New stories about the fate of Imam As-Sadr

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - On December 17, 2011, Al-Liwa’ Lebanese daily reported that a reliable source in the Libyan National Council revealed to it that His Eminence, Sayyed Moussa As-Sadr passed away in the cell in which he was imprisoned since he was kidnapped by the former Libyan regime in 1987.The Libyan source pointed that Imam As-Sadr died of natural causes in the summer of 1998, while he was detained in the Tripoli Central Prison in an underground cell, specifically the one under the chamber of the prison warden who was apparently charged with following up the situation of the Imam who was living in difficult health conditions.The source mentioned that the body of As-Sadr was preserved in the prison’s morgue as commanded by Gaddafi himself or instructed by his senior assistants. The primary investigations revealed that the body was kept preserved in the morgue of the Tripoli Central Prison until the beginning of the revolution against the Gaddafi regime; that is, for twelve years or so, for unknown reasons.The source continues to say that based on some evidences and stories of a number of witnesses, it is most likely that the Imam’s body was then buried in a mass grave in the suburbs of the capital, Tripoli that was recently uncovered after interrogating some of the former officials in the prison. A current research is taking place to determine the identities of the victims buried in this mass grave including that of Imam As-Sadr.As for the journalist Abbass Badreddine and Sheikh Muhammad Ya’qoub who were accompanying Imam As-Sadr at the time, the same source said that nothing that could help them determine their fate or where they were imprisoned was found, and we do not have any clue until now that clarifies if they were apprehended in a place other than Tripoli Central Prison or assassinated directly after the kidnapping of As-Sadr.The significance and elevated status of Imam As-Sadr and his strong presence at the intellectual and Jihadi levels are remarkable and distinguished, so is the big and special role he played by shouldering huge responsibilities and fulfilling his message and role with full devotion and dedication. Imam As-Sadr signified the role model of the authentic Islamic character that is aware of the reality of the Islamic and civilized concepts it carried and that worked hard to introduce the others to it with all-purity and awareness. Thus, everyone ought to hasten to disclose the fate of this character and look into his cause to bring it to an end, for it is a unifying national and human cause.Numerous are the occasions during which His Eminence, the late Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra), talked about the character of Imam As-Sadr, as well as its dimensions and role.He always highlighted the importance of introducing the coming generation to the thought of Sayyed Moussa As-Sadr by bringing out the aspects of openness, dialogue and innovation embodied in this thought and by revealing his multi-dimensional character at the intellectual, political and jurisprudential levels, emphasizing the necessity of crystallizing the features of this character in terms of the jurisprudential capacities, scientific characteristics and the broad understanding of the political and the various files at the Islamic, Arab and international levels./129