Lebanese Catholic Cleric Stresses Following Imam Musa Sadr Path
Speaking to IQNA, Father Abdo Abou Kassem said the main lesson one can learn from Sadr is the necessity for peace, friendship and interaction with other human beings regardless of their faith or affiliation.
“We should enhance dialogue among Lebanese groups and between Lebanon and other nations,” as did Imam Musa Sadr, he said.
Sadr had many great characteristics, the most outstanding one of which was his willingness to interact and hold dialogue with others, Abou Kassem said.
“Today, in the current conditions of Lebanon we particularly need the thoughts of Sadr.”
He added that all Lebanese ought to abandon their sectarian and ethnic prejudices and move toward dialogue so that they can live in peace and coexistence.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Abou Kassem hailed Sadr as a champion of Islam-Christianity dialogue and said his thoughts and ideas were constructive.
This week marked the 42nd anniversary of the disappearance of Sadr.
Imam Musa Sadr and his two companions Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin were kidnapped in August 1978 during an official visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
Sadr was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
The three were never seen or heard from again and their fate is still unknown even after the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in 2011.
Sadr came from a long line of clerics tracing their ancestry back to Jabal Amel, Lebanon.
He is still regarded as an important political and spiritual leader by the Shia Lebanese community. His status only grew after his disappearance in August 1978, and today his legacy is revered by both Amal and Hezbollah movements.
