Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine

Who was Mohammad Mehdi Shamseddine?

Aytollah Muhammad Mahdi Shamseddine was a famous Twelver Shia Islam scholar of Lebanon from Kabrikha probably a compound name kabr-ikha: the tomb of ikha] in Jabal Amel in the southern part of the country. His lineage ends to Shahid Awwal who is also known as Shamseddine.

He was born in Najaf, Iraq, as his father al Allamah al Shaykh Abdul Kareem Shamseddine was studying there. At age 12 when his father returned to Lebanon, Imam Muhammad Mahdi decided to stay and finish his religious studies under famous scholars including Imam Abolqasim al-Khoei and Imam Muhsin al-Hakim. During his stay of over 30 years in Iraq he worked closely with the Imams Musa al-Sadr, Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, and Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, among others.

Upon his return to Lebanon in 1969 he helped Musa al-Sadr found the Supreme Islamic Shi'ite Council that came to light in 1975, and became its first vice-president. Musa al-Sadr disappeared in mysterious circumstances during a trip to Libya in 1978. In April 1994 Shamseddine was elected president of the Council, which he led until his death.

Shamseddine was known for his moderation and diplomacy. He was a strong advocate of Christian-Muslim coexistence while at the same time advocating fundamental changes in the Lebanese confessional political system in order to create what he referred to as "al dawla al madaniyya" or the " civic state" in a country which has struggled to overcome confessional divisions since the devastating 1975-1990 civil war. "There is no Lebanon without its Christians and there is no Lebanon without its Muslims," he once said.