Hadi al-Modarresi
Encyclopedia
Ayatollah
Sayed
Hadi Almodarresi or al-Modarresi ' onMouseout='HidePop("62340")' href="/topics/Arabic_transliteration">transliterated
: Hādī al-Mudarrisī)
, Iraq
. His family includes supreme religious jurists (Marja’a
) such as the late Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi Al Shirazi (grandfather), Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shirazi (uncle) and Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi (uncle), late Grand Ayatullah Ali Al-Sabzowari (cousin), late Grand Ayatullah Sayed Abdul Hadi Al-Shirazi (great uncle), as well as Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Al Modarresi (brother).
Almodarresi started his religious education in the Islamic seminary of Karbala at the age of three and actively sought his religious studies under the auspices of many high ranking scholars. He completed the secondary part of the curriculum by the age of 9. Due to his distinguished abilities Ayatollah Almodarresi received the recognition of several Maraje’ who appointed him as their special representative. While engaged in preaching Islam in Bahrain and at the young age of 26 Grand Ayatollah Sabzewari and Grand Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi also awarded Ayatollah Almodarresi power of representation in which they praised him and labeled him as “scholar worthy of taking a leadership position” and urging Muslims to follow his lead.
came to power. Seventeen members of his wife’s family have been executed by Saddam's regime or simply disappeared in the notorious Ba'th penitentiaries. The first book openly attacking the Iraqi regime ever to be published by a religious scholar was written by Ayatollah Almodarresi. Published under a pseudonym in Beirut, the book was titled "No To Rulers of Iraq" and sparked a massive political crisis in Baghdad and caused the Baathist regime to issue an ultimatum for the removal of all Lebanese nationals from Iraq within 72 hours.
Almodarresi eluded execution by moving from house to house, often living in cellars for months and traveling in disguise. His uncle Ayatollah Sayed Hassan Al Shirazi
was gunned down by Iraqi government assassins in Beirut for his role as a key opposition figure to Saddam's regime.
With the escalation of the Ba’athist repression, Hadi fled Iraq and found sanctuary in Bahrain
, which is where he rose to international prominence.
As a founding member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI
) and senior director of the Islamic Action Organization, Almodarresi was one of the most active figures of the Iraqi opposition in exile. While continuing his religious activities and adding over 250 published books to his CV, Hadi was closely involved in efforts to expose & bring down the regime in Baghdad. He was also able to escape a number of assassination attempts abroad including one in Brazil in 1991 as well as two more attempts against his life in Syria by Ba'athist intelligence operatives in 2001.
and a similar crowd in his native city of Karbala.
Ayatollah Almodarresi established a television station upon his return to his hometown. He is also involved in several large-scale humanitarian projects in Iraq and has been involved in the building of mosques, schools, medical clinics, orphanages, and has been a stanch advocate of women's rights and consistently speaks out against the oppression of women in his lectures and books. He also facilitates marriage by providing financial help to people who wish to get married and has organized several large mass marriage ceremonies. Modarresi also founded and currently heads the League of Religious Scholars which brings together many high ranking Shi’ite scholars or their representatives in Iraq.
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Sayed
Sayyid
Sayyid is an honorific title, it denotes males accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husain ibn Ali, sons of the prophet's daughter Fatima Zahra and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib.Daughters of sayyids are given the titles Sayyida,...
Hadi Almodarresi or al-Modarresi ' onMouseout='HidePop("62340")' href="/topics/Arabic_transliteration">transliterated
Arabic transliteration
Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English or other European...
: Hādī al-Mudarrisī)
Early life
Born to a family with a long line of top-ranking scholars that dominated the Hawza (Islamic seminaries) for many years in KarbalaKarbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. His family includes supreme religious jurists (Marja’a
Marja
Marja , also known as a marja-i taqlid or marja dini , literally means "Source to Imitate/Follow" or "Religious Reference"...
) such as the late Grand Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi Al Shirazi (grandfather), Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Shirazi (uncle) and Grand Ayatollah Sadiq Shirazi (uncle), late Grand Ayatullah Ali Al-Sabzowari (cousin), late Grand Ayatullah Sayed Abdul Hadi Al-Shirazi (great uncle), as well as Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Al Modarresi (brother).
Almodarresi started his religious education in the Islamic seminary of Karbala at the age of three and actively sought his religious studies under the auspices of many high ranking scholars. He completed the secondary part of the curriculum by the age of 9. Due to his distinguished abilities Ayatollah Almodarresi received the recognition of several Maraje’ who appointed him as their special representative. While engaged in preaching Islam in Bahrain and at the young age of 26 Grand Ayatollah Sabzewari and Grand Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi also awarded Ayatollah Almodarresi power of representation in which they praised him and labeled him as “scholar worthy of taking a leadership position” and urging Muslims to follow his lead.
Opposition to Saddam
Ayatollah Almodarresi’s advocacy of political freedom and strong stance against Terrorism started from an early age when Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
came to power. Seventeen members of his wife’s family have been executed by Saddam's regime or simply disappeared in the notorious Ba'th penitentiaries. The first book openly attacking the Iraqi regime ever to be published by a religious scholar was written by Ayatollah Almodarresi. Published under a pseudonym in Beirut, the book was titled "No To Rulers of Iraq" and sparked a massive political crisis in Baghdad and caused the Baathist regime to issue an ultimatum for the removal of all Lebanese nationals from Iraq within 72 hours.
Almodarresi eluded execution by moving from house to house, often living in cellars for months and traveling in disguise. His uncle Ayatollah Sayed Hassan Al Shirazi
Shirazi
- People :*Shirazi , a social group among the Swahili people of East Africa*Grand Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi, the leading marja of his time, and is widely known for his 1891 fatwa against the usage of tobacco...
was gunned down by Iraqi government assassins in Beirut for his role as a key opposition figure to Saddam's regime.
With the escalation of the Ba’athist repression, Hadi fled Iraq and found sanctuary in Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, which is where he rose to international prominence.
As a founding member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI
Sciri
Sciri may refer to:*Scirii, people*SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq...
) and senior director of the Islamic Action Organization, Almodarresi was one of the most active figures of the Iraqi opposition in exile. While continuing his religious activities and adding over 250 published books to his CV, Hadi was closely involved in efforts to expose & bring down the regime in Baghdad. He was also able to escape a number of assassination attempts abroad including one in Brazil in 1991 as well as two more attempts against his life in Syria by Ba'athist intelligence operatives in 2001.
Return to Iraq
Upon returning to Iraq after the fall of Saddam’s regime, he was greeted by over 30,000 people in Baghdad and 50,000 in Sadr CitySadr City
Sadr City is a suburb district of the city of Baghdad, Iraq. It was built in 1959 by Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim and later unofficially renamed Sadr City after deceased Shia leader Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr....
and a similar crowd in his native city of Karbala.
Ayatollah Almodarresi established a television station upon his return to his hometown. He is also involved in several large-scale humanitarian projects in Iraq and has been involved in the building of mosques, schools, medical clinics, orphanages, and has been a stanch advocate of women's rights and consistently speaks out against the oppression of women in his lectures and books. He also facilitates marriage by providing financial help to people who wish to get married and has organized several large mass marriage ceremonies. Modarresi also founded and currently heads the League of Religious Scholars which brings together many high ranking Shi’ite scholars or their representatives in Iraq.
External links
- Photo: Al Modarresi meets with Sistani
- http://www.modarresi.org/biography/index.html Arabic biography, excerpts from a biography of Ayatollah Almodarresi, by Mansour Al Sheikh, "Allamah Sayed Hadi Almodarresi; His Positions, His Thoughts", Beirut, Lebanon 1991. Reprinted in Baghdad, Iraq 2004.]
- Office of Ayatollah Hadi Al-Modarresi
- ModarresiNews.com (site down)
- Almodarresi in the news Part 1 (site down)
- Almodarresi in the news Part 2 (site down)
- PBS Frontline Interview with his brother Mohammad Taqi Almodarresi
- Office of his brother Mohammad Taqi Al-Modarresi
- Office of Sayed Mahdi Al-Modarresi (site down)
- Statements and news articles (site down)
- His brother Mohammad Taqi Almodarresi's statement on the turmoil in Iraq - Plus: Quotes from Western media
- Interview: Sqyed Mahdi Almodarresi with the BBC about Iraq
- News: Ayatollah Sayed Hadi Almodarresi leads the prayers on the martyrs of the Ashura tragedy in Karbala
- Sayed Mahdi Almodarresi Interview: BBC's 'Reporting Religion' in the wake of the heinous attacks on Karbala and Kazemiah
- Article: by Mahdi Almodarresi: Our greatest tragedy may be that we tend to forget our tragedies
- Article: by Mahdi Almodarresi: Shia history in Iraq; Let us not repeat our past mistakes