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"What is the Islamic State? Where did it come from, and what are its intentions? The simplicity of these questions can be deceiving, and few Western leaders seem to know the answers. In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State’s appeal. “We have not defeated the idea,” he said. “We do not even understand the idea.” In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as...

“President Barack Obama told Iran’s people and leaders that the United States wants to engage with their country and end decades of strained relationship, but not unless their officials stop making threats,” reports the Associated Press. “Obama on Friday released a video message with Farsi subtitles that urged the two countries to resolve their long-standing differences. His video was timed to the festival of Nowruz (no-ROOZ), which means ‘new day.’ It marks the arrival of spring and is a major holiday in Iran.” Excerpts: “So in this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders....

Is Barack Obama the "promised warrior" coming to help the Hidden Imam of Shiite Muslims conquer the world? The question has made the rounds in Iran since last month, when a pro-government Web site published a Hadith (or tradition) from a Shiite text of the 17th century.

By MICHAEL LEDEEN Last week Iran put its own telecommunications satellite into orbit. U.S. officials in the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon were certainly right to warn that this shows that the mullahs have now mastered the technology needed to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. But the terror masters in Tehran believe the satellite has an even greater significance -- another step toward the return of the Shiite messiah, or Mahdi, the long-vanished 12th Imam. Many Iranian leaders believe that the 12th Imam will return in the Last Days, which will be marked by global chaos and conflict,...

(I'reading a fascinating book calledThe Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov. I came across of section I thought Freepers might find interesting. It has to do with the Muslim concept of the "End of Days" and part played in it by Jesus Christ. It is from Chapter 5, pp. 47-48. (P.S. I having to type this in, so please forgive by hunt-and-peck fingers. Hopefully there's not too many typos.) ================================================= "The idea of a Mahdi has fuel Muslim imagination for centuries. There is no mention of it in the Quran itself . But the Phophet Mohammed, according to some nattators,...

What drives Ahmadinejad? Iranian president wants to set stage for appearance of Shiite messiahBy Jonathan Halevi and Ashley Perry Published: 06.17.08, 00:43 Shiite Iran is striving to attain the position of regional superpower en route to becoming a significant nuclear power on the international stage. Iran openly challenges the West in its attempt to eject the Americans and British from Iraq and attain hegemony in the Persian Gulf region, supported among other, by its military program, massively built up in recent years. The Iranian leadership talks of a “New Middle East” in response to the West, which would be an...

[...] Adnan Oktar -- the 52-year-old Turk behind the pseudonym Harun Yahya -- caught the attention of scientists and teachers in Europe and North America by mass-mailing them his 768-page "Atlas of Creation". His lavishly illustrated book preaches a Muslim version of creationism [...] Well-illustrated and free of theological jargon, they preach that Islam is the one true faith and Darwinism, by undermining religious belief, has led to the discord, atheism, terrorism and extreme political ideologies plaguing the world. [...] JESUS RETURNS AS A MUSLIM [...] Oktar says the "Atlas of Creation" campaign and Harun Yahya publishing empire are part...

A sermon last Friday by a prominent Muslim cleric and Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament openly declared that "the capital of the Catholics, or the Crusader capital," would soon be conquered by Islam. The fiery sermon, delivered by Yunis al-Astal and aired on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, predicted that Rome would become "an advanced post for the Islamic conquests, which will spread though Europe in its entirety, and then will turn to the two Americas, even Eastern Europe." "Allah has chosen you for Himself and for His religion," al-Astal preached, "so that you will serve as the engine pulling this...

Farfur may be dead, but his message continues. A week after the children’s program Tomorrow’s Pioneers showed the Mickey Mouse lookalike being beaten to death by an actor portraying an Israeli interrogator, the show was back on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV. The squeaky-voiced mouse was gone, but Friday’s program continued to preach hatred and praise Shahada – death as a martyr for Allah. This week’s messages came from the young viewers, who phoned into the show, expressed their views to the child host, Saraa’ and demonstrated how well they have absorbed the violent lessons of the show and possibly children’s programming....

According to information gleaned from a senior source in the Iranian armed forces joint chief of staff, logistical support for the groups that would participate in the plan comes from Brigadier General Qassim Suleimani of the Revolutionary Guards al Quds Brigades. "Most of Iran's visitors in the last four months, including the heads of Hezbollah cells in the Persian Gulf and Europe and North America were asked, when they met with the Iranian intelligence minister and his aides: Are you ready to defend the Islamic revolution? "If you agree to take part in the great Jihad, what would you need...

This is a Shi'ite Twelver treatise on the Mahdi. Al-Imam al-Mahdi The Just Leader of Humanity by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini Translated by Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina Click for Transliterated Version Contents Translator's Introduction Author's IntroductionChapter 1 The Beginning of the Belief in the Mahdi The Mahdi from among the Descendants of the Prophet The Sunni hadith on the Subject of the Mahdi The Objection Raised by One of the Authors Ibn Khaldun and the Traditions about the Mahdi Other Opinions from Ibn Khaldun The Existence of the Mahdi is Certain People Awaited the Appearance of the Mahdi The Discussion among the...

Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Encouraged by Hizballah's perceived victory in Lebanon, another radical Islamic party may declare an Islamic caliphate in the Gaza Strip on Friday, another step in its effort to see Islam rule the world. The Hizb ut-Tahrir (Liberation Party) advocates replacing all Muslim governments in the world with one Islamic leader who would then declare the establishment of a worldwide Islamic caliphate. Although the move has been described as largely symbolic, it highlights a growing trend among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, analysts say. Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Sunni Islamic movement, has gained popularity with Palestinians since Hizballah...

"Ahmadinejad and his group clearly believe, and I don't doubt the sincerity of their belief, that we are now entering an apocalyptic age, which will result in the triumph of their messianic figure," Lewis said, referring to the twelfth Imam, Mahdi. "Muslims, like Jews, believe that there are things you can do to hasten the messiah. M.A.D doesn't work with these people."

An intelligence source provides preliminary information on the players behind the Najaf battle; al-Qaeda's Omar Brigade appears to have player a role The motivation and prime actors behind the fighting in Najaf remains uncertain one day after the battle ended. As U.S. and Iraq intelligence attempts to sort out the details, media reports indicate a mix of Shi'ite and Sunni fighters were involved in the battle against Iraqi forces, which resulted in upwards of 300 enemy killed in 24 hours of combat. As we noted earlier this morning, it appears both a Shi'ite 'end-times cult' and al_Qaeda in Iraq's Omar...

Iran prepares people for 'messiah miracles' Government broadcasts series on imminent appearance of apocalyptic Islamic 'Mahdi' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: January 27, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com Official Iranian radio has completed broadcasting a lengthy series on the imminent appearance of a messianic figure who will defeat Islam's enemies and impose Islamic Shiite rule over the entire world – even speculating on specific dates the so-called "Mahdi" will be revealed. English-language transcripts of "The World Toward Illumination" programs can be found on the website of IRIB, a public broadcast arm of Tehran. "Be joyous my heart, miracles of the Messiah...

The Iranian who wants an apocalypse by Michael Burleigh The Daily Telegraph05/01/2007         One person we will be hearing much about in 2007 will be Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's the hollow-eyed engineer and town planner (and former Revolutionary Guard) who in 2005 went from being Teheran's answer to Ken Livingstone to President of Iran. He's the fellow stringing along the international community while his scientists try to manufacture a nuclear bomb before America or Israel decides to degrade or destroy key experimental sites. He says appalling things with demented glee in his eyes.According to today's Spectator, Ahmadinejad may actually...

RABAT, Morocco - Little would seem to connect a soldier, a shopkeeper, airline pilots' wives and a woman known for helping people in need. But all have been named as suspects in a purported Islamic terrorist plot, suggesting extremism may be leaping Morocco's class divides. In all, Moroccan authorities arrested 56 people last month for allegedly being part of a network that was planning attacks on military and tourist sites in hopes of bringing down the government of this North African monarchy. Since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and suicide bombings two years later that killed 33...

A striking bit of journalistic malpractice seems to have affected the mainstream media web sites this morning, as news site after news site failed to provide their readers with the transcript of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speech last night to the United Nations. As of noon at ABC News, it is as if Ahmadinejad never spoke, as their was no reference to his address in front of the United Nations on their Web site’s front page, and is notably absent from the headlines of their political section as well. I had to search Google News to find this report on...

Because of Ahmadinejad's goal of ushering in the coming of the Mahdi, I thought for context that these film clips, pointed out on another forum, would be interesting to Freepers for Context. It helps to explain his and other people's mindset. It is from an Islamic point of view, and interestingly refers to 9/11 as a Terrorist attack. http://youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_sort=relevance&search_query=the+end+times+and+the+mahdi&search=Search

Top News Story Iran is preparing operation "Judgment Day?" Yehudit Barsky, InfoIsrael.net reported that little attention has been paid to Tehran's preparations for a possible showdown with America and its allies for a confrontation code-named "Al-Qiyamah," which is Arabic for "Judgment Day."   The head of the IRGC tells forces to “prepare to take revenge” on Israel and the U.S. Or did he speak to soon? Reuters reported that the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said hard-line forces should get ready to take revenge on Israel and the United States for the offensive on Lebanon. The regime later retracted...