Saturday, August 17, 2013

Diplomacy Won't Save Us

Whether you are religious or not, it is important to understand where Islam and Christianity intersect, the beliefs of the Imami Muslims in Iran, and why neither diplomacy nor Israel's nuclear deterrent will keep a nuclear missile from leaving Iran's borders.

The Intersection


Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahá'í comprise the Abrahamic religions - meaning that they all trace their beginning back to a covenant God made with Abraham. Islam had it's start in 610AD, when Muhammad began preaching the revelations he believed were from God. These revelations are captured in the Qur'an, regarded as Muhammad's main miracle, and evidence of his prophet-hood. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, along with  Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, while Christianity believes Jesus to be God.

Christians believe that Christ will one day return, saving the world from complete destruction (Matthew 24:22-29). This same prophesy is presented in Daniel 7:13, "I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, the clouds of heaven. One like the Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him." But before Christ's return, 1 John speaks of an Antichrist who will come to deceive and deny that Jesus is the Christ (anointed one, or Messiah). He will even exalt himself as being God (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Revelation 19 speaks of a false prophet who performed signs and deceived the people into believing that the Antichrist was God. The Antichrist will emerge, and with the help of the false prophet, he will deceive the people into believing he is God. This period of time is referred to by Christians as the tribulation period, and ends after 7 years with Christ's return.


Islam also believes in a second coming of Jesus. But before Jesus' return, the Mahdi (redeemer, guided one) rules for a time period which some believe to be 7 years, and works to rid the world of evil. Jesus returns to help the Mahdi defeat Masih ad-Dajjal (false messiah) and his followers (Sahih Muslim, 41:7023).

In both accounts, a man rises to power and rules for some time period before the return of Jesus. Christians believe this to be the Antichrist, where as Islam believes him to be the Mahdi.

Imami Muslims And Iran


Imami Muslims are also known as Twelvers. Twelvers believe that the coming Mahdi is the Twelfth Imam that went into occultation in 873AD. An Imam is a political and religious leader of the Ummah, or world Islamic community. He is to reappear at the end of the current age, which signals the countdown to the return of Jesus.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the UN on September 26th, in 2012. He opened with a prayer, asking God to "Hasten the Emergence of [the] Chosen Beloved, Grant Him Good Health and Victory, Make us His Best Companions, and all those who attest to His Rightfulness." Later, he identifies the 'Chosen Beloved': "God Almighty has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves people and loves absolute justice, a man who is a perfect human being and is named Imam Al-Mahdi, a man who will come in the company of Jesus Christ  (PBUH) and the righteous."

Ahmadinejad Addressing the UN, September 26, 2012

In 2006, Ahmadinejad spoke at the second annual International Conference of Mahdism Doctrine. At this conference, it was determined that the return of the Mahdi could be accelerated through human intervention.

Does Ahmadinejad speak for all Iranians? Quite possibly, most. 99% of all Iranians are Muslim, and 90-95% of the Muslims are Shia. Add to this that 85% of Shia are Twelvers, and we find that approximately 80% of all Iranians are Twelvers. Ahmadinejad was replaced by Hasan Rouhani on August 3rd of this year. Rouhani is considered to be a moderate, yet this does not change Tehran's Twelver ambitions under the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei. Preceding  his inauguration, Rouhani was quoted by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) as stating, "The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed." A goal of nuclear arms under Ahmadinejad is no different under Rouhani.

In March, 2011 Iran's government released a film titled, The Coming is Near:

    According [to] the film, Jewish control would last “until the time that the Arabs rid themselves of the influence of others, take back control of their affairs, and once again have strong determination. At that time, they shall conquer the land of Palestine and the Arabs will be victorious and united.” The destruction of Israel is the most important event marking the Mahdi’s return.

This is precisely why many fear a nuclear Iran. Equipped with the belief that the time is near, and that Israel must be destroyed before the Mahdi's return, a nuclear Iran is a danger to the world. Religious belief is not the issue. The issue is what the Twelver's in Iran believe, and what they are willing to sacrifice in order to usher in their redeemer, Imam Mahdi.

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