Khamenei's Obsession with the Mahdi

Ayatullah Khamenei mentioned the 12th or "hidden" imam, also known as the Mahdi, several times in his speech at Friday's prayers. After his awkward rant about the Branch Davidians, the mention of the hidden imam was surely the most confusing to many in the so-called West.

The Mahdi is said to have been born in the ninth century and to continue to survive today. Twelver Shi'as, who constitute the majority of Shi'as in Iran, believe that the Mahdi will join Jesus when he returns to rule the earth in peace after a period of great global unrest, war and chaos.

He is referred to as the hidden imam because he is said to live among us in anonymity, which brings a great significance to the Qur'an's command to treat one's fellow man with kindness and forgiveness. You never know, you might be talking to the Mahdi himself!

During Ahmadinejad's first term, it was a running joke among Iranians that his arrogance and apparent delusions of grandeur might have been the result of his false conviction that he was in fact the hidden imam. Of course, Ahmadinejad made no such statement, but that's what makes it a joke.

Still, he clearly thinks quite highly of himself and his divine calling to be the former and next Iranian president. Ahmadinejad's statements regarding his divine guidance and selection has reminded many Iranians, especially Iranian-Americans such as myself, of George W. Bush's statements that he spoke to God. In many ways, in fact, Ahmadinejad is the mirror image of Bush. He demonized and continues to demonize the U.S. just as much as Bush and his predecessors demonized Iran.

Bush's threats directed toward Iran and his inclusion of Iran in some ominous "axis of evil" did not blow over well with the Iranian people. Neither did his excitement at the prospect of importing American democracy around the world. His poor grasp of Iranian history, moreover, created both an annoyance and a legitimate fear among Iranians.

Chief among Bush's historical oversights was the cause of the 1979 Islamic revolution. If anyone is to blame for this revolution, it is likely the U.S. and the UK. By installing the Shah to power and staging the coup that overthrew the democratically elected and highly revered prime minister of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh, the U.S. and the UK were only fanning the flames of fundamentalism. The fact that this overthrow quickly followed Mossadegh's attempt to nationalize oil, moreover, was not interpreted favorably by the Iranian people. Rather, the overthrow of Mossadegh helped provoke the Islamic revolution nearly three decades later.

In effect, there would have been no need for a revolution were it not for the imperialist policies of the American and British governments toward Iran.

The Ayatullah Khomeini, thus, became a beacon of hope for many Iranians. He brought genuine independence to a highly nationalistic people. Unfortunately, he also ultimately brought a theocratic state, one that the initial supporters of the revolution simply did not anticipate. Ayatullah Khomeini is perhaps the most significant modern figure for Shi'a Iranian Twelvers after the Mahdi. Moreover, he is a figure that I cannot help but love and hate at the same time. And I am not alone in these sentiments.

Many Iranians feel very much the same way. We are a people full of contradictions. We don't want another monarchy; we are proud of our independence. We don't want a theocracy; we are proud of the many Zoroastrians, Jews, Baha'is and Christians inside of Iran. But while we know what we don't want, we don't know exactly what we do want.

Even if the hidden imam is not living among the Iranian people, the power of his mere myth cannot be underestimated. By invoking the Mahdi as many times as Khamenei did during his speech at this Friday's prayers, he was attempting to appeal to the hopes of the Iranian people. While this attempt was clearly well thought out, it has fallen on many deaf ears, especially among Iranian youth, who thanks to the highly un-Islamic policies of the Islamic Republic, have grown increasingly skeptical of religion.

I for one, as an Iranian Twelver, have no doubt that if the Mahdi is among us, he would agree that the so-called Islamic republic has indeed constituted a great disservice to Islam. Chief among the teachings of Islam is religious tolerance, and by defying this teaching, the leaders of the allegedly Islamic Republic of Iran have created a situation that will ultimately blow up in their faces. It might not happen today. It might not happen next year or even in 50 years. But the time for a new revolution (green, blue, pink or yellow) is certainly approaching. The only question that remains is when.

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Comments

[Z-Liberator]

Melody Moezzi,

You are truly a phenominal speaker I seen you on CNN, and hearing you speak truly brought out what I have been feeling and many others, "please speak as much about it on the media because your voice was one of compassion unlike many others, who simply add a world full of heart and the god given civil liberty and respect for human rights into small taking points.

[Iranian Atheist]

Melody,

You say: " I for one, as an Iranian Twelver, have no doubt that if the Mahdi is among us, he would agree ....."

please stop believeing in fairy tales of religious fundamentalists. Do your really believe that a person can live hidden for 1000 years among us? When educated people and a thug like Ahmadinejad believe in Mahdi, you give it a sense of legitimacy to those who do not know the story. Pls read about Hojjatieh society in Wiki. Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi is Ahmadinejad's mentor and the main promotor of Hojjatieh. They are expediting the Armageddon and Islamic rapture. Rational world should be fearful.

Mesbah-Yazdi and his thugs are getting an upper hand these days with the support of Khamenei, and that explains the number of references. Mahdi's arrival is not as rosy as you make it. They belive that upon arrival (accompanied by Jesus Christ) Mahdi kills all nonbelievers such that their blood fills up until Mehdi's horse's knees. They are thus making every effort to prepare the world for his arrival. Mesbah-Yazdi's theology is posted on his own web. The attached link in Persian warns of the unintended consequences of the current situation. When people of military means make it their religious duty to expedite Rapture, peace loving people must speak up. The gun is in their hand, killing innocent 16 year olds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hojjatieh
http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/politic/more/18314/

Religion is a poison.

[Melody Moezzi - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm not saying it's true. I believe in the power of metaphor and allegory and that humans cannot understand the divine without these devices. The Tao Teh Ching teaches that the knowable Tao (Way, some say God) is not the real Tao. I don't go around debasing your beliefs as an atheist. All I ask is that you open your mind and accept the beauty in the fact that we don't all share the same beliefs. It would be a pretty boring world if we did.

I have serious issues with evangelism. I am a Muslim. I am a Shi'a. I am my own version of a Sufi--namely an Anarchist Sufi who doesn't believe in the concept of needing a leader apart from God. I am a Taoist. I don't want you to be any of these. I just want you to appreciate that all these as well as all other faiths or non-faiths deserve basic respect and add something to our society.

I believe bigotry, ignorance & hatred are poison. Whether you use religion, atheism or stalinism, I don't care--just leave me the hell alone, get as much of an education as you can, and guarantee me and others basic equal rights--no matter their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. This isn't a time for Iranians to be turning on one another. Whether we are Atheist, Jewish, Baha'I, Zoroastrian, or Christian--we're still all Iranian and we all deserve the privilege of a secular democracy. Peace!

[TXfemmom]

Religion has caused more death, destruction and upheaval than any other force in the history of man. I cannot understand why people can just establish a relationship with whatever spiritual being or idea they want and leave other people alone.

[Nonpartay]

Actually, atheistic totalitarian regimes have been responsible for the deaths many millions more than all the religious wars in history. Think China, the USSR, and Cambodia, for examples. And not all religions have participated in death and destruction. The Baha'is, which the article mentions Iranians are so proud of but are very much persecuted in Iran, have no blood on their hands in spite of 150 years of violent attacks against their members and founders.

[11907281]

Proof? Studies, sources anything other that what your "faith" tells you?

[Abdulameer]

Still more religious tolerance in Islam:

YUSUF QARADAWI, the spiritual leader of the Muslim brotherhood and the most popular and influential Islamic religious authority in the world today, is on the recommended reading list of local mosques. Among other Islamist-s­upremacist things, he wrote:

“Islam came to be followed, not to follow; to be dominant, not subordinate."
“Islam came with it's complete, comprehensive, and eternal Sharia Law for the whole of mankind."

ABUL MAUDUDI, the most important and popular Islamic writer of the 20th Century, wrote: “The goal of Islam is to rule the entire world and submit all of mankind to the faith of Islam. Any nation or power that gets in the way of that goal, Islam will fight and destroy.”

[Z-Liberator]

Sounds like Chrisitanity and Islam have the same goal.

[Nonpartay]

More misunderstanding of Islam, which the Qur'an calls a "middle religion," meaning there were religions before it and will be after it. People tend to ignore the stuff they don't like, but then that's nothing new to any religion.

[Abdulameer]

More "religious tolerance" in Islam:

FROM THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD:
-- Muhammad said to the Jews: "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. “

-- Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "

-- Mohammed said, "I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever says, " None has the right to be worshipped but Allah , his life and property will be saved by me." (otherwise it will not). Vol. 4:196

-- Mohammed said, "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him." Vol. 9:57

-- Mohammed said, " No Muslim should be killed for killing a Kafir" (infidel). Vol. 9:50

-- Muhammad said: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, … ". (Sahih Muslim 4294)

[Abdulameer]

"Chief among the teachings of Islam is religious tolerance..."
This is an outright lie.
Here are a couple examples of the "religious tolerance" in Islam:
FROM THE KORAN:
-- The unbelievers among the people of the book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. (98.6).
-- Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
--The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
-- Mohammed is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (48:29).
-- It is unlawful for a believer to kill another believer, accidents excepted. (4:92)
-- Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. (5:51)
-- Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. (8:40)
-- Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme. (2:193)
-- The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. (4:76)
-- We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:151)
-- I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers. (8:12)

[Nonpartay]

You may not be aware that the Qur'an is not 100% accurate. Its words are supposed to be authentic, but the context and the order are questionable. I believe you're taking a lot of these things out of the context of a loving religion that really teaches peace even if the followers haven't always been peaceful (kinda like Christians). The Qur'an does say, "There shall be no compulsion in religion." This kind of cancels out all the stuff you quoted. Anyway, most Muslims do not take the statements you posted literally nor do they act on them. I know Muslims who have married non-Muslims and have friends who are non-Muslims. That kind of goes against putting terror into the hearts of unbelievers. I think unless you can read and understand classic Arabic, you probably can't really understand a lot of the meaning, and even then it's difficult (there are many sects of Islam with varying interpretations of all these things). The hadiths (traditions), especially, are questionable since they were not written down until later (sometimes hundreds of years later) and many of them conflict with the Qur'an. The idea of killing someone who leaves Islam conflicts with the Qur'an's instruction that there should be no compulsion in religion, so I highly doubt Muhammad ever said it.

[toxicbrainpoison]

Yesterday there was a fantastic episode of Star Trek the next generation in which they landed on a planet who took members of the starship enterprise hostage. They had lived in peace for 1000 years and the mythical beast known as "agra" returned to enslave their population. Captain Luc Picard knew she was a fraud and a con and spent the whole time trying to convince the planet who were so afraid of her wrath that they were willing to enslave themselves, despite having lived so well for 1000 years. Then Picard demonstrated that the whole time they had made good choices on their own and agra was a fraud. She was locked up and the planets inhabitants and the enterprise went on their merry way, living happily ever after.

[Edwin Badulis]

I am mahdily in love with my supreme position. . .I am Iran. I am the government. I am the supreme commander. I am god. I am the father. I am divinely selected. I am who I am. . .

[Vieux Charles]

Okay, sorry about Mossadegh and what happened more than half a century ago. But exactly how is the US to blame for the Iranians and thirty years of missed opportunities to create a true democracy since the revolution in 1979?

[Ergon]

Thank you. Yours is the first article here that clearly explains the dilemma of modern Iran. The deeply religious and nationalistic feelings of most Iranians and reluctance to accept foreign domination while also seeking a moderation of the fanatical rules of the theocracy.

[mommadona]

Saaaaayyyyyyy - I think we're on to something here...

"I'M MAHDI".....and "I'm Mahdi".....I'm Mahdi too", and I'M mahdi..."

Like Spartacus!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eflb-u00wv0