[1] The Amal movement gained attention from Shia outcry after the disappearance of Musa al-Sadr and saw a renewal in popularity after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1978.

[14] The Amal Movement is the largest predominantly Shia party in parliament, having fourteen representatives to Hezbollah's thirteen.

[5] Harakat al-Mahrumin (Arabic: حركة المحرومين meaning The Movement of the Deprived or The Movement of the Dispossessed or The Movement of the Disinherited) was established by Imam Musa al-Sadr and member of parliament Hussein el-Husseini in 1974,[15] as an attempt to reform the Lebanese system, although the beginnings can be traced to 1969 in declarations by the Imam al-Sadr calling upon peace and equality among all Lebanese confessions and religions, so that no one confession would remain "deprived" in any region in Lebanon, noting that the Shia community in Lebanon remained the poorest and most neglected by the Lebanese government.

[citation needed] While acknowledging its support base to be the "traditionally under-represented politically and economically disadvantaged" Shi'a community,[16] it aimed, according to Palmer-Harik, to seek social justice for all deprived Lebanese.

It grew strong with the support of, and through its ties with, Syria[18] and the 300,000 Shi'a internal refugees from southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings in the early 1980s.

Amal's practical objectives were to gain greater respect for Lebanon's Shi'ite population and the allocation of a larger share of governmental resources for the Shi'ite-dominated southern part of the country.

After the War of the Camps, Amal fought a bloody battle against rival Shi'a group Hezbollah for control of Beirut, which provoked Syrian military intervention.

In 1980, Palestinian guerrillas attempt to assassinate then-Secretary General Hussein el-Husseini by launching missiles into his home, outside Beirut.

El-Husseini had refused, despite Syrian pressure, to get involved in the Lebanese Civil War and fight alongside the PLO or any other faction.

[22] In April 1988 Amal launched an all-out assault on Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

[23] In 1989, Amal accepted the Taif agreement (mainly authored by el-Husseini) in order to end the civil war.

The Druze-oriented Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the leftists, and also Hezbollah supported the Palestinians, while the Syrian government backed Amal.

On April 15, 1985, Amal and the PSP attacked Al-Murabitun, the main Lebanese Sunni militia and the closest ally of the PLO in Lebanon.

On May 19, 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal and the Palestinians for the control of the Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh camps, all in Beirut.

Palestinian forces managed to occupy the Amal-controlled town of Maghdouché on the eastern hills of Sidon to open the road to Rashidiyye.

On February 17, 1988, Col William R. Higgins, American Chief of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) observer group in Lebanon, was abducted from his UN vehicle between Tyre and Nakoura after a meeting with Abd al-Majid Saleh, Amal's political leader in southern Lebanon.

It soon became "clear that Sheikh al-Musawi, the commander to Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance, had been personally responsible for the abduction of Lt. Col Higgins in close cooperation with both Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the local commander of Hizballah's military wing, and Mustafa al-Dirani, the former head of Amal's security service.

"Under this agreement, Amal's authority over the security of southern Lebanon [is] recognized while Hizballah [is] permitted to maintain only a nonmilitary presence through political, cultural, and informational programmes.

According to Amal officials, the party's militants "have been involved in every major battle since fighting began"[27] during the 2006 Lebanon War, and at least 8 members were reported to have been killed.