Lebanon's Shiite seminaries split between tradition, modernity
Although most Shiite seminaries in Lebanon still follow a traditional curriculum, a number of schools have begun to revise and develop their educational approaches.
Lebanon has historically been home to many Shiite religious schools, especially in the Jabal Amel area, which today comprises south Lebanon and part of the western Bekaa Valley. These schools have played an important role in preserving the Shiite Islamic identity and in enriching Twelver Shiite thought. The most prominent Shiite religious schools included the Jezzine School, the Mays al-Jabal School, the Jubaa School, the Kawthiria School, the Shaqra School and the Mashgharah School.
At the end of the 19th century, Jabal Amel experienced a scholarly renaissance that was reflected in the religious schools. The teaching methods and ways of thinking that were had languished throughout the eras of decline began to develop, and religious schools were established on modern and advanced bases, influenced by the scholarly renaissance in the Arab world. The number of new and renovated Shiite schools reached 15 in south Lebanon alone.
After completing their first phase of study, students could travel to Iraq to pursue graduate studies in the seminaries of Najaf. Senior Lebanese religious scholars graduated from the Najaf schools and gained prominence in the Arab and Islamic worlds.
After the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Islamic awakening among the Shiites of Lebanon increased. The foundations for this awakening had been put in place by Imam Moussa al-Sadr in the 1960s, and he continued his work until he was kidnapped in Libya in 1978. Since the mid-1980s, a number of new seminaries have been established in Lebanon, most notably the Iranian-sponsored Al-Rasoul Al-Akram Seminary in Haret Hreik and the Islamic Sharia Institute, sponsored by the scholar Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, among others.
