Why Iran wants War? - Ahmadinejad & Co. starring in Armageddon

“The Iranian nation will wipe the strain of regret on the foreheads of those who want to bring about injustice”, President Ahmadinejad scorned at a recent rally in the province of Zanjan . Iran “will cut off the hands of any aggressor”, any attack would be met with a response that is double-fold including suicide attacks across Europe and the United States , he warned. “ Israel should be wiped off the map”, the predominately Jewish nation “cannot survive” and is headed “towards extinction” quipped the fanatical President.

If one were to listen to his rhetoric alone, even the most astute political intellectuals would think Iran is a nation equipped with the most dangerous military arsenal capable of challenging any nation. But Iran ’s rhetoric has little to do with their outdated and dismal military, their fledging economy or their detested government. The root of the government’s fiery tone may be traced to their Shi’te ideology messianic belief in a mysterious, mystical twelfth imam who ventured into hiding over a thousand years ago.

The Hidden Imam is a central concept in the teachings of Shi’te Islam. Born Muhammad al-Mahdi he ventured into a cave in 941 AD hidden by a gate called the Gate of Occultation. The doctrine of Occultation professes Allah aided the cloaking of the Imam away from the eyes of man so that he could be kept alive until his return. Shi’tes believe that the Twelfth Imam will return to lead the religious battle between good and evil when the world has become consummately nefarious.

According to Shi’te orthodoxy humans may not force or hasten the return of the Imam, but the Hojjateiehs a group of which Ahmadinejad is a member, opine that humans may stir up chaos to encourage his return. With his recent rhetoric vowing for the destruction of Israel, demanding deportation of the Jews to Europe and denying the Holocaust that the President seems to be doing just that. In fact, his messianic axiom of the Twelfth Imam and the subsequent suppression of the forces of evil [modern day US, UK, Israel and many other nations] is central to Ahmadinejad’s foreign policy. The Iranian government’s official policy has undercut efforts of the international community by rejecting a United Nations deadline to suspend Iran’s nuclear program, threatening to quit the Non-Proliferation Treaty and vying that “nothing can stop Iran’s path to nuclear technology.” In anticipation of a stand off with the West Iran recently clinched agreements with eight different Middle East insurgency groups to carry out suicide attacks against Israeli, British and US interests across the world. Ironically this plan is called ‘Judgment Day.’

During a private meeting with an Iranian cleric in November Ahmadinejad claimed that while giving a speech before the United Nations he felt “the atmosphere change and for 27 to 28 minutes the leaders did not blink” “they were astonished.. it had opened their eyes and ears to the Islamic Republic.” He further said that he felt the hand of God upon him as he delivered his omniscient speech. In his egocentric fantasy world the Iranian President likely sees himself as a deputy of the Imam with a divine mission to encourage his arrival. His references to the Imam in conjunction with threats to wipe countries off the face of earth should be taken seriously. Foreign policy experts should examine the Islamic Republic from both a political and religious perspective. To the clerical regime the return of the Imam is not a mere possibility, but a surety. Their attitude towards the international community seems to point at their preparation for that day.

International concerns aside, there are domestic reasons for the regimes erratic behavior. After 27 years of executions, floggings, stoning, oppression of political dissent, violation of women’s rights, oppression of religious minorities, the largest brain drain in the world, rampant prostitution, crime, drug use and mass unemployment the Islamic Republic is domestically quite loathed. In fact, recent student polls show that close to eighty five percent of the population supports fundamental democratic changes in the regime. Iranian students have consistently poured into the streets in pro-Democracy protests only to be violently suppressed, jailed, tortured and often murdered. But, dictatorships can only oppress for so long and it’s only a matter of time before Iran explodes in a pro-Western democratic revolution. The regime knows that the only way they can leave any kind of legacy is by invoking nationalistic pride by pushing the country into another war and unlike the Iran-Iraq war this time they’re paving the way for the return of the Twelfth Imam.

From challenging the world to enhancing Iran’s nuclear programs every issue is implemented for the arrival of Mahdi. The Islamic Republic is not vying for war because they’re too arrogant to understand they will be crushed. They’re vying for war because they believe Mahdi will return to help them defeat the United States and others who dare stand up to them. Ahamadinejad and Company’s Armageddon may be coming to a theater near you and it’s probably the scariest movie we’ll ever see unless we aggressively invest in the overthrow of the regime before it’s debut appearance.

More Isa info found at Info

As with Christians and Jews, apparently the belief in Jesus depends on the sect or denomination of Muslim belief.

EXCERPT: "....Muslim belief draws more on Old Testament Jewish belief than on Christian influence, though both Jewish synagogues and Christian assemblies existed in Arabia when the Prophet received the angelic revelations which lead him to write the Koran.

"Christians are interested to learn of the high regard Muslims have for Jesus (Isa, in Arabic). Jesus, it is taught, was born of a virgin, without human father, and lived a sinless life. He is given titles of honor bestowed on no other prophet and He is pictured as a wandering preacher who performed miracles and spoke beautiful words. To Him was given a book for His people, the Gospel, but the book was lost (or hopelessly distorted) and Jesus Himself was rejected. His people attempted to crucify Him, but Jesus was saved when someone took His place on the cross or tree and He ascended into heaven, having promised to send a comforter (Muhammad)."

"In Muslim piety many legends surround Jesus. Some Muslims believe that at some time in the distant future He will return to earth and marry. A grave site has been reserved for Him. Others declare that Jesus will judge the world at the end of time--or that He will help Muhammad with his work of judgment. Still another tradition, from the Ahmadiyya Muslims of South Asia, has it that Christ fled Palestine for India, where He gathered many followers, died at a ripe old age, and was buried at Srinagar, where His tomb was recently uncovered." (Fry and King, op. cit.)

A recent study of Muslim beliefs concerning the end time says:

"The Imamite doctrine of the Mahdi at one point merges with the return of Jesus, another prominent figure of Islamic eschatology. The doctrine of the return of Jesus, as described in the Sunnite sources and cited by the Shiite traditionists is explained in a more or less uniform manner."

"He will descend in the Holy Land at a place called Afiq with a spear in his hand; he will kill with it al-Dajjal (the Antichrist of Islamic eschatology) and go to Jerusalem at the time of the morning prayer. The Imam will seek to yield his place to him, but Jesus will refuse and will worship behind him according to the Sharia of Muhammad. Thereafter he will kill the swine, break the cross, and kill all the Christians who do not believe in him. Once al-Dajjal is killed, all the Peoples of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians) will believe in him and will form one single umma of those who submit to the will of God. Jesus will establish the rule of justice and will remain for forty years, after which he will die. His funeral will take place in Medina, where he will be buried beside Muhammad, in a place between Abu Bakr and Umar."

"The Muslim eschatological tradition is unanimous in assigning to both Jesus and the Mahdi a significant role in the doctrine of the qiyama (resurrection). As a matter of fact, many exegetes of the Quran in explaining the verse, "He (Jesus) is surely a knowledge of the Hour" (43:61), state that the descent of Jesus during the rulership of the Mahdi will make the approach of the Hour known. In the development of the eschatological role of the Mahdi in Shiite traditions, much emphasis was laid on the function of the Mahdi as the descendant of Muhammad and the Imam, who will be followed in the prayer by Jesus. The latter point is repeatedly emphasized in the Shiite eschatological tradition. This distinguished the roles of the Mahdi and Jesus, which at times became confusingly alike. On the other hand, some Sunnites, in their polemics against the Shiites, related a tradition attributed to the Prophet: 'There is no Mahdi save Jesus, son of Mary.' This tradition was evidently used to undermine the chiliastic hopes of the Shiites and to minimize the eschatological importance of the Mahdi, which was emphatically maintained by the Shiites. The group who used the above tradition in their polemics argued that while there was no mention of Mahdi in the Ouran, the return of Jesus was well established in the signs of the Hour, and he, not the Mahdi, would kill the Dajjal.

"In the Shiite traditions the function of killing the Dajjal is reserved for al-Mahdi. In a long tradition Ali is reported to have answered a question regarding al-Dajjal, whose features are vividly described thus: He is one-eyed, his eye being in his forehead and shining like the morning star. On his forehead is written: "This is the kafir (non-believer)," which will be legible to both literate and illiterate persons. His emergence will be preceded by a time of great hardship. Then Ali describes the manner in which he will appear on a donkey, and his call will be heard from one end of the earth to the other. He will tell the people that he is their creator and their lord.

"Those who follow him on that day will be the enemies of God, who will be wearing something green on their heads. God will cause them to be killed in Syria at a spot named Afiq, on Friday, three hours after the sunrise, at the hands of the one behind whom Jesus will worship. Beware that his death will be followed by a great event. This great event is the revolution of the twelfth Imam, commencing from the direction of Safa in the precinct of the Keba. Thereafter no repentance will be accepted. Al-Dajjal's role at the End of Time is almost identical with that of Satan, as explained in traditional sources, because he will tempt people by bringing food and water, which will be scarce at that time. The Prophet is reported to have said that since the time of Noah there has been no umma on earth who did not fear al-Dajjal and his temptations; every prophet has warned his community against this tempter. The episode of al-Dajjal's emergence, at the time of the zuhur, has been interpreted as a test for sifting the true believers of God from the false ones," (From Abdulazziz Abdulhussein Sachedina in his book, Islamic Messanism, State University of New York Press, Albany, New York, 1981).

In their book The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, Jane Idleman Smith and Yvonne Yaybeck Haddad, State University Press of Albany, New York (1981) quote from an earlier work, The Religion of Islam, by Ahmad Galwash:

"It has been well known (and generally accepted) by all Muslims in every epoch, that at the end of time a man from the family (of the Prophet) will without fail make his appearance, one who will strengthen the religion and make justice triumph. The Muslims will follow him, and he will gain domination over the Muslim realm. He will be called the Mahdi. Following him, the Antichrist will appear, together with all the subsequent signs of the Hour (the Day of Judgment), as established in (the sound tradition) the Sahih. After (the Mahdi), Isa (Jesus) will descend and kill the Antichrist; or, Jesus will descend together with the Mahdi, and help him kill (the Antichrist), and have him as the leader in his prayers."

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