Conference Description:
The southern Lebanese Shia community's spectacular rise from the
bottom rung of an entrenched sectarian political order owes much to
the activism of Iranian-born cleric Musa al-Sadr. The frenetic pace
of institution building, political maneuvering, and mass
mobilization that he undertook during the 1960s and 1970s produced a
new socio-political landscape for Lebanon. Similarly, in Iran,
Ayatollah Khomeini was creating a new explicitly Shia political
discourse who impact is still felt across the region. This symposium
will explore different aspects of the Shia "international", as well
the role and legacy of Musa al-Sadr. Speakers include: Augustus R.
Norton, Boston University, "Musa as-Sadr-Reformer in Vengeful
Times", Imam Sayed Mostafa al-Qazwini, Islamic Education Center of
Orange County, Roschanack Shaery-Eisenlohr, independent scholar,
"Who was Musa al-Sadr? Multiple Narratives of a Transnational
Religious Figure", Max Weiss, Princeton University, "Legacies of
Violence in Lebanese Shi'i Historiography", Roy Mottahedeh, Harvard
University, "Following the Leader: Taqlid in Contemporary Shi'ite
Manuals", Rula Abisaab, McGill University, "Modern Anxiety: Musa
al-Sadr and the Nation-State", and Liyakat Takim, University of
Denver, "Musa al-Sadr and the Impact of Modernity on Shi'i
Jurisprudence."
