Progress as an Issue in Imam Musa Sadr’s Thought

Lebanon is a country with a variety of tribes and a multi-cultural society. Thus, the social activity therein has many sensitivities. Imam Musa Sadr as the leader of the Shiites in Lebanon sought to free the Shiite community of Lebanon from various social depravities. Therefore, social harmony and cooperation were important in that society. The question in the present article is as follows: “considering diverse and multi-cultural milieus in Lebanese society, how did Sayyid Musa Sadr delineate the path of progress in that society?” To provide answer for this question, we may say although Sadr faced a diverse society from religious, cultural and economic perspectives, he attempted, through his measure – especially the way he viewed human and religion, expectations from the government, establishing organizations and performing collective tasks – to consider a considerable role for human in moving the society towards progress. Naturally, considering the features of that society and existence of various cultural types, those differences do not hinder progress. Such a view made it possible for him to consider the common points of tribes and religions, political and cultural trends, while paying heed to their differences, and prepare the ground for progress based on human’s will to create a coherent society by highlighting common points. The present article deals with this issue by considering the internal logic of Sayyid Musa Sadr’s thought as well as the description and analysis of his opinions.