Saturday 18 February 2012

Sheikh Fadlallah: ‘Pride of Lebanon’

In 2010 – Atlanta-based CNN senior editor, Octavia Nasr, a Lebanese-American Christian, was fired for publishing a Twitter message in which she showed her respect for the Lebanese cleric, Grand Ayatullah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who passed away in Beirut on July 4, 2010. Octavia Nasr, being a senior editor with the Islamophobe CNN network – was certainly no supporter of Muslim cause. She was never respected in the Arab world – but her dismissal proved once again that in the US a journalist is allowed only to praise Jewish and Christian religious leaders, no matter how racists they maybe towards Islam and Muslims – but you must believe that all Muslim religious leaders are a bunch of terrorist unless they’re sell-outs willing to salute the Zio-facism.

Sayyed Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah (1935-2010), a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), was born into a Lebanese Shia family living in Najaf, Iraq. He studied Islamic theology in Najaf before settling in Lebanon in 1952. He was involved in interfaith dialogues and encourage mutaual understandings between Muslims, Christian and Jews. Sheikh Fadlallah was untiring campaigner for equility between genders based on Holy Qur’an and the Prophetic traditions.

Sheikh Fadlallah had dedicated his adult life in interpreting Islamic jurisdiction, education and social works. Though he supported resistance groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Iran – but never joined any of them or any political party. CIA and Mossad wrongly portrayed him as ‘spiritual leader’ of Lebanese Islamic Resistance group Hizbullah and tried to assassinate him in 1985 via a 440-lb car bomb. The Sheikh escaped the bombing which killed 80 innocent people.
Sheikh Fadlallah was against suicide-bombing but never accepted military resistance against foreign occupiers of Muslim lands (Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kashmir, Philppines, Chechyna, Bosnia, etc.) as terrorism – but permitted by Islamic jurisdiction and international law. However, he refused to call such actions ‘Islamic Jihad’.
Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah continues to serve Lebanon

In 1995, former president Bill Clinton froze Sheikh Fadlallah’s assets in the US. In 2006, Israeli Jews bomb his house in south Beirut, but he was not in the house at that time. Oops! Mossad missed.
Franklin Lamb PhD, who is doing reserch in Libya, paid rich tributes to the Grand Ayatullah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah in a recent article published in Al-Manar TV.

I entered the Mosque and sat on a bench near the burial chamber (Maqam) of Ayatollah Fadlallah. I reflected on what he meant to Muslims and Christians in Lebanon and to all people of good will around the world and to me personally. I had the honor to meet with him several times and count his son Ali, who has succeeded him in much of his work, as my friend. As I sat close to the Maqam, I was surprised to see members of our community still arriving to his resting place, lean forward and speak privately to him and pledge to follow his progressive teachings, fatwas, and examples. Some, inspired by his life’s work took vows to become better people in their relations with others.

From all across the region delegations arrived and every Lebanese political and religious leader attended except the small minded Maronite Cardinal Patriarch Sfeir who took umbrage at Fadallah’s positive views about one person-one vote democracy. Sayyed Fadlallah did not favor Lebanon being ruled by the current archaic French colonial legacy of parceling out political power based on the undemocratic confessional formulae of the 1943 Paris installed National Pact.

His passing shocked and saddened the region and the loss of his advocacy of dialogue, respect and unity among all religions is incalculable. Justice for Palestine and ending the Zionist occupation was part of his unwavering lifelong work. Some media outlets, reported that shortly before he died, and upon being asked by a medical attendant a few days ago if he needed anything, he replied, “Only the end of the Zionist occupation of Palestine.”

May Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah forever rest in Peace.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
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