I mentioned last week that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started the U.N. Durban II Conference on racism with a racist rant against Israel. This resulted in representatives from over 40 countries walking out on him. But did he care?
The reason one must wonder stems from statements that he has made over the last few years revealing his aspirations and the motives behind them.
Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called for wiping Israel from the map. He has noted that striking Israel would result in nuclear retaliation from them, but he determined that he could afford to lose half of his countries population if the end result would be “the annihilation of the Zionist state.” Hence, the MAD [mutual assured destruction] doctrine held by the superpowers of the world, holds no weight with him.
In the 1973 Yom Kippur War when it looked like Israel was going to lose, Israeli PM Golda Meir ordered 13 nuclear bombs loaded on bombers with 13 different assigned targets. In the end, the tide turned on the ground and the plan aborted.
Though the story is no doubt known by Ahmadinejad, the question must be asked “Why doesn’t that cause him to back down from his position of eliminating the ‘little satan’ [Israel] and the ‘big satan’ [the U.S.]?”
There is a sect within Shia Islam that is awaiting the return of the 12th Imam, also known as the Mahdi [Islamic messiah]. The Twelvers believe that the Mahdi is Muhammed ibn Hasan, the righteous descendant of the prophet Muhammed.
According to the state religion of Iran, Muhammed ibn Hasan has been in hiding since the year 941. End times prophecy is one of the 'five pillars of Islam' and holds a central a role in Islam, as does the 2nd Coming of Christ does within Christianity.
The coming of the Mahdi will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war, bloodshed and pestilence. After this cataclysmic confrontation between the forces of good and evil, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of Islamic paradise on earth.
Ahmadinejad believes, as does Iran's dominant religious sect, that lesser mortals can not merely influence his return, but, by initiating that end-times conflict between Dar al Islam (the Zone of Islam) and Dar al Haran (the Zone of War), he can actually hasten the Mahdi's return.
In an address to the U.N. in 2005, Ahmadinejad said, “The ultimate promise of all Divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being [the 12th Imam], who is heir to all prophets. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace. Oh mighty Lord, I pray to you to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is more than just a Twelver as he is connected with the messianic Hojjatieh Society, which is governed by the conviction that the 12th Imam's return will be hastened by “the creation of chaos on Earth.” Ahmadinejad believes he was chosen by Allah to start that war, which will then force the Mahdi out of hiding. He has made no secret of his belief, saying at a mosque recently that he expected such a war within two years.
What most of the world doesn’t understand is that Iran’s Ahmadinejad is not “mad”—he is as one writer put it, “simply little more than a suicide bomber waiting for the right time to detonate himself for Allah.” If he gets his hands on a nuclear bomb and a missile capable of delivering it, it will be his religious duty to use it against Israel. The latest estimates say that with 7000 centrifuges in operation, he could have a nuclear weapon within 60 days. We could know soon how “mad” he really is—or isn’t!