On Musa al-Sadr and His Legacy

This work aims to provide a final, consummate look into the life of Musa al Sadr. Emphasis has been set on the following facets: The state of south Lebanon and the Shia world before his ascent; his death; and his legacy. This paper presupposes a certain level of understanding of the Middle East and Lebanese politics as it would have required several volumes to provide a complete explanation of the world in which Sadr operated. Nonetheless, the most important message – indeed the novel element of this work – is one that can be understood by anyone regardless of their knowledge of the Arab world. This message is a final statement on one Sadr represented and the direct implications his death had on the then nascent Arab-Israeli conflict. Indeed, this paper contends that the entire Arab-Israeli conflict – a conflict that has been largely removed from the hands of the Palestinians and is now defined by Iran, Syria, and South Lebanon – is a conflict that quite literally would have either been completely averted or would have assumed a completely different nature if Sadr had not been assassinated. Sadr was a sole bulwark against the now prevalent worldview of the majority of the South Lebanese populace; a worldview crafted by Iranian and Syrian design. Finally, this work elucidates the assassins of Sadr and their motives – a subject considered sacrosanct by the myriad biographies that maintain that he had “disappeared under mysterious circumstances”.