Prominent Muslim scholar Sayyed Mohammad Hassan Al Amin, widely known for his moderate positions and criticism of Hezbollah's hegemony on the Shiite scene in Lebanon, has died of Covid-19 complications. He was 75.
An author with several publications on Islamic law, secularism and women’s role in Islam, Sayyed Al Amin was a fervent supporter of religious dialogue and cultural rapprochement and a vocal critic of the Iran-backed armed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
In 2005, he played a prominent role in founding the Lebanese Shiite Gathering, which brought together independent Shiite scholars and personalities in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Though the Shiite Gathering failed to gain political momentum in the years that followed, Sayyed Al Amin continued to criticice Hezbollah's policies and later the party's involvement alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in quelling Syrian opposition groups.
In recent years, Sayyed Al Amin repeatedly called on Shiites of the Arab world to uphold their national identity and to distance themselves from regional political conflicts.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, the son of the slain premier, described the death of Sayyed Al Amin as a great loss for the Lebanese people.
"With the departure of scholar Sayyed Mohammad Hassan Al Amin, we lost an enlightened mind who devoted his life to the unity of Muslims and the wellbeing of the Lebanese," Mr Hariri said on Twitter.
Sayyed Al Amin had been admitted to a hospital in the southern coastal city of Sidon where he was being treated over the past three weeks before succumbing to complications arising from Covid-19.
Covid-19 in Lebanon - in pictures
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A Lebanese person sleeps inside a room for COVID-19 patients inside Rafik Hariri University Hospital, in southern Beirut, Lebanon. Getty Images -
A Lebanese nurse takes care of a COVID-19 patient inside the Intensive Care Unit of Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Getty Images -
A Lebanese doctor conducts PCR test results inside the laboratory of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Getty Images -
A Lebanese woman takes care of her mother with COVID-19 inside the Intensive Care Unit of Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Getty Images -
Lebanese nurses take care of COVID-19 patients inside the Intensive Care Unit of Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Getty Images -
A Lebanese nurse takes care of a patient inside the Intensive Care Unit of Rafik Hariri University Hospital. Getty Images -
A mask-clad man gestures as he stands in the middle of a street while behind people walk past shuttered shops and stalls in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut, despite a national total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
Lebanese army soldiers patrol as they try to enforce a total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP -
A woman argues with policemen as Lebanese army soldiers (green berets) and policemen (grey berets) try to enforce a total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP -
People walk past Lebanese police patrol cars, as authorities try to enforce a total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP -
A mask-clad woman and boy walk past shuttered shops and stalls in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut, despite a national total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
A wheelchair-bound beggar is seen next to a car stopping at a red light, in Lebanon's capital Beirut, despite a total lockdown due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
A woman argues with policemen trying to enforce a total lockdown as a measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Souk Sabra in the southern suburbs of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP -
A woman sits as she waits to get tested for the coronavirus disease in the town of Hasbaya, Lebanon. Reuters -
People wait in line to get tested for the coronavirus disease in the town of Hasbaya, Lebanon. Reuters -
A health worker takes a swab from a man to be tested for the coronavirus disease in the town of Hasbaya, Lebanon. Reuters
Born in 1946, the Shiite cleric left the country in the early 60s to study at Najaf’s School of Theology in Iraq, one of the most important seminaries for Shiite clerics, before returning to Lebanon in the 1970s.
Upon his return, he was appointed as a Jaafari judge in Tyre and later in Sidon where he presided over the Jaafari court until 1977.
Sayyed Ali Al Amin, a Lebanese Muslim scholar and former Tyre Jaafari mufti, also known for his moderate views and a member of the Muslim Council of Elders, described Sayyed Al Amin as a pioneer scholar in a Facebook eulogy of his cousin.
Mohammed Ali Mokalled, a moderate Shiite activist and writer, lamented the loss of such a unifying figure during the current times of crises.
"He was an example for courage in the face of tyranny practised by the militias and forces who in reality control the region [south Lebanon]. He was also a personality that attracted all the enlightened clerics who called for a civil and secular state," Mr Mokalled told The National.
Imam Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, also extended his condolences.
“Scholar Al Amin was a man of knowledge and thought and a proponent of dialogue and openness … who was committed to addressing the issues and concerns of the nation, particularly the Palestinian cause,” Sheikh Qabalan said.
Sidon MP Osama Saad praised the scholar’s journey, describing him as a moderate intellectual who was committed to the Palestinian cause.
