According to the Islamic calendar, we are currently in the year 1430 and according to Islamic belief, the messiah-like Mahdi (or 12th Imam) will return no later than 1500.
Iranian President Ahmadinejad is pretty sure he's the one who will usher in the imminent return of the Mahdi, and there have indeed been signs that The Time Has Come, notably:
The comet Lulin which flashed through the sky in February this year was the “double-toothed, light shedding star” - an event prophesied in Islamic lore to occur before the return of the Mahdi.
The comet Lulin which flashed through the sky in February this year was the “double-toothed, light shedding star” - an event prophesied in Islamic lore to occur before the return of the Mahdi.
The election of Barack Obama as President was another sure sign to the Islamic world that we are indeed in the end of days, as Obama is the Promised Warrior -
"According to the tradition, Imam Ali Ibn Abi-Talib (the prophet's cousin and son-in-law) prophesied that at the End of Times and just before the return of the Mahdi, the Ultimate Saviour, a "tall black man will assume the reins of government in the West." Commanding "the strongest army on earth," the new ruler in the West will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, whose name was Hussein Ibn Ali. The tradition concludes: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."
In a curious coincidence Obama's first and second names--Barack Hussein--mean "the blessing of Hussein" in Arabic and Persian. His family name, Obama, written in the Persian alphabet, reads O Ba Ma, which means "he is with us," the magic formula in Majlisi's tradition."
I am pointing all this out because this is the mindset of the current world's-most-dangerous- man: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who although not legitimately returned to power in the recent elections, has nevertheless managed to remain in control of his country, a crucial factor in his "mission" of hastening the return of the Mahdi by attacking Israel and the U.S. The successful test-firing of the Shahib3 long range missile on Yom Kippur was more provocation ahead of the October 1 nuclear talks between Iran and the U.N. Security Council.
Joel Rosenberg reports that NBC News recently interviewed Ahmadinejad and asked him about the 12th Imam, the answers he gave were (of course) misleading, as we've come to expect from him. You can read the interview here and more on his recent UN speech here.
Joel Rosenberg reports that NBC News recently interviewed Ahmadinejad and asked him about the 12th Imam, the answers he gave were (of course) misleading, as we've come to expect from him. You can read the interview here and more on his recent UN speech here.
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According to Islamic Hadith, he is a man who comes and fights against the whole world in order to force Islam on everyone. He will kill two third of the people of the world ...(he won't be able to do it with a sword these days, will need a nukes)
He definitely seems to be the evil person whom Messiah will fight against.
Since Ahmadinejad and Khamenie (the leader) have been trying to say they have relationsship with the 12 Imam and considering the recent issues in Iran, that many of the men and women who protested against the regim, have been raped,(adultery and same sex relationsships are supposedly forbidden in Islam) many Iranian Moslems are saying that probably this 12th Imam will rape many and will hire many repists for his army!
You have a very good point. Even goyim have Nevuah, but typically, their information comes from the Sitra Achara. The bottom line is that everything happens in this world for the Jewish people, and that the existance of other religions is so that they will be prepared for the concept of Moshiach when that time comes, except that they will then see who is the real Moshiach.
Al-Mahdi is “the rightly-guided one” who, in Islamic traditions allegedly going back to Muhammad (and nowhere to be found in the Qur’an), will come before The End of time to usher in a worldwide Islamic state with a little help from his returned prophet friend Jesus. Mahdism is believed by many (including scholars, who should know better) to be the province only of the Shi`is, but many of the most successful Mahdist movements in history have been Sunni. Most prominent here would be Ibn Tumart’s al-Muwahhids (Almohads) who ruled from Portugal to Tunisia, 1130-1269 CE, and Muhammad Ahmad’s Sudanese Mahdists—about whom the movie Khartoum, starring Charlton Heston and Sir Laurence Olivier was made—who ruled Sudan from 1885-1898. Another famous Mahdist movement, albeit ultimately unsuccessful, was the attempt to overthrow the Saudi regime in 1979: one Juhayman al-Utaybi declared his brother-in-law Muhammad al-Qahtani to be the Mahdi and led several hundred armed followers to occupy the main mosque in Mecca (eventually all were either killed or captured and then executed). Scores of other self-styled mahdis have arisen over the last millennium of Islamic history. If nothing else, Mahdism is certainly a powerful means of expressing dissatisfaction with extant Islamic government.
And Mahdism shares many characteristics with mere jihadism, the most important of which are: a yearning (indeed demand) for Islamic law and a burning desire to restore Islamic rule to its former environs and, in fact, to engineer the creation of a global caliphate. But Mahdist movements “are to fundamentalist uprisings what nuclear weapons are to conventional ones: triggered by the same detonating agents but far more powerful in scope and effect.” Once a charismatic Muslim leader becomes convinced he is the Mahdi, all bets are off. The Mahdi (and each one is of course convinced he is THE, not simply a, Mahdi) will, according to the Islamic traditions, be directed by Allah to restore the Prophetic caliphate and, as such, is not bound by the letter of the Islamic law. For example, both Ibn Tumart and Muhammad Ahmad declared that they alone were capable of interpreting the Qur’an, so any previous opinions and commentaries were relegated to irrelevance. And of course the opposition to them by establishment religious figures—for both of these men, as do most Mahdist, led revolutions against existing Islamic governments5—only served to reinforce their Mahdist claims, since true Muslims could recognize the Mahdi. Anyone claiming to be the Mahdi, then, is largely unfettered by any norms, Islamic or otherwise. Ibn Tumart and his leadership, for example, killed tens of thousands OF THEIR OWN FOLLOWERS deemed lukewarm in their support. And Muhammad Ahmad, who had Charles Gordon decapitated and his head displayed, may have proved just as bloodthirsty had he not died of malaria some six months after taking Khartoum.
There is, today, no one claiming to be the Mahdi—at least not yet. A number of Arabic books and websites have begun speculating whether Usamah bin Ladin might be him.6 Certainly no one else in the Islamic world has the stature to even attempt such a claim. Bin Ladin’s charisma, mysterious whereabouts, ability to strike and hurt even the American imperium and ongoing criticism of existing (illegitimate) Islamic rulers may not quite qualify him for the Mahdi’s ring of power—but they get him closer, certainly, than anyone else. What if he were to seize it? No doubt the vast majority of the world’s Muslims would reject such a claim out of hand. Many who see Bin Ladin now as something of a Muslim Che Guevara would certainly renounce him as Mahdi, but the small percentage that would accept such a claim would be intensely devoted and fanatical. If that amounts to only 1 percent of the world’s Muslims, the Mahdi would have 13 million potential suicide bombers.
And make no mistake: Mahdists would have even fewer constraints on their behaviour than do jihadis. Since the end result of the Mahdi’s plans would be, they believe, a global caliphate nothing would he asked would be beyond his followers: detonating a nuke in Vegas or Manhattan, intentionally infecting oneself with plague or smallpox and then criss-crossing American aiports, suicide-bombing Christian day care centers in the Midwest. Helping the Mahdi restore Islam to planetary predominance would obtain one even more glory than the promised 72 huris in Paradise. And were Bin Ladin (or anyone else) to take power in, say, Arabia as the Mahdi, the entire world (even the French) would soon be waxing nostalgic about the Saudis.
Even if Bin Ladin eschews a Mahdi claim, someone eventually will make it. The Mahdi is often associated with a mujaddid, a “renewer” that according to other Islamic traditions will come every 100 years to reinvigorate Islam. And considering that the 16th Muslim century begins in 2076, the American tercentenary may be met with more than normal fireworks.
From MEMRI,Doctrine of Mahdism:
Ahmadinejad’s
Messianic Policy –
Main Characteristics
Immediately upon assuming the presidency, Ahmadinejad
began to assert his belief in the imminent return of the
Mahdi as the basis for his political activities. Despite the traditional
belief that no one can foresee the hour of the Mahdi’s
return, Ahmadinejad frequently stated that his coming
was nigh, and even gave a more specific prediction. During
a meeting with the foreign minister of an Islamic country, he
said that the crisis in Iran “presaged the coming of the Hidden
Imam, who would appear within the next two years.”4
In a December 2006 speech in Kermanshah, Ahmadinejad
wished the Christians a merry Christmas and said: “I hereby
announce that, with God’s help, the day is not far off when
Jesus will return at the side of the Hidden Imam.”5
Not only has Ahmadinejad wished to proclaim the imminent
coming of the Mahdi, and thereby to legitimize his policy
and actions by associating them with Hidden Imam - but
he has also presented himself as being directly connected
to God. In a recent speech about Iran’s nuclear program,
he claimed to have “a connection with God,” and exhorted
the Iranians to be true believers so that God would support
them in their just struggle for nuclear technology:
“Believe [me], legally speaking, and in the eyes of public
opinion, we have absolutely succeeded. I say this out of
knowledge. Someone asked me: ‘So and so said that you
have a connection.’ I said: ‘Yes, I have.’ He asked me: ‘Really,
you have a connection? With whom?’ I answered: ‘I have a
connection with God,’ since God said that the infidels will
have no way to harm the believers. Well, [but] only if we are
believers, because God said: You [will be] the victors. But
the same friends say that Ahmadinejad says strange things.
“If we are [really] believers, God will show us victory, and
this miracle. Is it necessary today for a she-camel to emerge
from the heart of the mountain6 so that my friends will accept
the miracle? Wasn’t the [Islamic] Revolution [enough
of] a miracle? Wasn’t the Imam [Ayatollah Khomeini] a miracle?...
“7
Ahmadinejad has also presented himself as being privy to
God’s intentions and actions, as reflected in his statement
that “God has appointed the Hidden Imam to be our supporter.”
8 His claim of having a direct relationship with God
was also evident in the speech he made upon his return to
Iran after addressing the U.N. General Assembly in 2005.
Ahmadinejad claimed that, as he was delivering his U.N. address,
he felt himself “surrounded by a halo of light” symbolizing
the messianic nature of his message to the nations
of the world.9
Ahmadinejad’s speeches have been characterized by the use
of messianic terms and by emphasis on the need to prepare
the ground for the Mahdi’s return.10 For example, in a May
2007 speech in Kerman province, he said: “We have a mission
- to turn Iran into the country of the Hidden Imam.”11
As part of their commitment to these preparations, and at
the suggestion of senior Ahmadinejad aide Parviz Daoudi,
the Iranian ministers signed a pledge of allegiance to the
Hidden Imam during the government’s first session, along
with the pledge of allegiance to Ahmadinejad.12
In accordance with his messianic policy, Ahmadinejad has
also endorsed an Iranian-Shi’ite folk tradition which maintains
that the Hidden Imam attaches special importance to
the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom – a tradition that has not
been supported by the conservative religious establishment.
13 As part of this policy, Iranian Minister of Culture
and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi
was ordered to drop the ministers’ pledge of allegiance into
a well in the courtyard of the Jamkaran Mosque, where believers
drop prayers and personal requests. Ahmadinejad has
also allocated $10 million for renovating the mosque and
its surroundings in preparation for the return of the Mahdi,
and in 2005, he spent some $8 million on refreshments for
pilgrims during the celebration of the Mahdi’s birthday.14
The regime’s encouragement of Mahdism is also evident in
content on the website of Iran’s government broadcasting
service. For example, the site presents information on the
Iranian TV series “The World Toward Illumination,” which
deals with the imminent arrival of the Mahdi.15
It should be noted that political manifestations of Ahmadinejad’s
messianic beliefs were evident even prior to his
election to the presidency. According to reports, during
his term as mayor of Tehran (2003-2005), the municipality
printed a city map which showed, among other things, the
route that will be taken by the Mahdi upon his return.16
At the International Seminar on the Doctrine of Mahdism,
held in Iran September 6-7, 2006 during the celebrations
for the Mahdi’s birthday, and attended by representatives
of various countries, Ahmadinejad emphasized the universal
and active nature of Mahdism and called on the West to
accept it: “Today mankind is proceeding towards the truth.
Today the happiness of mankind depends on proceeding
towards the truth. Today we invite everyone to proceed
towards the truth, since [the truth] is the only way... This
celebration [of the Mahdi’s birthday] is not only for Muslims
but for the entire world. The Mahdi belongs to all of mankind...
“The Hidden Imam has no tangible presence among us, but
he is always [here], and we must prepare the ground for his
speedy appearance... Some claim that during his occultation,
his [nobility] is suspended, but that is not true... On the
contrary, we must rush towards him and hasten to prepare
the ground for his appearance. [He will not appear] if we sit
idly. Mankind must hurry towards the Hidden Imam in order
to reach him. A person who [actively hastens the coming of
the Imam] is different from one who does not... Today, mankind
is proceeding rapidly towards perfection, truth, justice,
love, peace and compassion, and this is possible only under
the rule of the perfect man [i.e. the Hidden Imam]...”17
http://www.memri.org/ftp/publicdocs/doctrine_of_mahdism.pdf
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