Imam Sayyed Moussa Sadr: Power of Presence despite Absence

House Speaker Nabih Berri denied the veracity of the reports which claimed that Imam Al_Sadr and his two companions left Libya.

Imam Sadr founded the Lebanese Amal (Hope) Movement in 1974. The cleric who is of Iranian descent came to Lebanon in 1959 to work for the rights of Shia Muslims in the port city of Tyre, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut.

His eminence disappeared on August 31, 1978, during an official visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

He was accompanied by Sheikh Mohammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine.

Lebanon still holds former Libyan authorities under rule of dictator Moammar Gaddafi responsible for the disappearance of the trio.

Since Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011, Lebanon and Iran have repeatedly called on the Libyan government to launch an investigation into Sadr’s disappearance.

The photo shows a drawing made by the artist Fadel Fakih