Following Hezbollah’s announcement of the appointment of its new Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, footage of the late legendary US boxer Muhammad Ali praying behind the Shia Muslim cleric back when he was the Lebanese resistance movement’s Deputy Secretary-General, has been making the rounds on social media, sparking memories of Ali’s visit to Beirut in 1985.
Qassem served in his previous role from 1991 under former leader Sayyed Abbas Al-Musawi, who was assassinated by Israel the following year. He was officially named the new Secretary-General almost a month after the assassination of Al-Musawi’s charismatic, long-time successor Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and just over a week after his own likely successor, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, was killed in air strikes carried out by the occupation state on Beirut’s Dahieh neighbourhood.
In his first address in his new leadership role, Qassem, 71, spoke of the ongoing struggle against the Israeli offensive against the people of Lebanon and reiterated solidarity with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
“We will continue implementing the war plan outlined by Sayyed Nasrallah with the resistance leadership, and we will remain on the warpath within the defined political guidelines,” he said. “Supporting Gaza was imperative to confront the threat of Israel to the entire region through the gateway of Gaza, and Gaza’s people have the right to support, and everyone must stand by them.”
Muhammad Ali praying behind Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem in Beirut 1985 pic.twitter.com/orLqL7Nkwj
— aziz (@broletari) October 29, 2024
Solidarity with the Palestinian cause was something that resonated deeply with Muhammad Ali as well. He visited Beirut, including Dahieh, in 1985 as part of a humanitarian mission to negotiate the release of American and Saudi hostages, leveraging his global fame and influence to broker peace and show solidarity with those affected by the devastating Lebanese Civil War.
The three-time heavyweight champion of the world was deeply committed to social justice and often involved himself in political causes, including Palestinian solidarity and humanitarian advocacy, which motivated his visit to what was described at the time as the “most dangerous city on earth”.
In a previous visit to Beirut in 1974, as part of a Middle East tour, Ali said that, “The United States is the stronghold of Zionism and imperialism.” On his later trip, he stated, “I declare support for the Palestinian struggle to liberate their homeland and oust the Zionist invaders.”
The Beirut visit in February 1985 is included on the Muhammad Ali Centre’s website humanitarian timeline, where it states:
“Muhammad Ali negotiated the release of four US citizen-hostages and a Saudi Arabian hostage held by unknown captors in West Beirut, Lebanon, on behalf the Reagan administration. Hezbollah had announced its existence with a manifesto proclaiming its goal of the obliteration of Israel. While in Lebanon, Ali attended prayer at a mosque in Beirut.”
A historic video of Muhammad Ali Clay, the world’s boxing legend, doing prayers led by Sheikh Naim Qassem, the new Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/6cJGLvjXaY
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) October 30, 2024
The mosque in question was the Imam Ali Reda Mosque, in Dahieh’s Bir Al-Abed area. Just a month later, a car bomb exploded outside the mosque, killing at least 45 people and injuring 175. The bombing was linked to the CIA. In a display of Muslim sectarian coexistence, Ali and his delegation joined the congregational prayer which included both Sunnis and Shias, led by a younger Sheikh Qassem.
However, Ali ultimately failed to secure the hostages release. At the time, the LA Times noted: “During his four-day stay in Beirut, Ali met with a few Shia Muslim clergymen and attended Muslim prayers. He made no contact with Lebanese government or Muslim militia leaders.” It added that, “He hoped that his influence as an American Muslim could win freedom for the five, believed to have been kidnaped by Shia Muslim radicals loyal to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran.”
A condition for the hostages’ release was that Ali use his influence to help secure the freedom of several hundred Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. Ali kept his word and tried to do so, travelling to the occupation state four months later to advocate for their release.
Haaretz acknowledged that, “Ali even visited Israel, coming to ‘arrange for the freeing of the Muslim brothers imprisoned by Israel’ in 1985, when some 700 Lebanese Shi’ites were detained in the Atlit camp, against the background of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
“Ali wanted to discuss the release of ‘all 700 brothers’ with the ‘very highest level in the country,’ but Israeli officials politely declined to enter the ring.”
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
