Abbas al-Musawi

Abbas al Musawi (ⁱ/əˈbɑːs əl muː.sɑː.wiː/) Arabic: عباس الموسوي‎; 1952 – 16 February 1992) was an influential Lebanese Shia cleric, co-founder and Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was killed by Israel Defense Forces in 1992.

Early life and education

Musawi was born into a Shia family in the village of Al-Nabi Shayth in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon in around 1952. He spent eight years studying theology in a religious school in Najaf, Iraq, where he was deeply influenced by the views of Iranian Ruhollah Khomeini. Musawi was a student, at the hawza in Najaf, of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, an influential Shi'a cleric, philosopher, political leader, and founder of the Da'wa Party of Iraq.

Activities

al-Musawi returned to Lebanon in 1978. Along with Subhi al Tufayli he spearheaded the formation of Hezbollah movement in the Beqaa Valley in 1982, one of the three major areas of Shia population in Lebanon. From 1983 to 1985 he is reported to have served as operational head of the Hezbollah Special Security Apparatus. From late 1985 until April 1988 he was head of Hezbollah's military wing, the Islamic Resistance.