The Vanished Imam: Musa Al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon

Reviewed by John C. Campbell

Musa al Sadr was born and educated in Iran, made his mark on Lebanon as a charismatic religious and political leader, disappeared while on a visit to Libya in 1978, and lives on as a powerful symbol for the Shia community. Fouad Ajami, a distinguished American scholar with roots in southern Lebanon, is admirably qualified to write this book, and he has succeeded in drawing a striking portrait of the man against the background of the millennial Islamic culture and the murky present-day politics of the Middle East.