Iran's ticking
Iran's President Ahmadinejad couldn't be any clearer, yet most of the world talks and acts as if there's no ticking timebomb.
Ahmadinejad has called for wiping "Israel off the map" at the "World Without Zionism" conference in October, 2005, where this image was displayed. Evidently Israel isn't his first target.
This ticking timebomb started in 1979 when Ahmadinejad, then a student and devotee of Khomeni, was a central figure in the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran. Evidently his outrageous rhetoric is backed by a belief that he is preparing the way for the return of the Hidden Imam.
There is real danger in combining religious fanaticism, especially the kind that denies others their freedom to choose, with posession of nuclear weapons.
Unfortunately for the people of Iran, the greatest danger is theirs. No matter how many nukes Iran may already have or how many it's massive plant at Natanz can help produce, the United States and Israel have more. I don't believe the U.S. or Israel will set off the first nuke but they certainly won't hesitate to lay waste to as much of Iran as they feel necessary should Ahmadinejad use nukes to call the Hidden Imam.
There is another possibility. The people of Iran have a tradition of democracy, though it's been trampled by the current regime. It's sad to see a people with so much to offer the world and so much to leave for their children used by a tyrant like Ahmadinejad.
Maybe Ahmadinejad hears another ticking timebomb as Iranians who visit Iraq and the Holy sites in Najaf return with wishes for their own country's freedom.
Ahmadinejad has called for wiping "Israel off the map" at the "World Without Zionism" conference in October, 2005, where this image was displayed. Evidently Israel isn't his first target.
This ticking timebomb started in 1979 when Ahmadinejad, then a student and devotee of Khomeni, was a central figure in the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Teheran. Evidently his outrageous rhetoric is backed by a belief that he is preparing the way for the return of the Hidden Imam.
Some speculate that his reckless course is indeed charted to bring conditions for the End of Days and the return of the Hidden Imam.All streams of Islam believe in a divine saviour, known as the Mahdi, who will appear at the End of Days. A common rumour - denied by the government but widely believed - is that Mr Ahmadinejad and his cabinet have signed a "contract" pledging themselves to work for the return of the Mahdi and sent it to Jamkaran.
Iran's dominant "Twelver" sect believes this will be Mohammed ibn Hasan, regarded as the 12th Imam, or righteous descendant of the Prophet Mohammad.
He is said to have gone into "occlusion" in the ninth century, at the age of five. His return will be preceded by cosmic chaos, war and bloodshed. After a cataclysmic confrontation with evil and darkness, the Mahdi will lead the world to an era of universal peace.
There is real danger in combining religious fanaticism, especially the kind that denies others their freedom to choose, with posession of nuclear weapons.
Unfortunately for the people of Iran, the greatest danger is theirs. No matter how many nukes Iran may already have or how many it's massive plant at Natanz can help produce, the United States and Israel have more. I don't believe the U.S. or Israel will set off the first nuke but they certainly won't hesitate to lay waste to as much of Iran as they feel necessary should Ahmadinejad use nukes to call the Hidden Imam.
There is another possibility. The people of Iran have a tradition of democracy, though it's been trampled by the current regime. It's sad to see a people with so much to offer the world and so much to leave for their children used by a tyrant like Ahmadinejad.
Maybe Ahmadinejad hears another ticking timebomb as Iranians who visit Iraq and the Holy sites in Najaf return with wishes for their own country's freedom.
