As mentioned in a post several days ago (see below: "Converging Events" commentary) many Muslims believe that their messiah, the Mahdi is returning soon to institute world-wide Islam. Iran's leadership very much believes this, and one of the main reasons that M. Ahmadinejad is in the position of President is because he shares these views. Also as mentioned, they hold the belief that the Mahdi will come at a time of major conflict in the Middle-East.
A interesting article just came out in "Al Arabiya News" which confirms this.
Muslims must unite for Islam's savior: Iran. Spokesman says Iran's supreme leader represents Mahdi"
In this article we see these quotes:
"The spokesman of Iran's Supreme Leader called on neighboring countries to mobilize their forces in preparation for the coming of the savior of Islam and to unite with the Islamic Republic in paving the way for his arrival, an Iranian news agency reported Sunday."
"'We have to train honest forces that can stop the obstacles that may hinder the coming of the Mahdi like the United States and Israel," Saeedi said in a statement posted by the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA). "
"Saeedi also said that the supreme leader of Iran is the direct representative of the Mahdi and that obeying him is like obeying the "guided one", who is the prophesized savior of Islam."
"Since the armed forces are commanded by the Supreme Leader, they are thus obeying the orders of the awaited Mahdi...the Revolutionary Guards and the armed forces in Iran hold religious authority to prepare for the appearance of the Mahdi."
Basically, Ahmadinejad sees himself as the person responsible for setting the stage for the Mahdi. He apparently believes that the US and Israel needs to be destroyed first OR there must be an ongoing conflict that will trigger or prompt the Mahdi to come resolve the situation and then set up Islam rule world-wide.
Many of us believe that it is quite possible that when the antichrist comes to power, he will be seen as this Mahdi by the Islamic community. The parallels are striking.
Oh, and did I mention that Ahmadinejad is trying to develop nuclear weapons capability, and is within months doing so?
Once again, we see converging events.
That is a very interesting article Scott. The calling for all Muslim countries to prepare for the coming is a new thing I think? In any case it shows that they think he will be on the scene very soon. Thanks for pointing out this article.
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I agree Kem, this marks a significant escalation...And we are seeing more and more of this kind of rhetoric. In addition, we just saw Ahmadinejad preparing the way, literally and figuratively for the Mahdi. Interesting times....
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