rj e /n e 0 O 2
November 18,2005
Iran president's religious views arouse interest
Staff and agencies
17 November, 2005
By Paul Hughes 54 minutes ago
TEHRAN - His call for the destruction of Israel may have grabbed headlines
abroad, but it is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads devotion to a mystical
religious figure that is arousing greater interest inside Iran
In a keynote speech on Wednesday to senior clerics, Ahmadinejad spoke of
his strong belief in the second coming of Shiite Muslims' “hidden” 12th Imam.
According to Shi'ite Muslim teaching, Abul-Qassem Mohammad, the 12th
leader whom Shiites consider descended from the Prophet Mohammed,
disappeared in 941 but will return at the end of time to lead an era of Islamic
justice.
“Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the
12th Imam, the Mahdi,” Ahmadinejad said in the speech to Friday Prayers
leaders from across the country.
“Therefore, Iran should become a powerful, developed and model Islamic
society.”
“Today, we should define our economic, cultural and political policies based
on the policy of Imam Mahdi's return. We should avoid copying the West's
policies and systems,” he added, newspapers and local news agencies
reported.
Ahmadinejad refers to the return of the 12th Imam, also known as the Mahdi,
in almost all his major speeches since he took office in August.
A September address to the U.N. General Assembly contained long
passages on the Mahdi which confused Western diplomats and irked those
from Sunni Muslim countries who believe in a different line of succession from
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November 18, 2005
Mohammed.
Presidential aides have denied a popular rumor that he ordered his cabinet to
write a letter to the 12th Imam and throw it down a well near the holy city of
Qom where thousands of pilgrims come each week to pray and drop
messages to the Imam.
But what really has tongues wagging is the possibility that Ahmadinejad's
belief in the 12th Imams return may be linked to the supposed growing
influence of a secretive society devoted to the Mahdi which was banned in
the early 1980s.
Founded in 1953 and used by the Shah of Iran to try to eradicate followers of
the Bahai faith, the Hojjatieh Society is governed by the conviction that the
12th Imams return will be hastened by the creation of chaos on earth.
Ahmadinejad, who is only the second non-cleric to become president since
the revolution, has made clear his immense respect for Ayatollah Mohammad
Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, a deeply conservative cleric with close ties to the
Hojjatieh-founded Haqqani theological school in Qom.
Conspiracy theorists, never in short supply in Iran, allege that many members
of Ahmadinejads cabinet and other key appointees are Haqqani graduates
and Hojjatieh followers.
“It seems that they (Hojjatieh members) have recently become more active
and are spread through the government,” said a political analyst who declined
to be named.
“The president has repeatedly said his government will pave the way for the
Imams return.”
But others point out that many former government officials, perceived as
moderates, graduated from Haqqani.
Haqqanis continued links to Hojjatieh, though rumored, have not been
proven and it remains one of the most prestigious theological schools in Qom.
Ahmadinejad's emphasis on the importance of development and justice to
encourage the Mahdis return, also suggest an important divergence from
Hojjatieh thinking.
But he would be better advised to focus his speeches on practical rather than
religious issues, said former Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abtahi.
“Of course, we must pray for the return of the Imam, but we must also tackle
inflation and unemployment,” the reformist cleric told Reuters.
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November 18, 2005
