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| Terror Networks |
| Mahdi-mania: Is bin Laden the ’Mahdi’? (Reprint) |
| 2004-04-08 |
| FROM JOSEPH FARAH’S G2 BULLETIN Is bin Laden the ’Mahdi’? (Or just a bastard terrorist?) Some Muslim followers believe he is prophesied ’awaited enlightened one’ September 8, 2003 U.S. military intelligence experts are studying a video clip of Osama bin Laden in which he stands before a dry-erase board with an Arabic phrase written upon it – "awaited enlightened one," reports Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. No one who has seen the video is quite certain of the meaning or the context. But, the Hadith, a collection of Islamic holy writings that supplement the Quran, predicts a messianic figure will arise in the last days of history. This "Mahdi," along with the "Prophet Jesus," will lead the believers to victory over the infidels. Osama bin Laden The video raises the question of whether bin Laden sees himself as this Mahdi or if he is expecting another to arise and lead. Either way, the addition of a dimension of Islamic prophecy to the global terror war may seriously complicate matters for planners in the West, G2 Bulletin reports. According to G2 Bulletin’s military sources, some of the detainees currently held at Guantanamo Bay have told interrogators they joined bin Laden’s al-Qaida offensive because they think he is the "awaited enlightened one." Others in military intelligence say some of the terrorists crossing the border into Iraq with al-Qaida ties are doing so because of their belief in this Islamic prophecy. Muslim believers – both Sunni and Shiite – expect the Mahdi to return one day to restore justice to the world. This messenger is not as great as Muhammad, but is a messianic figure found in all branches of Islam. Interestingly, since the end of 2001, bin Laden has been signing his name "Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden," rather than just Osama bin Laden. This is significant, reports G2 Bulletin, because it gives the al-Qaida leader an apocalyptic dimension. The Hadith says the Mahdi will be recognizable, among other things, by the fact that he carries the name of the Prophet. "Al Mahdi" is supposed to appear at a time when Muslim believers are severely oppressed in every corner of the world. He will fight the oppressors, unite the Muslims, bring peace and justice to the world, rule over the Arabs, and lead a prayer in Mecca at which Jesus will be present, according to some religious scholars who have studied the issue. While some Islamic analysts have expected bin Laden to declare himself as "caliph," few have speculated about the possibility of the terrorist upping the ante. Operating as he does without a territorial base, bin Ladin could, some suggest, resort to claiming the most powerful title in Islam – the Mahdi. The Mahdi is one of two positive prophetic figures who, according to Islamic teachings, will appear at the end of time – Prophet Jesus being the other. Together, these two will combat unbelievers and the forces of evil: the antichrist-like Dajjal, or "Deceiver"; the Dabbah, or "Beast"; and the murderous, rapacious hordes of Yajuj wa-Majuj, who appear earlier in the Bible as "Gog and Magog." The description of the Mahdi that emerges from these Islamic sources can be summarized as follows, according to Dr. Timothy R. Furnish: he will be descended from the Prophet via his daughter Fatima; he will have the same name as the Prophet, and his father’s name will have been the same as the Prophet’s father; he will have a distinct forehead and prominent nose; he will be extremely generous and altruistic; he will arise in Arabia and be compelled by popular acclamation in Mecca to lead the Muslims; he will withstand attack by an army from Syria, which will be swallowed up by the desert; he will fill the earth with justice and equity; he will reign for five, seven or nine years, perhaps as co-ruler with Jesus (after which, an unspecified amount of time later, the last trumpet will sound and the final judgment will ensue). If bin Ladin – or some other Islamist leader – were to declare himself the Mahdi, should that make a difference to U.S. policy-makers? "If the claim were believable to the Islamic world, then the U.S. could no longer claim to be fighting terrorism alone," writes Furnish. "Indeed, it would become a global religious conflict." This article contains research originally published by Timothy R. Furnish, Ph.D, in Middle East Quarterly. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #15 Frank G: You beat me to it! Loved The Omega Man. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-04-08 3:33:42 PM |
| #14 Was Chuck Heston more endangered by General Ursus or the Mahdi? Neither: Mathias and the Family |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-08 2:38:47 PM |
| #13 Mike: I honestly think that there were a lot of cells out there with their black flags ready to go on 9/12. What pity that we had to disappoint them [wolfish grin]. Xbalanke: You got at real honest guffaw out of me with that one. Not an Internet courtesy LOL, but the real thing. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-08 2:31:25 PM |
| #12 Ah yes, immanentizing the Eschaton again, are we? That trick NEVER works. Actually, there's some nutbag out there (shareintl.org) who's been claiming (via Benjamin Creme) to be the Mahdi for about 20 years now. One of them must be wrong. |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2004-04-08 2:04:51 PM |
| #11 11A5S- Exactly what I'd heard, and when you add the OBL=Mahdi story, it makes you wonder what September 12th would have looked like if the President had turned the keys the morning of the 11th. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-04-08 11:53:09 AM |
| #10 Thanks LH. I guess there's always been nuts like this loose in the world. I've read similar things about some Christian groups and then there is Aum Shinkyo (sp?) in Japan. However, until recently we didn't have A.Q. Khan selling nuke manufacturing equipment from catalogs. Nor did we have scientists synthesizing polio viruses from reagents in a lab. I think that I need to get drunk this weekend. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-08 10:25:53 AM |
| #9 11a5S -actually there is (or are said to be - ive never met one) a tiny group of Jews (VERY tiny, thank goodness) who beleive in the same logic. Their plan - destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount. This would lead to a global muslim war on Israel, with Israel lacking Western support. Since G-d would not allow the destruction of his people, he would be forced to intervene, and the end times would begin. This is called "forcing the end" and is generally considered heretical by normative beleivers. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-04-08 10:08:19 AM |
| #8 do you think the muslims will realize they worship a false god? -nah, they'll just say he's blaming them for not killing enough joooos and infidels. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-04-08 10:06:14 AM |
| #7 I'd like to see the moongod stop a B-2 on it's way to turn mecca into a radioactive waste land. When the 'god' of the pedophile prophet doesn't stop the destruction of his holiest place, do you think the muslims will realize they worship a false god? |
| Posted by: AllahHateMe 2004-04-08 10:03:35 AM |
| #6 I've long believed that rather than 9/11 being a high tech razzia (tribal raid), it was an attempt to provoke an eschatological event. In other words, OBL and the cult that surrounds him hoped to force Allah to intervene decisively in world affairs. The OBL cult felt that by attacking the US savagely, they would force us to use our weapons of last resort, nukes. And since Allah would never allow the destruction of the Ummah, he would intervene, and the End Times sequence would begin. Crazy? Yes. But then we are dealing with crazy people. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-04-08 9:48:46 AM |
| #5 And here I thought that Lord Lawrence Olivier was the Mahdi! I mean his followers killed Charlton Heston, didn't they? No mean feat, methinks... ____________________ p.s. Quiz time: Was Chuck Heston more endangered by General Ursus or the Mahdi? |
| Posted by: borgboy 2004-04-08 2:19:33 AM |
| #4 ...IIRC, this theory made an appearance of sorts not long after 911 - that supposedly, after OBL defeated us in Afghanistan, he was going to declare that he was the Mahdi. Of course, the way these folks think - and I wish this was a joke - there will be claims that OBL really IS the Mahdi...because he's vanished. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-04-08 2:01:31 AM |
| #3 Dr. Furnish, Phd: "If the claim [that OBL is the Mahdi]were believable to the Islamic world, then the U.S. could no longer claim to be fighting terrorism alone.... Indeed, it would become a global religious conflict." Lord Kitchener: "One good way to disabuse the Islamic world of such an absurd delusion, is to find their "Mahdi" , cut off his nead, and throw his decapitated body into the nearest river-- worked for me!" Seriously, folks, the best way to prove that some guy ain't the Mahdi is by giving him a good, public whupping. And seems to me we are well on our way to doing that to OBL-- if he isn't already a stain in some cave somewhere. |
| Posted by: WUZZALIB 2004-04-08 1:16:04 AM |
| #2 The word is the Mahdi is staying at The Ritz have a few drinks, while the brianwashed jihad boys are meeting 72...72 year old ladies :) |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-04-08 1:07:06 AM |
| #1 Come on. EVERYBODY knows that the Mahdi lives on the planet Dune. "The spice must flow . . ." Oh, never mind. Wrong blog. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-04-08 1:03:36 AM |