Name of leader Abbas al-Musawi
Title/s Sheikh; Sayyed
Organization Hezbollah
Org. Alias Islamic Jihad Organization
Conflict country Lebanon; Israel
Gender Male
Year of birth 1952 [1]
Place of birth al-Nabi Shayth, Lebanon [2][3]
Year of death 1992 [4]
Deceased
Yes
Birth order
His birth order is unknown.
Age at start of rebel leadership
He was one of the founding members of Hezbollah during its establishment in 1982, but did not attain top leadership position until 1985 at the age of 35.[5]
Leader entry method
He first held a seat on the nine-member Islamic-movement constituent council that would later form the core of Hezbollah. This was the precursor to Hezbollah’s Shura Council in which al-Musawi held a seat. He was elected Hezbollah’s second secretary-general in 1990,[6] succeeding Subhi al-Tufayli and preceding Hassan Nasrallah.[7]
Powersharing
No; there is no evidence of powersharing.
Education (also name universities attended, if any); note any relevant experiences while a student
In 1974, while studying at a Shi'a hawza in an-Najaf, Iraq, Musawi was strongly influenced by the teachings of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[8] He was also a student of Baqir al-Sadr[9] before he returned to Lebanon in 1978.[10]
Ever married? If yes, age of first marriage
He was married to Siham (date unknown).[11] She was killed in alongside Abbas al-Musawi.
Children
He had a child named Hussein al-Musawi.[12]
Religious identification
He practiced Shi'a Islam.
Elite family background
His family background is unknown.
Political affiliations and intellectual circles; note any relevant social connections made
Prior to rebellion, he was associated with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.[13] Subsequently, he was affiliated with Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Baquir al-Sadir (founder of the Iraqi Hezb ad-Da’wa), and he studied under him in 1974, at a Shi'a hawza in an-Najaf, Iraq.[14]
Physical and mental health
His physical and mental health was unknown.
Pre-militant leader occupation
He ran a hawza in Ba'albek, Lebanon.[15]
Experience in a state military, and role; any relevant social ties
No, he did not have experience in a state military.
Experience in a nonstate military, and role; any relevant social ties
He had some connections to the Amal.[16][17]
Combat experience prior to assuming resistance organization leadership?
No; he did not have combat experience.
Held government position prior to assuming leadership?
No; he did not hold a government position prior to assuming leadership.
Lived in exile?
No; he did not live in exile.
Study abroad?
Around 1974, he studied at a Shi'a hawza in an-Najaf, Iraq headed by Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Mohammad Baquir al-Sadir (founder of the Iraqi Hezb ad-Da’wa), and also influenced by the views of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Did the leader receive military training abroad?
No; he did not receive military training abroad.
Did the leader have extensive work experience abroad?
No; he did not have extensive work experience abroad.
Serve time in prison? Social connections during that time?
No; he did not serve time in prison.
Was there an assassination attempt on the leader by the state?
There was no attempt by Lebanon. In 1985, Israel did attempt to assassinate al-Musawi.[18]
Cause of Death?
He died from a targeted killing. On February 16, 1992, the Israeli Air Force killed al-Mussawi “in a lightning strike by helicopter gunships that reportedly also left his wife, his son and at least four bodyguards dead.”[19]
“Two Israeli helicopters descended on a seven-vehicle convoy carrying the 39-year-old sheik and his family after they left a rally in the southern Lebanese town of Jibchit. Rockets blew apart the Mercedes-Benz limousine carrying the sheik and two Range-Rovers carrying bodyguards. A Party of God spokesman said the sheik, his wife, Siham, and their 6-year-old son, Hussein, were burned to death in the car.”[20]
Primary language, and other languages spoken as adult
His primary language was Arabic and he spoke some Persian.[21]
[1]Image Credit: CROPPED: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abbas_al_Musawi.jpg
Encyclopedia Britannica. "ʿAbbās al-Mūsawī: Lebanese Religious Leader." Accessed Jan. 16, 2017.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abbas-al-Musawi.
[2] Encyclopedia Britannica. "ʿAbbās al-Mūsawī: Lebanese Religious Leader." Accessed Jan. 16, 2017.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abbas-al-Musawi.
[3] Deeb, Marius (April 1988). "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their Formation, Ideology, Social Basis, and Links with Iran and Syria". Third World Quarterly. 10 (2): 683–698. doi:10.1080/01436598808420077. JSTOR 3992662.
[4] Haberman, Clyde. “Israelis Kill Chief of Pro-Iran Shiites in South Lebanon,” New York Times, Feb. 17, 1992, Accessed Jan. 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/17/world/israelis-kill-chief-of-pro-iran-shiites-in-south-lebanon.html
[5] Revolutionary and Militant Organizations Dataset (REVMOD); accessible at www.revolutionarymilitant.org; see also Benjamin Acosta, 2019, “Reconceptualizing Resistance Organizations and Outcomes: Introducing the Revolutionary and Militant Organizations Dataset (REVMOD).” Journal of Peace Research 56 (5): 724–34.
[6] Haberman, Clyde. “Israelis Kill Chief of Pro-Iran Shiites in South Lebanon,” New York Times, Feb. 17, 1992, Accessed Jan. 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/17/world/israelis-kill-chief-of-pro-iran-shiites-in-south-lebanon.html
[7] Harfoush, Mohammad. “Hezbollah, Part 1: Origins and Challenges.” Al-Monitor, July 11, 2013. Accessed Jan. 21, 2017.
[8] Harfoush, Mohammad. “Hezbollah, Part 1: Origins and Challenges.” Al-Monitor, July 11, 2013. Accessed Jan. 21, 2017.
[9] Deeb, Marius (April 1988). "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their Formation, Ideology, Social Basis, and Links with Iran and Syria". Third World Quarterly. 10 (2): 683–698. doi:10.1080/01436598808420077. JSTOR 3992662.
[10] Encyclopedia Britannica. "ʿAbbās al-Mūsawī: Lebanese Religious Leader." Accessed Jan. 16, 2017.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abbas-al-Musawi.
[11] Haberman, Clyde. “Israelis Kill Chief of Pro-Iran Shiites in South Lebanon,” New York Times, Feb. 17, 1992, Accessed Jan. 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/17/world/israelis-kill-chief-of-pro-iran-shiites-in-south-lebanon.html
[12] Levitt, Matthew. Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God. Georgetown University Press, 2015: 98.
[13] Deeb, Marius (April 1988). "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their Formation, Ideology, Social Basis, and Links with Iran and Syria". Third World Quarterly. 10 (2): 683–698. doi:10.1080/01436598808420077. JSTOR 3992662.
[14] Deeb, Marius (April 1988). "Shia Movements in Lebanon: Their Formation, Ideology, Social Basis, and Links with Iran and Syria". Third World Quarterly. 10 (2): 683–698. doi:10.1080/01436598808420077. JSTOR 3992662.
[15] Augustus Richard Norton, Amal and the Shi’a: Struggle for the Soul of Lebanon (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1987).
[16] Declassified CIA memorandum (September 27, 1984). “Lebanon: The Hizb Allah.” https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp85t00287r001302140001-2
[17] Declassified CIA memorandum (November, 18, 1985). “Terrorism Review.” https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP87T00685R000200270002-7.pdf
[18] Revolutionary and Militant Organizations Dataset (REVMOD); accessible at www.revolutionarymilitant.org.
[19] Haberman, Clyde. “Israelis Kill Chief of Pro-Iran Shiites in South Lebanon,” New York Times, Feb. 17, 1992, Accessed Jan. 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/17/world/israelis-kill-chief-of-pro-iran-shiites-in-south-lebanon.html
[20] Haberman, Clyde. “Israelis Kill Chief of Pro-Iran Shiites in South Lebanon,” New York Times, Feb. 17, 1992, Accessed Jan. 16, 2017, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/17/world/israelis-kill-chief-of-pro-iran-shiites-in-south-lebanon.html
[21] Augustus Richard Norton, Hezbollah (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007).
