Sound Familiar? Understanding Islamic End-Times beliefs (Similiarities to "Left Behind" Series)

National Review Online ^ | 2/28/2003 | Rod Dreher

[Pyro7480]

February 28, 2003 9:00 a.m.
Sound Familiar?
Understanding Islamic End-Times beliefs.

any Evangelical Christians in America are watching events unfold in the Middle East with great interest, seeing in the preparations for war the possible unfolding of the End-Times scenario predicted in the Bible. A small segment of ultraorthodox Judaism shares an apocalyptic vision, centering around rebuilding the Temple on Mount Zion (where the Islamic Dome of the Rock Shrine and al-Aqsa mosque, now sit). What many Americans don't realize, though, is that Islam also has an eschatological endgame, and that like any Left Behind-reading American, many Muslims see current events as a run-up to their own version of Armageddon.

Islam derives its Last-Days scenario from the Koran, which appeared centuries after the Christian Bible — a fact that for non-Muslims could account for elements of Christian and Jewish prophecy appearing in the Koranic text. Particularly since the mid-1980s, modern interpreters within Islam cast the Arab-Israeli conflict, and more broadly, the conflict between Islam and the West, as part of the cosmic conflict that will mean the end of history and the ultimate triumph of Islam. David Cook, a Rice University scholar of Muslim apocalypticism, sketches below the main themes of Islamic End-Times prophecy, and its ramifications:

Rod Dreher: What are the main beliefs of Islamic eschatology?

David Cook: Referring to Sunni Islam, the principal beliefs are:
1)There are a series of signs or portents previous to the end: moral and social decay, natural and cosmic disasters, and political events that will demonstrate in an incontrovertible manner that the end is about to happen.
2) A tempter, or Antichrist, called the Dajjal will appear and lead the world (with the exception of true Muslims) astray. Almost everyone will be subject to his tribulations, but just before he succeeds in annihilating the Muslims, Jesus will come down from the heavens and kill him.
3) There will be a messianic age, led by either Jesus or another messianic figure called the Mahdi. This latter figure will conquer the entire world and convert everyone to Islam.
4) After the time of the Mahdi, then Gog and Magog [cf. Ezekiel 38, 39; the Islamic version goes by the name Yajuj and Majuj] will invade the world and destroy it.
5) God will bring the world to an end.

Dreher: What sort of Muslim tends to make Islamic End-Times prophecy central to his piety?

Cook: Usually one without much hope in the likelihood that there will be positive changes that will benefit Islam in the immediate future. Such people can oftentimes be attracted by an apocalyptic, destroy-it-all framework or long for the messianic age.

Dreher: How popular is apocalypticism at the present moment among Middle Eastern Muslims?

Cook: In certain areas, quite popular. Radical Muslims (followers of or sympathizers with al Qaeda) have responded to their setbacks during the recent past by publishing large numbers of apocalypses, and mahdi scenarios. Among Palestinians, apocalyptic speculations are also quite prominent. I think that apocalypse as a genre has become less popular in Egypt than it was 3-4 years ago, however, and Algerian radicals no longer use apocalyptic motifs either.

Dreher: If one is reading current events through the lens of contemporary Islamic prophecy, what will one see?

Cook: Many of the apocalyptic wars before the appearance of the Dajjal speak of Christian powers invading Muslim lands. This is the interpretation of the [seemingly imminent] Iraq war. The Dajjal is said to be a Jew, and will blaspheme the area of Jerusalem. Ariel Sharon is usually made to fit that bill. Among radical Muslims, the Mahdi is oftentimes said to be either Mullah Omar or in some cases Osama bin Laden. One of the traditions says: "The Prophet of Allah promised us a raid on India" which is widely cited by Pakistani radicals.

Dreher: Given the central role the Temple Mount plays in the End-Times beliefs of certain fervent Jews, Christians, and Muslims, what kind of trouble might we see there in the event of Middle Eastern war?

Cook: Right now the Temple Mount is effectively closed. It will probably always be the center of scary predictions and fears for Muslims as long as Israel has any power or influence in the region, but I don't foresee any necessary reason why the Temple Mount should be a focus. Most of the material published now speaks of wars and apocalypses on a grand scale; the materials on the Temple Mount were all because of the fear that Israel would rebuild the Temple in the year 2000 (perhaps contributing to the explosion of the second Intifada during Sept. 2000).

Dreher: In the secular West, we tend to discount the role religious visions play in driving or at least shaping world affairs. If you were advising the president on what he could do to avoid provoking unnecessarily Muslims who believe strongly in Islamic prophecy, what would you tell him?

Cook: I would tell him to convert to Islam if I were trying to get him to avoid provoking Muslims who believe strongly in Islamic prophecy. There is probably no other way to avoid provoking them. For them, Bush is easily cast into the role of Pharaoh, the Dajjal (for those who aren't satisfied with Sharon as the one). He is usually referred to as the Hubal (the name of a pre-Islamic idol) of this age, which signifies that there is no chance to mollify this type of people.

Dreher: It doesn't matter whether or not a particular prophetic vision is true; what matters is how it affects the actions of those who do believe it's true. With that in mind, what kind of problems could Islamic apocalypticism pose for the United States as it attempts to foment governmental and society change on Middle Eastern populations through force?

Cook: The basic problem is that our actions could, in the perception of large numbers of the population, coincide with apocalyptic interpretations. If this is the case then it will serve to radicalize people, and raise the stakes that much higher for the apocalyptic groups. If they view the situation (or perhaps I should say if enough of them, or enough of those placed in the right place) as an apocalyptic one, then they will respond accordingly.

Dreher: I guess what I'm getting at with this last question is this: How cooperative will Islamic populations be with the forces of a man, George W. Bush, whom they may see as their version of the Antichrist?

Cook: It depends upon the issue of perceived victory, I think. No one challenges the victory of the U.S. in Afghanistan because it was complete (more or less) and legitimate (or perhaps legitimized by the new Afghan government). If that is perceived to be the case in Iraq, then the result could be exactly the opposite. What should not happen is for something to drag out; in hindsight that was the problem with both the Oslo negotiations and the blockade of Iraq. They were lengthy and people forgot the original reasons why they were the way they were, and then allowed themselves to be swayed by radical and apocalyptic interpretations of events.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: For a more detailed description of Islamic eschatalogy, see this article by Cook, who is affiliated with Boston University's Center for Millenial Studies.

[Pyro7480]

I know this may generate a lot of discussion!

[Dajjal]

This is the most important article I've seen in the major media in the last 18 months!

Please also check out this thread, especially from post #17 on down.

This is what you haven't been told yet about 9/11, the war in Afghanistan, and the coming war in Iraq.

They believe that the Signs of Qiyamah are being fulfilled, and that Judgment Day is approaching soon.

To them, that means that the Mahdi will appear and kill everyone who does not follow Islam. We are just now seeing the beginning of this.

Here's another thread.

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[Sabertooth]

 
Eclipses during Ramadan
by David L. McNaughton
In "Hamdard Islamicus" (Karachi, Pakistan), vol. XIX no. 1 (Spring 1996): pp. 81-86.

Double Eclipses during Ramadan

Sometimes a Ramadan will contain a solar and a lunar eclipse. That inevitably provokes comment, because of traditions that such a "double-eclipse" is a portent for some unusual event. Ithna'asheri Shi'ites, for example, believe that their Twelfth Imam will reappear after a Ramadan double-eclipse (although those two phenomena will supposedly take place in reverse order, with the solar one occurring in mid-month (5); that will require the moon to suddenly double its speed of movement after the onset of the Holy Month!)

In March/April 1894 (Ramadan 1311), Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (founder of the Ahmadiyya or Qadiani movement in Pakistan) interpreted a double-eclipse as a sign that he was a genuine modern-day prophet (6). The lunar eclipse during that particular month was only partial, although the solar one two weeks later was total in a few places in eastern Asia (7). However, there was nothing at all extraordinary about those two eclipses: every 22 or 23 Islamic years there is at least one Ramadan featuring a pair of eclipses two weeks apart (8) - one of which is usually partial; see Table 1.

Very much rarer is a Ramadan containing two total eclipses.

Table 2 lists all such occasions since AH 1, as well as during the next 200 years (9); (its solar eclipses are all central, with annular ones also included).

It will be interesting to see whether the two total eclipses scheduled to occur during Ramadan 1424 (AD November 2003) - are cited to support a claim similar to that made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, or as proof of thesignificance of some extraordinary event.

< -snip- >

Table 2

Ramadans with two central eclipses

LUNAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SOLAR

AH . . AD . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . Where visible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . .Where visible

.283 . .896 . . . . . . . ..29 Oct . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 12 Nov . Canada; Alaska;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(25 Oct) . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(8 Nov) . NE Pacific

.305 . .918 . . . . . . . . .5 Mar . . Eurasia; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mar . .Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Feb) .NE Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (15 Mar) . .Indian Ocean

.462 . 1070 . . . . . . . . .2 Jul . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Jul . . .Arctic; Siberia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(26 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(10 Jul)

.529 . 1135 . . . . . . . . . 4 Jul . . .America; Pacific; . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Jul . . .Antarctic; far
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (27 Jun) . New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(12 Jul) . . .south Pacific

.596 . 1200 . . . . . . . . . 5 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . *19 Jul . Siberia; Arctic;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (12 Jul) . . NW Atlantic

1200 . 1786 . . . . . . . . .11 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 25 Jul . . South Africa &
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adjacent oceans

1424 .2003. . . . . . . . .9 Nov. . .Europe; SW Asia; . . . . . . . . . .23 Nov . Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Africa; America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indian Ocean

1580 . 2155 . . . . . . . . .9 Mar . . Europe; Africa; . . . . . . . . . . . . .*2 Apr . .China; Russia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kashmir; Mongolia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .Afghanistan

Notes for Table 2

Central lunar eclipses are always total.

*The central solar eclipses listed above are total unless asterisked - in which case they are annular.

Dates apply to the instant of maximum eclipse.

Extrapolated Gregorian dates are given even on occasions when the old Julian calendar was in operation;
the corresponding Julian date is then shown below in brackets.

A Google search on ramadan mahdi eclipse yielded 133 results.

A Google search on ramadan mehdi eclipse (alternate "mahdi" spelling) yielded 58 results.

Related FR threads…

Imam Al-Mahdi... The Extension of the Imamate
			Posted by on 11/16/2001 1:13 PM PST with 40 comments Shianews.com ^ | October 31, 2001 | Walhamdo Lillahe Rabbil Aalameen In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Merciful. Peace and Blessings be on our Master Muhammad, his progeny, and his chosen companions and all of Allah’s messengers. Allah says in His Glorious Book: "Allah's wish is but to remove uncleanness far from you, O Members of the Household, and cleanse you with a through cleansing". One of those Members and one of the Infallible Imams is Imam Al-Mahdi whom Allah has prepared to fill the earth with justice, by means of Islam, having been filled with oppression, falsehood and unbelief. We celebrate the birth of this Imam who ...
BLACK FLAGS of Islam -- Portents of the Imam al-Mahdi?
			Posted by on 10/28/2001 3:58 PM PST with 137 comments Various | 10/28/2001 | Sabertooth, others      Black Flags of Islam   Portents of the Imam al-Mahdi, the Moslems' prophesied deliverer of Jerusalem? from Diane Alden… Afghanistan has special significance to the world of militant Islam. It was once called Khurasan, along with parts of Iran and Pakistan. Muhammad said: "If you see the black flags coming from Khurasan, join that army, even if you have to crawl over ice, for that is the army of the Imam al-Mahdi and no one can stop that army until it reaches Jerusalem." That is one reason Osama bin Laden chose it as his base, or al-Qaida. Mohammed's ...
Mohammed's Prophecies of the Imam Mahdi
			Posted by on 10/25/2001 10:49 AM PDT with 67 comments 10 - 25 - 2001 | Sabertooth I'm looking for information concerning Mohammed's Prophecies of the Imam Mahdi. Particularly where they might shed light on Osama bin Laden's strategies behind the Terror attacks of 9/11. Specific quotes and sources appreciated.

[Pyro7480]

I wondered where you got that interesting name. It seemed Arabic to me. Now I know. :-) It's interesting, since I took a class on the history of radical Islam, starting with an introduction to Islamic belief and the ideologues of the 19th century, and I didn't hear much about the Muslim vision of the End Times. I knew about the "12th Imam" in the Shi'ite tradition, but didn't know much about Sunni thought on the subject. These articles were really enlightening.

[Dajjal]

I wondered where you got that interesting name. It seemed Arabic to me. Now I know. :-)

I am Dajjal, you are Dajjal, we are all Dajjal. Goo goo g'joob.

One thing David Cook doesn't say here (but does elsewhere) is that up until 1980, imams faithfully passed along the traditional teaching about the Dajjal and the Mahdi from one generation to the next.

Then, around 1980, they discovered the allegorical interpretation of scripture, and began preaching that the Dajjal did not have to be a powerful, one-eyed Jewish leader -- he could be a symbol for a nation or nations (the US, European Union, NATO, etc.) or a symbol representing the entire Western culture (Coca Cola, MTV, MasterCard, etc.)

The Hadith predict that this Dajjal is going to try to take over the world. The Imams started to identify that with MacDonalds and Starbucks opening everywhere, and with IMF loans and WHO doctors.

The Dajjal is supposed to win over practically everybody either through seducing them with economic prosperity (foreign investments) and pleasure (Hollywood films) or military pressure (Gulf War I, Kosovo).

My POV is that they are completely mistaken. The world is not coming to an end, nobody's prophecies are being fulfilled. 'Isa is not going to come down and fight at the side of the Mahdi and kill all the Trinitarians and level all the churches.

My attitude with the nickname is a punkish "Yeah, right, Einstein, I'm really the Dajjal."

It's interesting, since I took a class on the history of radical Islam, starting with an introduction to Islamic belief and the ideologues of the 19th century, and I didn't hear much about the Muslim vision of the End Times. I knew about the "12th Imam" in the Shi'ite tradition, but didn't know much about Sunni thought on the subject. These articles were really enlightening.

The Shi'ites identify the Mahdi as their "hidden 12th Imam" (who would be about 1100 years old by now). The Sunnis see it as a restored Caliphate. Sufis see him as a preacher who will not kill literally, but will "kill" the heretical and materialistic mentality of the world population through his powerful preaching.The millennial fanaticism started with the Shi'ites and Sufis, and has spilt over to the Shi'ites.

David Cook says that millennial books make the best-seller's lists in the Middle East.

But let me emphasize that not every millennialist takes that extra step into terrorism, and that there surely are terrorists who are in the political / economic / societal mode.

[Dajjal]

Corrigendum: The millennial fanaticism started with the Shi'ites and Sufis, and has spilt over to the Shi'ites.

Should be: ... and has spilt over to the Sunnis.

[Pyro7480]

Check out the Corner on National Review Online! Rod Dreher does a great follow-up to his "Dajjal" article (it was posted on Sunday). Here's what it says.

MORE ON THE DAJJAL [Rod Dreher]

I heard from a kind reader who was grateful to read the interview I did with Prof. David Cook, on the subject of Islamic apocalypticism. The reader believes Americans won't really grasp what kind of enemy we face until we become conversant with concepts like the "Dajjal" (Islam's version of the Antichrist), and how fervent belief in this vision of the End drives those who hate the West the most. He sent along a couple of interesting links, from Free Republic, for those who want more information (try here and here).

One the second thread, which is a discussion of my Islamic prophecy interview, I found a fascinating link to an article about eclipses during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Apparently eclipses during Ramadan are interpreted by many of the Muslim faithful as significant. Two total eclipses during Ramadan is a very rare phenomenon. The last time it happened was 200 or so years ago. It's going to happen again this November. There is speculation that pious Muslims may view this phenomenon as a sign from heaven that Something Major Is Going to Happen.

Remember, folks, it doesn't immediately matter whether these people are right or wrong about the way history is going to unfold. We have to pay attention to this stuff, because somewhere, there are Islamic zealots now plotting their own violent role in what they see as the apocalyptic drama, in which the forces of Islam clash for the final time with the forces of the Dajjal (that is, non-Muslims).