Jabal Amel
Jabal Amel or Jabal 'Amil () is a mountainous region of Southern Lebanon. According to local legend, the Shia community in Jabal Amil is one of the oldest in history, second only to the Shia community of Medina, and were converted to Islam by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an early supporter of Ali. Although there is frequent occurrence of this account in many religious sources, it is largely dismissed in academia, and historical sources suggest Shiism developed in Jabal Amel around the 3rd century A.H.