Iran's Renewed Threats to Take Over the Arab Gulf States

Friday, July 20,2007

Ahmadinejad's Prophetic Vision (This is an excerpt from the above article.)
In the next stage, the nuclear umbrella is meant to serve as the basis for a
more activist foreign policy that will carry the banner of the Islamic
revolution. The religious vision that motivates Iran is a platform for
political and military activity, and this vision centers on the goal of
reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate, which will then create the conditions
for the appearance of the Mahdi, the Muslim messiah. Ahmadinejad announced
this explicitly in a speech to senior religious figures (November 2006),9
and in an epistle to Christians (December 19, 2006) in which he stated that
"the era of distress, suffering, and threats will come to an end on the Day
of Days and Jesus will return to the world with the appearance of the
descendant of the Holy Prophet of Islam, the Imam Mahdi [the Shiite
messiah], and he will remove any signs of oppression, suffering, and travail
from the world."10

In the Shiite communities, Ahmadinejad is seen as the embodiment of the
Muslim leader who can advance the redemption. In the book Ahmadinejad and
the Coming World Revolution, Shadi Fakia makes a direct link between
Ahmadinejad and the Mahdi and says the present president of Iran fits the
description of the commander of the Mahdi's forces who will liberate
Jerusalem according to the Shiite faith. Ahmadinejad is described as a
resolute individual who is directly guided by Allah and believes the
"Jerusalem liberation army" will pass through Iraq, similarly to the belief
of Khomeini, who said that "the way to Jerusalem leads through Karbala."
Ahmadinejad's determination to develop nuclear weapons is also interpreted
as one of the signs of the messianic redemption, since for him and his close
associates, confronting the international pressures to stop Iran from
acquiring nuclear technology is one of the ways to prepare the stage for the
Mahdi's appearance.11
 

FULL STORY at http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=35353