demonstrations throughout southern Lebanon, he was released seventeen days later.

Early life

Harb was born into 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 ...

family in the town of Jibchit in the Nabatieh District. He left school at the age of seventeen to undertake religious studies, which prompted him to move to

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 ...

in 1969. He traveled to

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 ...

in 1971, where he took courses from the prominent Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and returned to Lebanon in 1974 after three years. Harb started teaching religion and leading the

friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

in Jibchit, and although few, his crowd grew so much that Jibchit's mosque came to be known as the "Qom of

Jabal Amel Jabal Amil (; also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise boundari ...

. In 1976, Harb moved to the town of Sharqiyyeh where he strove to counter the influence of the Iraqi Baath, which had been growing among Shiites. He established a school for the locals, and took care of the area's orphans in his own house. By 1978, he had also started a

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

(''mabarra'').

Assassination

On 16 February 1984, he was assassinated. Hussein Abbas, one of the assassins, fled to America where he lived in the home of his uncle, the academic Professor Fouad Ajami. Danny Abdallah, a Lebanese criminal living in Denmark, admitted to having killed Harb on behalf of the Israelis. As a result, Amal Movement put him on their death list, and he is wanted in Lebanon.Cobban, Helen
"Hizbullah’s New Fact"
''Boston Review''. Accessed 2 February 2007. Originally published in the April/May 2005 issue of ''Boston Review''

References

1952 births 1984 deaths Assassinated Lebanese politicians Assassinated Hezbollah members People killed in Mossad operations Amal Movement politicians 20th-century Lebanese politicians People from Nabatieh District Prisoners and detainees of Israel People killed in the Lebanese Civil War Asian politicians assassinated in the 1980s Politicians assassinated in 1984 {{Lebanon-bio-stub

Early life

Assassination

See also

References