Sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhamma ...
Abd al-Majid al-Musawi al-Khoei ( ; ; 16 August 1962 – 10 April 2003) was a
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
cleric and the son of
grand Ayatollah
Marji ( ar, مرجع, transliteration: ''marjiʿ''; plural: ''marājiʿ''), literally meaning "source to follow" or "religious reference", is a title given to the highest level of Twelver Shia authority, a Grand Ayatollah with the authority giv ...
Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei ( ; ar, أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; fa, ; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian- Iraqi Shia marja'. Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential t ...
.
[Guardian Obituary]
/ref>
Life
al-Khoei was born in Najaf. He lived and studied under his father in Najaf until 1991. During the Shia uprising of 1991 he actively took part in the fighting against Saddam's Ba'ath Party but also acted as a force of moderation attempting to minimize revenge killings. When the uprising was crushed he was forced to leave Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. His father died a year later in 1992 at the age of 93, while still under house arrest in Iraq.
In exile in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, he worked for the al-Khoei Foundation
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Musawi al-Khoei ( ; ar, أبو القاسم الموسوي الخوئي; fa, ; November 19, 1899 – August 8, 1992) was an Iranian- Iraqi Shia marja'. Al-Khoei is considered one of the most influential t ...
, a charitable foundation set up by his father in 1989. He became its head in 1994 when his brother, Mohammed Taqi, was killed whilst driving back to Najaf
Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...
from a visit to Kerbala
Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...
.
He was also an outspoken critic of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
's rule: "The regime's criminal acts, beginning in 1968, have been never-ending. Executions, the closing of schools, mosques and shrines sacred to Shia worshipers; the burning of old religious scriptures; looting the sacred sites of gifts left by presidents and kings." He did, however, also call for unity. Speaking in December 2002, al-Khoei said, "We are looking for a new Iraq in which everyone has a share... we want to forget the past and shake the hand of everyone".[Abdul Majid al-Khoei - Economist obituary]
/ref>
Assassination
He returned to Iraq in April 2003 after the fall of Saddam despite being warned of the dangers. He arrived in Najaf on 3 April.[ Speaking to ''The Times'' upon his arrival to the city, he said everyone "wanted news on Baghdad because they see that as the key test to whether this will be 1991 all over again."Iraqi exiles help troops to keep the peace]
/ref> Though assigned protection, the protective unit could not follow him into the Imam Ali Shrine
The Sanctuary of Imām 'Alī ( ar, حَرَم ٱلْإِمَام عَلِيّ , Ḥaram al-ʾImām ʿAlī), also known as the Mosque of 'Alī ( ar, مَسْجِد عَلِيّ, Masjid ʿAlī), located in Najaf, Iraq, is a mosque which many Musl ...
in Najaf on 10 April 2003.[ Here he was attacked and hacked to death by a mob.
According to witnesses, at the mosque he was walking with ]Haydar Al-Killidar Al-Rufaye
Haydar ( ar, حيدر), also spelt Hajdar, Hayder, Heidar, Haider, Heydar, and other variants, is an Arabic male given name, also used as a surname, meaning " lion". In Islamic tradition, the name is primarily associated with Ali ibn Abi Tal ...
, the custodian of the shrine under Saddam, and they were confronted by an angry mob
Mob rule or ochlocracy ( el, ὀχλοκρατία, translit=okhlokratía; la, ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majorit ...
, some of whom are reported to have shouted "Rufaye is back" and others "Long live al-Sadr". The mob killed Al-Rufaye with bayonets and knives; al-Khoei, who was critically injured by this time, was killed later. According to author Patrick Cockburn, eyewitness accounts say Khoei, stabbed and bleeding, stumbled to the door of Muqtada al-Sadr's nearby house and pleaded for help. Muqtada sent a note outside saying, "Don't let them sit by my door," and Khoei died shortly after that.[
]Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr ( ar, مقتدى الصدر, Muqtadā aṣ-Ṣadr; born 4 August 1974) is an Iraqi politician and militia leader. He is the leader of the Sadrist Movement and the leader of the Peace Companies, a successor to the militia he had p ...
was suspected by U.S. and Iraqi authorities of ordering the assassination.[''Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq'' by Patrick Cockburn. Quoted i]
Muqtada: Muqtada Al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq by Patrick Cockburn. The Wild Card - A Review by Dexter Filkins
/ref>
See also
*Imam Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation
The Imam Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation () is an organization created by Abul-Qassim Khoei, a Grand Ayatollah who was considered by much of the Shia world as his time's premier leader of Shias across the world. It is an international religious char ...
References
External links
Guardian Obituary
BBC article
National Review article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khoei, Abdul Majid
1962 births
2003 deaths
Iraqi Shia clerics
People from Najaf
Iraqi Shia Muslims
People murdered in Iraq
2003 murders in Iraq