 | The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon In the summer of 1978, Musa al Sadr, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Shia sect in Lebanon, disappeared mysteriously while on a visit to Libya. As in the Shia myth of the "Hidden Imam," this modern-day Imam left his followers upholding his legacy and awaiting his return. Considered an outsider when he had arrived in Lebanon in 1959 from his native Iran, he gradually assumed the role of charismatic mullah, and was instrumental in transforming the Shia, a quiescent and downtrodden Islamic minority, into committed political activists. What sort of person was Musa al Sadr? What beliefs in the Shia doctrine did his life embody? Where did he fit into the tangle of Lebanon's warring factions? What was behind his disappearance? In this fascinating and compelling narrative, Fouad Ajami resurrects the Shia's neglected history, both distant and recent, and interweaves the life and work of Musa al Sadr with the larger strands of the Shia past. Fouad Ajami was born in Arnoun, Lebanon on September 19, 1945. He attended Eastern Oregon College, then received a Ph.D. at the University of Washington after writing a thesis on international relations and world government. He taught at several universities including Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Hoover Institution. He was an author and broadcast commentator on Middle East affairs who helped rally support for the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003. His first book, The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice Since 1967, was published in 1981. His other works include The Vanishing Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon, Beirut: City of Regrets, and The Dream Palace of the Arabs. He received a National Humanities Medal in 2006. He died from cancer on June 22, 2014 at the age of 68. (Bowker Author Biography) |
