It Wasn’t A War For Oil, It Was A War For The Mahdi?

04 Oct, 2006 by John Hawkins

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“THE followers of Moqtada al-Sadr believe that the US invaded Iraq to prevent the return to Earth of their sect’s messiah-like figure, the Mahdi, or 12th imam.

Hojatoleslam al-Sadr claims that his militia is preparing for the day when the Mahdi, the last direct descendent of the revered Shia figure Ali, reappears. Shia believe that the Mahdi, who disappeared in 868, will bring justice to Earth.

At a prayer service in the central Iraqi city of Kufa on September 15, the cleric told a crowd of thousands that the Americans were collecting a dossier on the Mahdi to prevent his return. “Did you ever ask yourself about why all of this, the bloodshed and the prisons? Why are the brothers fighting each other for a political game planned by the Americans? This all happened because they (the Americans) are waiting for the Mahdi. This planning started ten years ago. They have a big file for Imam Mahdi and they just need his picture to complete it.”

So, we didn’t do it for the oil, we did it for the Mahdi? That’s a unique conspiracy theory, but isn’t that one a little too farfetched even for the sort of dimbulbs that follow Moqtada al-Sadr around? After all, Muslims may consider Jesus to be a prophet, but the Christians don’t view Muhammad the same way.

To Christians, Muhammad is a just a warlord who tricked a bunch of bandits into following him by making up a false religion. And the Mahdi? Christians, those who have even heard of the Mahdi, don’t believe he’s coming back.

Now generally, Christians — especially in the United States where respect for people’s religious beliefs is considered to be a virtue so important that it was enshrined in the First Amendment — prefer not to make a big hairy deal out of the fact that they don’t buy into other people’s religions. But, when you have Muslims actually forming conspiracy theories that are based around Christians accepting Islamic religious beliefs, it seems prudent to clarify matters a bit.