Top Lebanese Shiite cleric dies

LEBANON, Beirut : A Shiite woman mourns the death of the late Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah (photo) at a mosque where his funeral is being held in Beirut's southern suburb on July 4, 2010, following his death earlier today at the age of 75 from internal bleeding an aide said.

Lebanon's Shiite Cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah died Sunday after struggling with a long illness. He was 75. Fadlallah had been hospitalized several times over the past months. On Friday he was admitted to intensive care as his health deteriorated.

Fadlallah was born in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf in November 1935. He studied Islamic sciences at an early age. He returned to Lebanon in 1966 and founded a religious school called The Islamic Sharia Institute. In addition to the academic work that Fadlallah has done, he has opened schools, Islamic centers, and orphanages.

He supported the ideals of Iran's Islamic Revolution and advocated the corresponding Islamic movement in Lebanon. In his sermons, he called for armed resistance to the Israeli occupations of Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, along with opposition to the existence of Israel.