Naim Qassem

Naim Qassem (Arabic: نعيم قاسم‎; born 1953) is a Shia Lebanese cleric and politician, who was the second-in-command of Hezbollah with the title of deputy secretary-general.[1]

Naim Qassem
نعيم قاسم
Naim Qassem in Beirut, 2009
Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah
Assumed office
1992
Personal details
Born1953 (age 66–67)
Kfar Fila, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
Political partyHezbollah
Children6
Alma materLebanese University

Early life and education

Qassem was born into a Shiite family in Kfar Fila in 1953.[2][3] He studied theology and his teacher was Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.[2] He also received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Lebanese University.[2]

Career

Qassem is one of the founders of Lebanese Muslim students union that was established in the 1970s.[3] He joined the Amal movement when it was headed by Imam Musa Sadr.[2] Qassem was the head of the Islamic religious education association from 1974 to 1988.[3] He also served as the advisor for al Mustafa schools.[3] Then Qassem participated in foundation activities of Hezbollah and was appointed deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992.[2][4]

There were reports that Qassem had been killed alongside Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani in the U.S. airstrike on the Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020. Hezbollah issued a statement later that day refuting those reports.[5]

Works and views

In 2009, Mustafa Badr Al Din replaced Imad Mughniyah as the head of Hezbollah's military activities.[6] However, Qassem did not support it, favoring his relative Samir Shehade.[6]

Qassem published a book, Hezbollah: The Story from Within, in 2006.[7] On 1 August 2011, Qassem attended a ceremony for the eighth edition of his book, where he made the statement that "Billions of dollars have been offered to us to rebuild the deprived south Lebanon and in return to surrender our arms and stop the work of the resistance. But we told them we're not in need [of their money] and the resistance will go on regardless of the consequences."[8]

gollark: But I wrote documentation on it, which is what people are upvoting.
gollark: It won't let you just upvote multiple times, which would be stupid.
gollark: People just love hearing about bee apio.
gollark: I mean, the apioform videos have hundreds of views.
gollark: Ridiculous. How would I do that? They're just organically popular.

References
  1. Andrew Coombes in Beirut (2007). "Interview: Naim Qassem". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. "Sayyed Nasrallah re-elected for another term". The Weekly Middle East Reporter. 5 December 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  3. Dominique Avon; Anaïs-Trissa Khatchadourian; Jane Marie Todd (10 September 2012). Hezbollah: A History of the "Party of God". Harvard University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-674-06752-3. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. "Hizbullah Renews Nasrallah as Head of Shiite Party; Forms A New Shura Council". The Daily Middle East Reporter. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  5. "A Look at Key Figures Killed With Qassem Soleimani in US Strike". VOA. 3 January 2020.
  6. Barel, Zvi (25 February 2013). "Who's breathing down Hezbollah leader's neck?". Haaretz. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  7. Glass, Charles (17 August 2006). "Learning from Its Mistakes: Charles Glass on Hizbullah". London Review of Books. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  8. "Hezbollah offered billions to disarm: Qassem". The Daily Star. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
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