Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr

1931 - 1980

Iraqi Shiʿite religious leader whose writings inspired and influenced the Islamic movement in Iraq.

Born in the Shiʿite district of Kazimiyya, Baghdad, to an Arab family from Lebanon, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr studied in Baghdad and al-Najaf. Among his teachers was Muhsin al-Hakim, the highest Shiʿite Marja al-Taqlid of the time. Sadr rose in the Shiʿite clerical hierarchy to the rank of ayatullah, becoming the only Arab of eight living marja alTaqlids. He was placed under house arrest in June 1979, following the Shiʿite riots in al-Najaf and Karbala. On 8 April 1980 he was hanged, following assassination attempts on several officials earlier that month. He was accused of being the leader of the outlawed al-Daʿwa party, being the mastermind behind the assassinations, and plotting with Iran against Iraq's government. A prolific writer, Sadr published more than twenty books dealing with various subjects, including Islamic government and economy.

Bibliography

Wiley, Joyce N. The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Shiʿas. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1992.

— AYAD AL-QAZZAZ