“Mother of Resistance” Leaves Behind a Lasting Legacy of Resistance

An icon for Lebanese women, Amina Salami, known as Um Imad Mughniyeh, a proud mother and grandmother of four martyrs, passed away yesterday at the age of 80, but her legacy lasts forever.

She was described as the “Mother of the Resistance” following the martyrdom of her first son Fouad (1984), second son Jihad (1994), third son and senior Hezbollah commander Imad (2008) and grandson Jihad (2015), Imad’s son, who was martyred along with five of his comrades in Syrian Quneitra, following an Israeli raid on their parade in January 2015.

Her last appearance was during her attendance at Robert Frangieh’s funeral, uncle of the leader of El-Marada movement Suleiman Frangieh, to pay her respect and condolences.

All social media platforms buzzed with grief and sorrow upon receiving the sad news of her death. Many people posted pictures of her with her sons and praised her steadfastness, resistance, patience and most importantly her never-ending sacrifices throughout her life.

Um Imad was at the forefront of women activist who were working at the onset of the Islamic awakening in Lebanon, seeking to spread the message of resistance through words and actions. She was interested in the Palestinian cause and the Islamic awakening following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. She kept pace with all the stages of martyr Imad Mughniyeh’s work within the resistance, Al-Akhbar newspaper said. She never failed to perform various tasks within the resistance even in the darkest and most difficult circumstances, it added.

Um Imad’s story with resistance and martyrdom started in 1984 as she lost her young son Jihad. She swallowed her grief for ten years, then she was agonized by the martyrdom of her second son “Fouad” in a terrorist attack in 1994.

The story didn’t end here. She was trying to move past her tragedy when she received the news of martyrdom of her elder son “Imad” in 2008. Imad, aka Hajj Radwan, was the founding member of Lebanon’s Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah. He has been described as “a brilliant military tactician.”

The bereaved woman later lost her grandson Jihad in 2015 followed by her husband’s death last year. This time her burden grew heavier and harder which made her give up to death.

Hajja Amina gave life to a nation. Rest in eternal peace, our mother