31 Years of the Musa al-Sadr Mystery

Lebanese Shi‘ites are marking today the 31st anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, the charismatic leader who vanished on a trip to Libya on August 31, 1978. The Wikipedia article outlines the basic story: Sadr, of Lebanese ancestry though born in the Iranian holy city of Qom, became a popular leader of poor Shi‘ites, first in Tyre and then throughout southern Lebanon. His Movement of the Disinherited and its armed wing, Amal, from which the modern political party grew, were key players in Lebanon until Sadr disappeared while on a visit to Libya on August 31, 1978. He was due to meet with Mu‘ammar Qadhafi that day, but Qadhafi has always claimed the meeting did not occur and Sadr had flown to Italy. The Italians investigated but found no evidence he had arrived there. It is generally assumed that he and Qadhafi clashed and he was either killed or imprisoned, along with two aides who also disappeared.

Sadr's disappearance, with its echoes of the Shi‘ite theme of a missing Imam, made him even more of a symbol in his absence than when alive. The issue is still a sore point between Lebanon and Libya three decades later, and he is a here not only of Amal but of Hizbullah as well.

Here's a comment by Sheikh Qabalan, a senior cleric, in the Daily Star. Here's the report on Hizbullah's al-Manar English website.