US Afraid of Return of Mahdi!

Shervin Omidvar, Rooz Online:

The head of Iran’s Islamic Propagation Organization announced that the US had launched its plan for the larger Middle East because of its threat from the re-appearance and return of the 12th Shiite Imam who was in occultation, known as the Mahdi.

Mohammad Araghi, the director of the state appointed body said that US military presence in the region was because of their predictions about the possibility of the appearance of Mahdi, i.e. the Islamic Armageddon. “Our enemies know that the day of justice and the reappearance of God’s prophet are issues common to all religions and so they are afraid of its coming,” he said. READ MORE

Current hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had on many occasions expressed similar views. When he was mayor of Tehran, he at one point had ordered a road resurfacing project in anticipation of the coming of the messiah. A special road where he had announced the Mahdi would be coming had been built, using public funds. On another occasion, he had instructed his cabinet ministers to write a pledge of allegiance with the Mahdi and drop the letter in a well that he proclaims has divine connections.

The official newspaper of Ansar-e Hezbollah, an extremist group, makes similar claims about the Mahdi and Armageddon. It points out to recent Muslim protests among events that signal the coming of the Prophet.

Baztab website belonging to former Passdaran Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezai recently reported two individual who had been in contact with the Mahdi and cured of their ailments.

A group, the Mahdaviat, was formed in Iran a few years ago by a cleric called Milani and his supporters who believed in the return of the Mahdi. According to their belief, since the Mahdi is believed to appear as the last salvation measure when the planet is completely in shambles, their duty is to encourage decadence and corruption so that the Mahdi would come sooner rather than later. The leader and some of the supporters were arrested a few years ago for their disruptive and sabotage activities. Such claims are not confined to a few. Even a senior Iranian cleric and member of the powerful Guardians Council, ayatollah Khazali once claimed he had had a meeting with the Mahdi.