Posted on 01/25/2006 12:16:35 PM PST by Dark Skies
At the end of his speech at the United Nations in the fall of 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an invocation to Allah to bring about the speedy reappearance of the Hidden Imam.
The media and, sad to say, many academic persons were at a loss to explain this eschatological reference. The situation was complicated by later interviews in which Ahmadinejad reported that many of his co-religionists claimed that while he was making those remarks, they could see about him an aura of light. He recalled that he too was aware of a celestial light at that time. He also pointed to the fact that the “leaders of the world” were watching him at that time with a fixed gaze, apparently unable to look away.
The immediate question: who is this Hidden Imam to whom he referred?
The American media, whose talking heads appear so authoritative on every subject, had no immediate answer. Many of these same pundits watched in February, 1979, as over two million lined the road leading from Mehrebad airport into Tehran during the return of the Ayatollah Khomeini, chanting “al-Muntazar.”
Khomeini immediately explained in a series of speeches that he was not al-Muntazar, one of the designations of the Hidden Imam, but that he had come to prepare the way for his appearance. In fact, Article Five of the constitution for the Islamic Republic of Iran, promulgated that same year, 1979, proclaimed that the basis for the constitution and its government was the authority of the Hidden Imam.
Moreover, the constitution promised that it would dissolve in his favor, following the Hidden Imam’s re-appearance.
The IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) is, in actuality, an eschatological construct based on a messianic figure known as the Hidden Imam. With the ongoing pronouncements about the destruction of Israel and the war against the United States, all in the name of the Hidden Imam, it suddenly seems more important to know something about this whole concept.
To begin our overview of the theology behind the Hidden Imam, we have to recognize that the umma, the worldwide body of Muslims, is divided into two main sects, the Sunni and the Shi’a. The roots of this division go back to the period directly following the death of Muhammad and the conflict over who should be his successor, or caliph. The Sunni basically accept all the caliphs who have ruled as legitimate, no matter their genealogy, how they achieved the office, or how good a Muslim they were.
The Shi’a differ. They posit that the true successor to Muhammad has to be a descendant of the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, an enormously important figure known to all Muslims, Ali. As a result, they are called the shiatu-Ali, or the “party of Ali.”
To complicate things further, the Shi’a are further subdivided into three main groups.
These three groups are known by the number of Imams they accept. In the case of the Shi’a, the word for the designated prayer leader—imam with a lower case “i”— is also used to designate the descendants of Ali who were legitimate successors to Muhammad. Of course these select successors are marked with the capital letter: Imams.
This, the group of Shi’a which accepts four Imams is called the “Fourers” or “Zaydis” after the fourth Imam in their listing. The “Seveners” or “Ismailis” are known as such for the same reason. The “Twelvers” are the group which constitutes over 90% of the population of Iran and around 60% of the population of Iraq.
Now unlike the Sunni caliph, the Shi’a Imam inherited from Muhammad not just his civil rule over the umma but also his prerogative of interpreting the Quran, his infallibility, and his sinlessness (that connotation of impeccability seems far lost today). The eleventh Imam, al-Hassan al-Askari, died in 874. He was succeeded by the twelfth Imam, the youthful Muhammad, who “disappeared” in 274/878 in the cave of the great mosque at Samarra without leaving progeny.
He is now known as the “expected one,” (al-Muntazar), the “promised one” (al-Mahdi”), or the “hidden one,” (al-Mustatir). The theology of the Hidden Imam is that Allah realized at last that the rightful successor to Muhammad was not going to be accepted by Islam at large so he had to be taken into hiding and kept there until he would re-appear to purify the umma and take the world for Islam.
The period of the Twelfth Imam’s hiding was in two parts. The period from 878 until 941 would be known as the “Lesser Occultation,” a time when the Hidden Imam was still active in this earthly realm, communicating by messengers. The Great Occultation began in 941, when all contact with the world was broken off. This date has been misinterpreted by some authors as the date of his disappearance. The Great Occultation continues to present and will end when he re-appears.
Media commentators and a great many academics mostly are not people of faith. For such intellectuals, the operational worldview of a people who believe in a messiah-like Mahdi, to the point that they are willing to base their government on that belief, is utterly alien and incomprehensible. Accordingly, the “experts” have little to say to the non-expert public about the characteristics and implications of a government predicated on such beliefs.
Today, the incumbent leader of a modern nation-state is making warlike and virulently anti-Semitic pronouncements with almost no knowledgeable comment from the visible pool of experts in the mass media.
When Hitler wrote of his intentions, the leaders of the Europe at that time could not comprehend someone saying and meaning the things he said. Our leaders at present seem similarly stultified in their thinking.
I suggest that we have to take Ahmadinejad seriously. I believe that he means what he says, and if given the opportunity will try to carry out his murderous plans. I furthermore suggest that we need to look around for the moral courage (the ability to make a stand on principle) to censure and punish those who call for the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel.
Have we no memory? Have we no courage?
They're editorials. They take time to write and seem to dribble in for quite a while after the intial reports.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1533723/posts
The first one I believe is posted here.
It's ancient. That's why I provided the link. Did you read it?
Why is it being talked about now?
Because an insane man who holds the lives of almost 70 million Iranians in his hands (not to mention his unfortunate neighbours) has drawn attention to a certain aspect of the death cult he follows. That's why.
Be prepared for more. The West is gradually, painfully slowly waking up to what its dealing with. Most people would prefer not to know.
Are you one of them?
See my tagline.
MIchael Jackson?
---------------------------
"Michael Jackson?"
Plausible, considering Mohammed's proclivities. Entirely plausible.
I've been getting the same thoughts, what was with the "glowing aura" and the world leaders unable to take their eyes off of him? This guy is a nut job and unfortunately he's a nut job with goals, the destruction of Israel and the United States.
the twelfth Imam, the youthful Muhammad, who “disappeared” in 274/878 in the cave of the great mosque at Samarra without leaving progeny.
Actually he converted to Judaism then discovered Jesus
and moved to Waco, Texas where Janet Reno and the Clinton's had him incinerated.
Okay.
1. Ahmadinejad is not alone in expecting the Mahdi. The Muslim world -- Sunni, Shi'ite & the smaller sects -- have been FLOODED FOR DECADES with propaganda that the "Signs of Qiyamah" are unfolding (the signs of the End Times as fortold in the Hadith).
2. The Mahdi is not just an expected great Muslim leader. He is foretold in the Hadith to be predestined TO KILL a whole bunch of people -- in battle -- and then to convert the survivors, WORLD-WIDE.
3. Since imams have been preaching that there is NO FUTURE because the "Signs of Qiyamah" are all around, it "makes sense" that some members of their audience strap on dynamite belts. If there is NO FUTURE, why not beat the rush for Judgment Day and make a beeline for Paradise right now by becoming a martyr?
4. It is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS if someone with that mentality gets his hands on a nuclear arsenal.
5. The imams have also been preaching that if/when there is a nuclear exchange, Allah will suspend the laws of physics so that ONLY INFIDELS will be killed by the nuclear blasts and the radiation fallout. They are even saying that Muslim real estate like the Dome of the Rock will be untouched by the blast. The "Mahdi" can nuke Jerusalem in the morning, and move into a home there in the afternoon.
See here for more information on Muslim End-Time beliefs.
The just give a smattering of data: Skyscrapers are a "Sign of Qiyamah" that these are the "Last Days." The telephone is another. Airplanes are another. The imams don't need to decipher obscure sayings. Mohammed said that when Judgment Day draws near, the sons of goatherds would compete to build taller and taller buildings, and that "a brother in the West will speak to a brother in the East," and that men would be able to touch the clouds. There are hundreds of predictions like these.
Just thought of another: one Sign of Qiyamah is that fire would fall from the sky upon Baghdad. So since the Gulf War, imams have been checking it on their list of End Time prophecies.
Dr. Swalis is definitely on the right track, but he's about where I was on Sept. 30, 2001 -- so I'm not that impressed. His analysis of Khomeini's revolution and the divisions in Shi's is a good place to start, but he still needs to find out what the Sunnis have been saying, and how millennialism has played into the Palestinian conflict, the Sadat assassination, Al Qaeda, and a whole lot more.
The Sudan is also a good place to begin your research, but people need a WHOLE LOT more info.
See my FR homepage and the LINKS page.
The sad thing is that this should have been front-page news on 9-12-01 and it's taken over four years to slowly start leaking into the press.
Good link. Thanks!
I agree with Dr. Swalis that our "experts" are failing us by not providing us with the needed intelligence that our Islamic enemies are operating under a belief that these are the End Times. We seem to be treating Al Qaeda, Saddam Hussein, the PLO, etc. as if they have merely geo-political disagreements with us.
Is there some way in which Twelver doctrine translates into war, with Israel in particular or infidels in general, that is distinct from current run-of-the-mill Islamic nuttiness?
It directly translates into Global War. The Mahdi is "predestined" to kill the Dajjal and his associates. The imams have been interpretting the Hadith that either 1) the Dajjal is a metaphor personifying Western Civilization and Western Culture and everyone who belongs to or identifies with the West -- or 2) that the West will be the base of power of the Dajjal, and everyone who contributes to the power of the US and her allies is de facto a collaborator with the Dajjal.
The Mahdi and his army will kill the Dajjal and his associates, and convert anyone left to Islam. Then he will govern a world-wide Islamic Utopia for an era untill Allah wraps it all up on Judgment Day.
When a Muslim says the word Mahdi, the inference is that everyone else on the planet will either convert or die.
Or, operationally if not theologically, is this guy pretty much indistinguishable from Bin Laden, etc.?
For Shi'ites, the Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam, returning after centuries of hiding. For Sunnis, the Mahdi will be the restorer of the Caliphate -- this time world-wide. Bin Laden has always been talking about the restoration of the Caliphate. He drops numerous other hints about the End Times. But OBL also often talks in terms of more "secular" geopolitics and economics.
I cannot say who particularly believes what, but I can say that for decades the Muslim world has deluged with discussion of this topic. Go do a google search on mahdi mehdi / dajjal dajjaal / qiyama qiyamah qiyamat and see what you find.
Very good and looks like the first analysis of this Amendinjad and his "Hidden Imam" doctines
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=20065
He suffers from the delusion that his messiah will not come until the world is engulfed in chaos. He further believes that he can hasten the "return" by creating chaos. That is what makes him so dangerous.
I have been sifting the sands for anything that might push the argument forward but the pickings have been slim.
This was funded by a $70 million donation to the shrine near the Jamkaran well into which the 12th Imam youngster disappeared 1300 years ago..
Before the appearance of the one who will rise, peace be upon him, the people will be reprimanded for their acts of disobedience by a fire that will appear in the sky and a redness that will cover the sky. It will swallow up Baghdad, and will swallow up Kufa. Their blood will be shed and houses destroyed. Death will occur amid their people and a fear will come over the people of Iraq from which they shall have no rest."Sounds like a prophecy that the Iranian Mullahs may intend to fulfill -- with some nukes
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.