Abbas al-Musawi

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Abbas al-Musawi bigraphy, stories - General secretary of Hezbollah

Abbas al-Musawi : biography

c. 1952 – February 16, 1992

Abbas al Musawi ( ; 1952 – 16 February 1992) was an influential Shia cleric, co-founder and Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was killed by Israel Defense Forces in 1992.

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.Ranstorp, Magnus, Hizb’allah in Lebanon : The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis, New York, St. Martins Press, (1997), p.46 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.Foreign Report, 30 July 1987Ha’aretz, 2 October 1987al-Hayat, 27 November 1989Independent, 7 March 1990

According to some reports, al Musawi was responsible for the abduction of Lt. Col William Higgins while commander of Hezbollah’s Islamic Resistance, (military wing).Jerusalem Post, 21 February 1988 and Ha’aretz, 28 February 1989

In 1991, The Hezbollah had entered a new era with the end of the both the Iran–Iraq War and Lebanese Civil War, the Taif Agreement and the release of the Kuwait 17 bombers. A new leader was thought to be needed to facilitate the release of the Western hostages held by Hezbollah and more importantly to shift Hezbollah’s focus to resistance activity against Israel.

In May 1991, Hezbollah chose al Musawi as its secretary-general. As a former head of both the Security Apparatus (considered the instigator of hostage taking) and the military wing of Hezbollah, al Musawi was well qualified for this post.Ranstorp, Hizb’allah, (1997), p.105 Al Musawi replaced the non-flexible Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli and promised Hezbollah would "wipe out every trace of Israel in Palestine." He described Israel as "the cancer of the Middle East." Al Musawi also promised to "intensify [Hezbollah] military, political and popular action in order to undermine the peace-talks." Middle East International, 8 November 1991 He did not support entering mainstream politics. Unlike other Hezbollah figures, he advocated the acceptance of Taif Agreement, which was the rejection of theocratic state in Lebanon.

Early life and education

Musawi was born 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.

Assassination

On 16 February 1992, Israeli Apache helicopters fired missiles at the motorcade of al Musawi in southern Lebanon, killing al Musawi, his wife, infant son, and four others. Israel said the attack had been planned as an assassination attempt. In retaliation, the Islamic Jihad Organization carried out the Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires. After the attack, the Islamic Jihad Organization declared that it was carried out for the revenge of the martyr infant Hussein, al Musawi’s five year-old son, who had been killed with his father. Later it was revealed by Dieter Bednarz and Ronen Bergman that the original plan of Israel had been just to abduct al Musawi to realize the release of Israeli prisoners. However, Ehud Barak, then Israeli chief of staff, convinced then Israeli Prime Minister Shamir to order his assassination.

Al Musawi was succeeded as Secretary General of Hezbollah by Hassan Nasrallah. Dieter Bednarz and Ronen Bergman argue that assassination of al Musawi led to changes in the course of Middle Eastern history.