Naeem Qasim profile: From scholar to revolutionary

Damascus: Born in Basta, a Sunni stronghold in Beirut, in 1953, Naeem Qasim came from a family that originated in South Lebanon. His father had moved to the Lebanese capital in search of a better living, working as a cab driver at the time of Qasim's birth. Qasim's father was illiterate but insisted that his son receive a proper education, sending him to study at the Lebanese University.

He began researching scholarly Islam and by 1983, decided to don the Shiite turban. This decision, he recalled many years later, was a "revolution" in his life. When asked what he would do if all the restrictions that came with his office were lifted, he replied: "I would walk in the streets."

In 1975, Qasim joined the Amal Movement, to depart after the "disappearance" of party founder Mousa Al Sadr in 1978, devoting his time to research. When former Amal members founded Hezbollah, Qasim joined their ranks but did not become an active member until 1989. Under its first secretary-general Subhi Al Tufayli, Qasim became deputy president of the Executive Council. When Abbas Mousawi became secretary-general, Qasim was chosen as his number two man, a post he kept under the current incumbent Hassan Nasrallah.