President Trump says the war with Iran could be over soon. The regime, however, is unlikely to give up its apocalyptic jihad against Israel and the West, and a far greater threat may lie ahead.
One aspect of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran may have backfired in the worst possible way. In taking out the old guard of calculating, pragmatic leaders, they replaced them with a new generation of fiery young Islamic militants.
These are hardcore “Twelver” Shia Muslims, utterly devoted to their radical religion and driven by a singular, apocalyptic belief. They are not interested in negotiation or coexistence.
Instead, they are actively preparing for the ultimate end-times confrontation: a global showdown that would summon the 12th Imam or Mahdi, their long-awaited messianic savior.
“Bottom line is the Mahdi is an eschatological mystical figure who is supposed to be ushered in at the End Times and to bring justice and goodness,” said Middle East historian and author Raymond Ibrahim.
Ibrahim explains that, for the Twelvers, the Mahdi’s “goodness” means a worldwide uprising and the spread of Islam.
“He’s bringing the Sharia worldview, and he’s fighting everyone who is seen as the enemy of Islam, of course. And now what makes Iran particularly dangerous is not just is it because of its Twelver or Shia variety and the Mahdi doctrine, but it’s well known that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard especially espouses this ideology, and this ideology is really rife with concepts of martyrdom and sacrifice. So, as you can see, this is not the exact mentality that you would want to have weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons.”
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Dr. Hormoz Shariat grew up in Iran as a Shia Muslim, although today as a Christian, he leads the Iran Alive television ministry, reaching people across his home country.
“They believe they have to take over the world by force. And at the end, there will be opposition, but they will win because the Mahdi will show up. So, they are killing and dying for the glory of Allah. This is the root of what they believe,” Shariat insisted.
Shariat suggested that means the Iranian leadership is willing to go down, willing to go all the way because they believe right now, they’re going to be ushering in the 12th Imam.
“Death for a Muslim is a gain because they are promised 70 virgins and eternal life. You know, there is no assurance of salvation in Islam,” he said.
If Iran’s new leaders truly believe the end is just around the corner, can U.S. negotiators honestly expect them to stick to any peace deal?
Ibrahim points out that many Shia Muslims also believe in using something called ‘taqiyya’—basically, hiding their true intentions or lying—to get what they want.
“I would say that it’s fair to believe that the Iranian leadership, the regime, and especially, again, the Islamic revolutionary corps, does internalize and take on aspects of taqiyya which essentially allow them to lie and deceive the infidels,” Ibrahim explained.
“So taken together, their ideas on martyrdom, sacrifice, eschatology, and then free rein to lie. Yeah, I can see a strong argument to be made about not being able to trust the Iranian leadership.”
Shariat believes there is no way the existing Iranian leadership should be allowed to remain in power.
“They have said they want a nuclear bomb and use it against Israel, like against other nations. And you saw that the recklessness, you saw the last few weeks, they attacked even their friends of Islamic nations in the neighborhood, a friend like Qatar, they attacked them. So, if they had a nuclear bomb, do you think they would have a restraint? So, this is a danger for the whole world,” he insisted.
Even if the war ends, the real trouble could be just beginning.
Though several Sunni nations, such as Bahrain and the UAE, have joined the Abraham Accords and supported Israel and the U.S. against Tehran, Ibrahim warned that long-term reliance on them could prove a grave mistake.
“From a historical point of view and just based on numbers, the problem is because the Sunnis represent roughly 90% of the Muslim world, then yes, just based on that, they will cause 90% of the problems as opposed to the Shias,” he said.
Without Iranian funding and weapons support, Shia militant groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis would have trouble carrying out large-scale terrorist attacks. Ibrahim argues that it’s the Sunni extremists who represent the longer-term threat.
“Who are the terrorists around the world? They are all mostly Sunnis,” he explained. “Of course, you have Hezbollah, but you have al-Qaida, you have ISIS, you have Hamas, you have Boko Haram, you have Al Shabab. These are all Sunnis. So, you know, this is really the ultimate problem.”
*** The Cross They Still Bear: Nigeria and Syria’s Christians Endure Bloody Massacres
Terrorists supported by wealthy Sunni backers are currently destroying ancient Christian communities across Africa and the Middle East.
So, even if radical Shia Islam is weakened by the war with Iran, a far greater battle for Israel and the West may still lie ahead.
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