The Mufti of Sour, Hassan Abdallah (center), during a ceremony commemorating the disappearance of Moussa Sadr, in Sour, on Aug.31, 2025. (Crediit: NNA.)
BEIRUT — Exactly 47 years ago, Imam Moussa Sadr, founder and leader of the Amal movement, disappeared without a trace along with two of his companions, Sheikh Mohammad Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, after arriving in Libya for an official visit.
Since then, and despite the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the dictator in power in 1978 at the time of the incident, the fate of the three men remains unknown. The annual commemoration always leads to numerous political reactions, but this year it takes place under particular circumstances, following the most recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, which left the latter — the main ally of the Amal movement, weakened and stripped of its historic leadership.
On the official side, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam wrote on his X account: "On the occasion of the anniversary of Sadr's disappearance, we recall the wisdom of a man who believed in Lebanon as a definitive homeland for all its children and who made religion a message of justice and unity, not of division and discord. He called for the preservation of coexistence and the rejection of dissension. His presence was a school of patriotism and humanism."
Salam has recently become the main target of supporters of Hezbollah and Amal following two decisions by his government, on Aug.5 and 7, to disarm Hezbollah in order to monopolize arms in the hands of the state.
The Cabinet asked the Lebanese Army to present a plan for the handover of all militias' weapons before the end of the year, and this plan is expected to appear on the government's agenda next week.
Shiite reactions and Frangieh
The annual commemoration of Imam Sadr's disappearance naturally provokes reactions from Hezbollah and Amal MP's.
For Amal bloc deputy Qassem Hachem, Imam Sadr was "a leader whose influence persists in every era when his people experience suffering." "The least we can do is give this commemoration its full national and humanitarian dimension," as Sadr's thought "offers a vision and a method that remain a light guiding the Lebanese toward unity and coexistence, for a more just country," he said.
Michel Moussa, also an Amal deputy, considered that "the principles and values consecrated by Imam Sadr urge us to draw inspiration from them to confront current challenges, especially the liberation of South Lebanon from Israeli occupation and strengthening Muslim-Christian unity to build a strong and just state."
Based on another interpretation of Imam Sadr's discourse, MP Melhem al-Houjeiri, of the Hezbollah bloc, stated in a press release that there is "a need to return to the thinking of Imam Sadr" in the sense that "we must not succumb to external pressures as the current Lebanese authorities do," in an apparent referral to the government's decisions to disarm militias. "We will continue to resist and remain at the side of Imam Moussa Sadr, who said that Lebanon cannot smile if its South suffers," he insisted.
Many political parties also reacted. The head of the Marada Movement, an ally of Hezbollah, Sleiman Frangieh, wrote on his X account, addressing the missing imam directly, that "more than ever, we invoke your thought and your faith in the unity of Lebanon as the definitive homeland for all its children."
In a statement, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) recalled that Imam Sadr is "the champion of social equality, national unity and dialogue between religions and confessions," recalling his reflection that "religious pluralism is a blessing, not a curse."
On the same occasion, Jaafarite mufti Ahmad Kabalan, close to Hezbollah, insisted that "no one has ever extinguished the fire of the civil war nor fought Israeli barbarism like Imam Moussa Sadr, whose only concern was the sovereignty of Lebanon and Muslim-Christian coexistence." Pleading for the maintenance of the army-resistance tandem, Sheikh Kabalan said he "expects a major political movement that would restore Lebanese priorities far from blackmail, discord and threats."
During a ceremony organized by the Amal movement to mark the annual commemoration of Sadr and his companions' disappearance, the mufti of Sour, Hassan Abdallah, emphasized the efforts of the missing imam "to abolish political sectarianism in order to ensure victory for the nation and future generations," saying that "Lebanon is not a temporary stop guided by interests, but a definitive homeland for all its sons."
Former director general of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, wrote on social media that Sadr is "more present than ever." "You remain the compass showing the right direction," he continued, recalling the Amal founder's concern to preserve national unity as a "weapon directed against dangers and challenges."
