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What We Need To Know About Iran And The Islamic State
Adherents of Radical Islam . . . such as al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hamas, etc., use violent acts hoping to drive the US, Israel and other “infidels” out of what they regard as their holy lands. Adherents of apocalyptic Islam seek to use genocide to annihilate all infidels and establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate.
For the first time in human history, the leaders of two nation states are being driven by eschatology. The rulers of the Islamic Republic Iran are consumed by ancient Islamic prophecies that predict the end of the world as we know it, as are the rulers of the Islamic State (IS). The former are Shi’ite; the latter are Sunni.
Yet, both believe their messiah – known as the (al-)Mahdi, and as the “Twelfth Imam” or the “Hidden Imam” to the Shi’ites – will appear on Earth at any moment. Both Islamic sects believe he will usher in the End of Days, and are equally determined to hasten his arrival. Yet, each has very different strategies for getting there.
Before his demise, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, past leader of the Islamic State, believed his mission was to immediately build the caliphate I’m the Levant (.Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Libya, portions of Turkey and Egypt, and Palestinian-controlled territories) and slaughter all who refuse to convert to Islam. He wanted to draw the Western powers (“the forces of Rome”) into an apocalyptic battle in the Syrian town of Davis, because that’s where he believed Islamic prophecy promised a great victory. He then believed al-Mahdi would arrive to expand the caliphate’s reach around the world.
‘Rush, O Muslims, to your state,” al-Baghdadi proclaimed in a July 2014 audio recording. “It is your State. Syria is not for Syrians and Iraq is not for Iraqis.
“The land is for the Muslims, all Muslims . . . this is my advice to you. If you hold on to it you will conquer Rome and own the world, if Allāh wills.”
By contrast, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his close advisors believe the priority is not building the caliphate but rather building the infrastructure to create an arsenal of nuclear weapons. When they are ready to commit genocide on an epic scale – annihilating America and Israel – then they can turn their attention to the establishment of the Islamic kingdom and al-Mahdi will come.
“The Hidden Imam has no tangible presence among us, but . . . we must prepare the ground for his speedy appearance,” past Iranian president Mahmood Ahmadinejad, then a senior advisor to Khamenei, said in 2006. “[He will not appear] if we sit idly.”
“The coming of Imam Zaman (the Mahdi) is the definite promise by Allah,” Khamenei declared in 2014. “The caravan of humanity from the day of creation has been moving . . . to the time of the coming Imam Mahdi . . . I can tell you with utmost confidence: The promise of Allah for the coming [of the Mahdi] and the establishment of a new Islamic civilization is on its way.”
“The slogans of the Iranian nation on Al-Qods [Jerusalem] Day show what its position is,” Khamenei then insisted in the summer of 2015, just after the nuclear deal was announced. “The slogans ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America’ have resounded throughout the country.
“Even after this deal, our policy towards the arrogant US will not change.”
Apocalyptic thinking is rampant in the Muslim world. According to a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center, “in moat countries in the Middle East and North America, South Asia and Southeast Asia, more than half or more of Muslims believe they will live to see the return of the Mahdi.” In a world of nearly two billion Muslims, this means that upwards of one billion Muslims believe the end is near.
In Egypt, 42 percent of Muslims believe this. In Jordan, the number is 43 percent. Among Palestinians, the number is 48 percent. In Turkey, it’s 70 percent. In Iraq, it’s 74 percent. And, in Afghanistan, the number is a staggering 85 percent.
Likewise, millions of Muslims believe that Jesus is coming back to Earth. They don’t believe Jesus is the messiah or the Son of God, as. Christians do. Rather, they believe Jesus is the Mahdi’s deputy who will force all infidels to convert to Islam or be slaughtered.
The Pew survey found 29 percent of Jordanian Muslims believe Jesus is coming back to Earth. In Egypt, it’s 40 percent. Among Palestinians, the number is 47 percent. In Iraq, the number is as high as 65 percent.
Not every Muslim who believes in Islamic eschatology wants to see – much less participate in – genocidal wars to fulfill their favorite prophecies. But, the leaders of Iran and the Islamic State do. That’s what makes them so dangerous.
In recent years, I’ve written numerous articles and given presentations in an effort to help others to understand Islam as well as to become aware of such Islamic apocalyptic thinking. A website has also been established, DiscerningIslam.com, seeking to remove the mystery that surrounds Islam, including that of “radical Islam” and it’s atrocities.
Yet, as far as I can tell, very few show any real interest or understanding of the gravity of what lies before us if Islam is not placed in check, and done so, soon.
What We Need To Know About Iran And The Islamic State
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Last Updated: 08/2021
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