Posted on 03/29/2004 7:17:27 AM PST by Rams82
An Israeli intelligence analyst sees a frenzy of jihadist Internet communications as part of a "dangerous Islamic messianic whirlpool" featuring a number of prophecies culminating in the coming of the "Mahdi," reports the latest issue of the premium online intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
Some of the documents obtained in a sweep of Internet communications just before the attack on the Madrid trains are signed by an unknown sheikh – assumed to be a nom de guerre for Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri or others in leadership in al-Qaida.
The communications make a number of predictions about world events pointing to "The coming of the Mahdi" – a messianic figure Muslims expect to come and lead them in victory against the infidels in the last days.
Here is what these communications foresee:
Two European countries will be attacked.
Another attack is planned against the U.S.
Followers are asked to get rid of euros and as true Muslims replace them with gold.
There will be an assassination attempt against a high-ranking Egyptian official.
A mass gathering of jihad warriors is expected in the cities of the twin holy mosques Mecca and Medina.
A divine signal will be given when three celestial stars will be aligned on one axis.
The appearance of a new star, never seen before, will be in plain sight to all humanity.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf and Yasser Arafat will be annihilated in the same month. The list includes other apocalyptic predictions such as "the march of Islam through Russia, the return of Islam to Andalusia and a victory parade in Jerusalem with liberated Saddam Hussein at the lead. This will follow after a war in Syria and the assassination of King Abdullah of Jordan."
There is no specific time frame for the apocalyptic prophecy, according to G2 Bulletin sources. The most important aspect of the communications is the subsequent attack in Spain, and an important threat to the continental U.S.
The analyst says the Internet is now the most important tool used by the jihadi propagandists. Some of the material is clearly a warning to Muslims to distance themselves from possible target areas.
Further analysis suggests the second European country to be hit, according to the jihad spirit, is probably Italy or the Vatican. This is based on constant verbal attacks on the pope as an enemy of Islam and on rejection of Christian missionary movements in Africa and the Middle East. A direct threat is aimed against American missionaries and indeed some were attacked last week in Iraq.
Experts say the latest Ramadan saw, according to Muslim scholars, three aligned stars. Also the issue of unknown stars is lately highlighted among jihadists such as the news of March 15 about distant unknown galaxies and information about new stars. The new star is explained by the jihadists as the discovery of a new planet.
The jihadists reacted to this information by saying: "Even infidel researchers are aware of the Mahdi's message." G2B reported earlier that U.S. military intelligence experts were studying a video clip of bin Laden in which he stands before a dry-erase board with an Arabic phrase written upon it – "awaited enlightened one."
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 the 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.
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.
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 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.
The Mahdi is supposed to come, according to Islamic clerics, just before the advent of the day of judgment – when 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 Islamic scholars.
Sounds good. We can take 'em all out at once.
Ideal time for a nuke "accident" at those locations!
Could be worse. You could BELEIVE this crap.
We're one nova away from them going even more wacko...
They don't think very highly of the ability of their [infidel] leaders to duck or hire food tasters.
Followers are asked to get rid of euros and as true Muslims replace them with gold.
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