Islamic religious leader dies

LEBANON’S Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shi’ite Islam’s main religious figures who had a strong following world over, died yesterday after a long illness.

He was 75.

Fadlallah, known for his staunch anti-American stance, helped in the rise of Lebanon’s Shi’ite community in the past decades. He was one of the founders of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s governing Dawa Party and was believed to be its religious guide until the last days of his life.