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Prominent Shi’ite scholar Sayyed Hani Fahs and popular opponent of Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war passed away in Beirut on Thursday, succumbing to a long-term illness. The 68-year-old had been in a coma after he was admitted to a hospital a few days ago.
A moderate figure who commanded respect both outside and inside the Shi’ite community, Fahs was an advocate of religious and cultural rapprochement, and one of the founding members of the Arab Team for Muslim-Christian Dialogue and the Permanent Conference for Inter-Lebanese Dialogue. He was also a member of the Shariah Council of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council.
The scholar regularly spoke out against Hezbollah’s role in Syria and its support for the Syrian regime, and reportedly had developed strong relations with Syrian opposition groups.
Fahs had graduated from the school of theology of Najaf in Iraq and had unsuccessfully run for elections in 1992. Between the years 1982 and 1985, he lived in Iran, working at the press office in the school of theology. He was also a poet and a writer, publishing at least 13 books on society, politics and religion.
Two years ago, Fahs and Sayyed Mohammad Hassan al-Amin, a fellow anti-Hezbollah Shi’ite scholar, issued a statement calling on Lebanon’s Shi’ite community to support the uprising in neighbor Syria.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised Fahs’ contribution to Lebanese society.
“(Fahs’) rich experiences and positions will remain imprinted in our national memory”, he said in a statement.
“The absence of Sayyed Hani Fahs is a great loss to the values of moderation and dialogue, which he defended and devoted his life to”, he added, hailing Fahs as a “wise” man. He also said that he “personally feel the magnitude of this loss since I knew Sayyed Hani in the most difficult circumstances”.
