Abdel Hussein Charafeddine al-Musawi

Biography Family background Born 1872 in Kadhimiya in the Ottoman Iraq to a Lebanese family of prominent religious scholars. His father al-Sayyid Yusuf Sharaf al-Din was from the village of Shuhur in Jebel Amel, the Shia area of what is now Southern Lebanon, "His religious studies were not confined to Shi'ism but also included Zaidism and Sunnism." In addition to his engagement in social work in Sur and Jabal 'Amil, Sayyid Sharaf al-Din continued his efforts writing and publishing. In 1910 (1327 AH), he published Issues important for uniting the Ummah (al-Fusul al-Muhimah fi Ta'lif al-Ummah). and organiser of nonviolent resistance against the French ambitions in Jabil Amil. In early 1920 (1338 A.H.), Sharafeddin led a Shia delegation to Damascus to make the case for unity with Syria.

When the King-Crane Commission of the United States government visited the region in 1337 A.H. (1919), Sharafeddin demanded US-support for a united Syria with Faisal as king:"This angered the French who apparently encouraged an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Sharaf al-Din."

The pan-Arabist rule ended already after less than two years and France proclaimed the new State of Greater Lebanon under French colonial mandate. Sharafeddin was forced to flee: "His home in Tyre was looted by French soldiers, his books and manuscripts were confiscated, another home in a neighboring village was burned. He fled to Damascus, but had to quit that city for Egypt and then for a brief stay several months in Palestine". When Gouraoud invited Sayed Sharafeddin back, he returned to Tyre in June 1921. Subsequently, Sharafeddin reached "rapprochement" with the colonial regime and even entertained friendly relations with the military governor of South Lebanon, Zinovi Pechkoff, whom he would regularly invite as guest of honour to religious events in Tyre.

Thus, Sharafeddin soon resurged as the most defining character for the development of modern Tyre, first as head of the municipal council until 1926 (1344 A.H.).

During the hajj rituals of 1340 A.H. (1922), Sharaf al-Din was invited by Malik Husayn, the king of Arabia, to lead the congregational prayers in Masjid al-Haram in which Shiite and Sunni Muslims attended.

In 1346 A.H. (1928), the first Shi'a mosque in Tyre was constructed, using local traditional architecture and centered around two Roman granite columns. It was named Abdel Hussein Mosque after Sharafeddine.

In late 1355 A.H. (1937), he went to Iraq to visit the holy shrines there, and in 1356 A.H. (1937–38) he went to Iran to visit the holy shrines in Qom and Mashhad as well as the Islamic Seminary of Qom.thumb Sharafeddin's 1938 passport.In the same year Sharafeddine founded a school for girls, the first primary school in South Lebanon altogether. It soon expanded, not least thanks to donations from merchants who had emigrated from Tyre to Western Africa and made their fortunes there. And it soon "became a nucleus for political activity in Tyre in particular and Jabal 'Amil as a whole".

Legacy

Works Issues important for uniting the Ummah (al-Fusul al-Muhimah fi Ta'lif al-Ummah), a book which emphasized the necessity to unite the Muslims. In this text, he addressed the disputes and differences between the Shi'is and the Sunnis. الفصول المهمة في تأليف الأمة A Shi'i-Sunni dialogue (al-Muraja'at) المراجعات Questions on Jurisprudence (Masa'il Fiqhiyya) مسائل فقهية Al-Nass wa l-ijtihad ...and others. النص و الإجتهاد Abo Huraira; a study about a man of hadeeth ابو هريرة The Truthful Word in Preference of the Zahraa (pbuh) (Al kalima Al gharra' Fi Tafdeel Al zahraa (pbuh))