The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon

Sayyid Musa al Sadr was a genuine and charismatic modern Muslim reformer. His story is presented by noted scholar, author, and news analyst and commentator Fouad Ajami in a book that is well-researched, superbly written, and told in a clear and gripping style. The author starts by setting the backdrop for the Imam's (religious leader) mission. He provides a very good history of Lebanon (especially that of the South, home to the Lebanese Shia population) and the numerous challenges present there during the middle of the twentieth century (especially that of a severe lack of essential infrastructure). He also provides a very useful personal history of the Imam himself and that of his family and extended lineage (which traces back to the prophet Muhammad). The author spends much time going over various social, religious, economical, political, and historical aspects that may be difficult for a Westerner to grasp initially, but which are necessary for the overall story (and its proper context) to be understood. The crux of the Imam's mission is summarized by the author on page 96:"Musa al Sadr's political agenda emerged out of the way he interpreted the faith. Faith was not about ritual, but about social concerns, about the needs of men. Religion was not something that had to be quarantined and kept pure by stern guardians; it could be made to address modern needs. Thus the man of religion, rajul al din, need not hide and solely concern himself with old books and rituals."The author does a terrific job of conveying to the reader that this was indeed what Musa al Sadr believed and stood for while working tirelessly to enact reform and build a better future for his people, his adopted country, and perhaps even for greater Islam itself, during very difficult times and challenging circumstances. This is a moving story about a rare, larger than life personality narrated by a gifted writer and respected scholar. Highly recommended. Amazon/author/ahmad.

This book is Ajami's best. It creates the ideological, sociological and historic context for the career of one of the most illustrious Iranian-born Lebanese Shiite mullahs in Lebanon. Ajami also provides clear genealogy of the roots of Mussa Sadr.In 1959, Sadr had arrived in Lebanon to succeed the mufti of Tyr in southern Lebanon. Unlike religious men of his time, Sadr took his position to unprecedented levels as he started preaching a reverse in the fortunes of the Shiite community of Lebanon that had presumably been until the arrival of Sadr a marginalized and impoverished group living under the grip of its unsympathetic feudal lords.Ajami skillfully captured the revolutionary and untraditional discourse of Sadr as he painted his importance in Shiite minds by comparing him to Shiite legendary imams. Ajami also highlighted the contradiction in Sadr's message upon the breakout of Lebanon's civil war in 1975. While Sadr first announced that he was opposed to violence, realities had in fact forced him to start forming his own armed militia.The book is informative while Ajami's entertaining style adds much value to this work.

Magnificent book vital to understanding As Sadr's role in redefining the politics of the Lebanese Shia and the genesis of Amal and Hezbollah. Through it you also learn a great deal about the Lebanese state and the interactions of its main communities. There are deep insights here and a visceral understanding of south Lebanon as only someone like Ajami (a Shi'i orig from that area) could impart them. The weakness is that it is perhaps too admiring, to the detriment of some alternative insights that a more balanced and objective view would provide.

Penetrating biography about the extraordinary leader of the Lebanese Shia, Musa Sadr. As the non-Arab and non-Muslim, I learned a great deal about the land and its people, appreciated the book’s universal themes.

Fouad Ajami is one of the best if not the best contemporary Arab writers. An excellent read on the history and struggles of the Shia in Lebanon and their persecution by the Ottomans and other groups in Lebanon. Musa Al sadr was a truly amazing figure.

Ajami, what can you say about him...he is prosaic and honest

Too much non-essential theological history that doesn't seem relevant to the real implied story in the title.

Good.

Fantastic history of Musa al-Sadr, the founder of Amal, and the Shia of Lebanon