Free Republic

TEHRAN (Reuters) - His call for the destruction of Israel may have grabbed headlines abroad, but it is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's devotion to a mystical religious figure that is arousing greater interest inside Iran. In a keynote speech on Wednesday to senior clerics, Ahmadinejad spoke of his strong belief in the second coming of Shi'ite Muslims' "hidden" 12th Imam. According to Shi'ite Muslim teaching, Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th leader whom Shi'ites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed, disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic justice. "Our revolution's main mission is...

By Ahmad For 10 years, July 9 has been a symbol of student resistance and defiance, the anniversary of a student uprising that shook Iran. Following the events of the last couple of weeks, everyone knew that there would be demonstrations and the most likely a ruthless crackdown. I had been contacted by several friends and each person recommended gathering in a different part of Tehran. Overall nearly 10 different squares had been designated as places to protest and from 4 p.m. people started gathering in groups. The aim was to disperse the guards, police, plainclothes militias, and Basijis so...

Hojjatieh is a semi-clandestine Iranian organization which is radically anti-Bahá'í and anti-Sunni. The group flourished during the 1979 revolution that ousted the Shah and installed an Islamic government in his place. However it was banned in 1983 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the revolution. They believe that chaos must be created to hasten the return of the Mahdi, the 12th Shi'ite Imam. Only then, they argue, can a genuine Islamic republic be established. The current president of Iran Mahmud Ahmadinejad is rumored to be an advocate of this group through the influence of his mentor, the Ayatollah Mesbah...

The Role of Hidden Imam in the history and the politics of the Islamic republic of Iran. The notion of the Hidden Imam (Islamic Messiah) has a central role in the Islamic Shiite thoughts. There are countless references to the Hidden Imam in the Shiite books. However, following the victory of the so-called Islamic Revolution in Iran (or as some people say: the hijacking of the Iranian revolution by the Mullahs), in 1979, the references to the Hidden Imam has gained a new importance. The main reason is that the power and wealth of an important oil-exporting contrary, with a...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The man in charge of hoodwinking the Western powers about Iran's now 18-year-old secret nuclear program believes the apocalypse will happen in his own lifetime. He'll be 50 in October. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Shiite creed has convinced him lesser mortals can not only influence, but also hasten the awaited return of the 12th imam known as the Mahdi. Iran's dominant "Twelver" sect holds this will be Mohammed ibn Hasan, the righteous descendant of the Prophet Mohammad. He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the 9th century, at the age of five....