The Role Of The Hidden Imam In The History And Politics Of Iran

Persian Journal ^ | May 13, 2006 | Bahman Aghai Diba, Phd.

[gandalftb]

The notion of the Hidden Imam has gained a new weight. Ahmadinejad’s letter to President Bush was not based on the political considerations, Ahmadinejad thinks he has a divine duty from the Hidden Imam take certain measures. The Hidden Imam was born in 868 AD, named Abu'l-Kasim Muhammad. When the Eleventh Imam died, the seven year old boy declared himself to be the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi. God hid him from the eyes of men to preserve his life. The Hidden Imam entered the period of Greater Occultation, in which the Imam is the spiritual guide and light of the world. In 941 AD, a letter from the Imam stated he would not be seen until he reappeared as champion of the faithful in the events leading to the Judgment Day.

Much miraculous is associated with al Mahdi: speaking from the womb, full grown by age 6, raised by birds and with the ability to appear and disappear at will.

The signs of the appearance of Mahdi : "invasion by Evil, people will neglect prayer, legalize untruths, practice usury, accept bribes, construct huge edifices, sell religion, employ idiots, consult with women, break family ties, obey passion and consider insignificant the letting of blood. Princesses will be debauched, ministers will be oppressors, intellectuals will be traitors, and the reader of the Koran vicious. False witness and immorality proclaimed in loud voices. A word of promise will be slander, sin and exaggeration.

The sacred Books will be ornate, criminals praised, women will involve themselves in the business of their husbands. The most ignoble will become leaders, liars will be considered truthful and the traitor as trustworthy. They will resort to singers and musical instruments. Women will ride horses, they will resemble men and the men will resemble women.

[gandalftb]

Dajjal will appear right before the Hidden Imam and he will try to deceive people by pretending to be the Hidden Imam. He will be killed by Jesus Christ who will return and pave the way for the Hidden Imam. The Christ will fight along with the Hidden Imam for a while, and during this time all Christians become Muslims and later he leaves the scene completely. Dajjal’s main followers will be Jews and a great number of women. There will be a thick fingernail-like object in his left eye. He will travel at great speeds on a gigantic mule. Jamkaran is a village near Tehran, home to a lucrative business of corresponding with the Hidden Imam. Anyone can send a letter by throwing it in a well there, of course after paying the all-important 'entrance fee'. The mosque there is undergoing a furious expansion, driven by an apocalyptic vision: that the Madhi will soon emerge to inaugurate the end of the world. Ahmadinejad provided $20 million to prepare the shrine and has told his cabinet that he expects the Mahdi to arrive within the next two years Ahmadinejad claims to get instructions from the Hidden Imam directly, and in the first session of the Council of the Ministers signed a treaty with the Hidden Imam and threw a copy of the Treaty down the well in Jamkaran. The next session authorized construction of the Tehran-Jamkaran railway. Ahmadinejad: “We have not come to power for democracy. We are here to prepare the way for the emergence of the Hidden Imam... .”

[gandalftb]

It is well worth looking at the entire article, well written and footnoted. Iran is definately in the grips of an apocalyptic cult leader. They are acting, now, on their demented vision of the future.

[humblegunner]

Jamkaran is a village near Tehran, home to a lucrative business of corresponding with the Hidden Imam. Anyone can send a letter by throwing it in a well there, of course after paying the all-important 'entrance fee'.

And throughout all these centuries nobody ever figured this sucker was hiding down a well?

Maybe he's hiding because he's really ugly.. or a coward.

[Ragnorak]

The signs of the appearance of Mahdi : "invasion by Evil, people will neglect prayer, legalize untruths, practice usury, accept bribes, construct huge edifices, sell religion, employ idiots, consult with women, break family ties, obey passion and consider insignificant the letting of blood. Princesses will be debauched, ministers will be oppressors, intellectuals will be traitors, and the reader of the Koran vicious. False witness and immorality proclaimed in loud voices. A word of promise will be slander, sin and exaggeration.

So if I understand this correctly, the Twelfth Imam will return when the Democrats announce their 2006 agenda?

[newcthem]

IMHO these nut jobs really need to go back to the basic Moon rock worship.......makes a hell of a lot more sense that this.

[edpc]

Women will ride horses, they will resemble men and the men will resemble women.

I guess this explains all of the hoopla over women attending sporting events and "effeminate" male athletes.

[butternut_squash_bisque]

islam is a mental illness. muslims are mentally-ill.

[Nachum]

Maybe it is the people who buy into this that have a mental illness, and Islam is merely a symptom of it.

[reagan_fanatic]

Ahmadinejad thinks he has a divine duty from the Hidden Imam take certain measures.

We're dealing with a nutcase here - one with the potential to take more lives than Hitler could have dreamed of. One wonders if the West will wake up before it's too late.

[Bob J]

"The signs of the appearance of Mahdi : "invasion by Evil, people will neglect prayer, legalize untruths, practice usury, accept bribes, construct huge edifices, sell religion, employ idiots, consult with women, break family ties, obey passion and consider insignificant the letting of blood. Princesses will be debauched, ministers will be oppressors, intellectuals will be traitors, and the reader of the Koran vicious. False witness and immorality proclaimed in loud voices. A word of promise will be slander, sin and exaggeration."

Militant Islam certainly fills all these requirements.

[Tracy V.]

He will travel at great speeds on a gigantic mule.

Ok...now I'm scared.

[bassmaner]

Ahmadinejad is cartoonishly evil to the point where it's conceivable that he is actually a deep-cover mole being run by some foreign intelligence agency (not the CIA: it would have been on the front page of the NY Slimes if that were the case!). It wouldn't surprise me if the Mossad is running Ahmadinejad in order to destabilize the real power in Iran, ie. the mullahs. Time will tell, and sooner than later.

[expatpat]

intellectuals will be traitors

Perhaps A is right -- we've certainly reached that point.

[cammie]

ping for later reading

[Brooklyn Kid]

ping

[expatpat]

Unfortunately, you can't "run" a nutcase, any more than you can herd cats.

[Uncle Meat]

There is no hidden Imam,it's all superstitious mumbo jumbo.They seriously need to lay off the opium pipe.

[Diggler]

The joke is on them... Baby Jessica was rescued from the well years ago, in Texas!

[newcthem]

This is a perfect example of the validity of the multi-cultural bs: all cultures and religions are equal in their value to the world.............NOT.

[Uncle Meat]

The dude looks like some wino the mullahs found on the street,gave him some Salvation Army duds,and get him so stoned on opium that he makes him say all this far fetched trash.Hell,if there's a 12th Imam in that well he keeps on rambling about,he's probably dead and stinking like the other eleven that's in that well with him.