I found this picture from the 1920s in a book on the history of Tyre at UC, Berkeley. My grandfather, Muhammad As'ad AbuKhalil, is second from right, seated (with white shoes?) and both of his hands are placed on his knees. This was a committee (Society for the Spread of Knowledge) that was founded by Imam `Abdul-Husayn Sharaf ad-Din (seated center), the Mufti of Tyre and a noted theologian, to spread knowledge and education in south Lebanon. The first school in Tyre region, Al-Ja`fariyyah, is named after Sharaf Ad-Din.
