born 1928, Qom, Iran
disappeared Aug. 31, 1978, Libya?
Iranian-born Lebanese Shīʽite cleric.
The son of an ayatollah, he received a traditional Islamic education in Qom and in Al-Najaf, Iraq, and also briefly studied political economy and law at Tehrān University. In 1960 he moved to Lebanon, where he became involved in social work among the country's largely disfranchised Shīʽite community. In 1968–69 he formed the Higher Shīʽite Islamic Council to promote the community's interests, and in 1975 he formed a militia, Amal, to defend the Shīʽite community in the Lebanese Civil War . He and a small entourage disappeared while on an official trip in Libya. The Libyan government disavowed any knowledge of what became of the cleric and his companions; his disappearance has remained a highly controversial mystery.