Shia Islam mourns the death of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Husayn Fadl-Allāh
A controversial man, he was regarded as Hizbollah’s spiritual leader, and considered a terrorist by the United States since the 1980s after the group began carrying out abductions and attacks against Westerners, especially Americans. Yet, others continue to claim that during the Lebanese civil war, he played the role of mediator.
Whoever he was, the fact is that in Lebanon and around the Arab World, he was regarded as an advocate of modern Islam. Some of his fatwas were viewed as revolutionary. In one case, he recognised a woman’s right to hit back at her husband if he hit her.
Born in the holy city of Najaf (Iraq) from Lebanese parents, he arrived in Lebanon in 1966 after his studies. After rising in the ranks of Shia Islam, he became one of the first backers of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution in Iran. In 1982, when Hizbollah was created in Lebanon by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, he was regarded as its spiritual guide.
Over the years, Fadl-Allāh’s influence spread far beyond Lebanon. Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is seen as one of his followers.
“He was seen by many of his compatriots as an advocate for modern Islam, dialogue and openness towards others,” writes L’Orient Le Jour. Although “he never tired slamming Western policy in the region,” he also criticised “the obscurantism of religious fundamentalist movements.”
In his later years, Fadl-Allāh distanced himself from Hizbollah over the group's links to Iran. Nevertheless, the group proclaimed three days of national mourning.
Hizbollah’s al-Manar TV interrupted its regular programming to announce his death.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a message of condolences. (PD)
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