Through the Eyes of the Mahdi: Understanding Contradictions in Modern Iran

     Myths serve an important role in identity creation.  Myths, as defined by my field of study, anthropology, are “a common or shared historical experience.” (Oregon State University)  The Founding Fathers serve for Americans as the paragons of liberal values such as equality, despite many of them being slaveholders, but reality is not essential to the myth.  For the myth, what matters is the meaning people inscribe into the shared story, what beliefs and emotions that conjure up inside people when exposed to it.  What we will explore is the role of the Twelver Shi’i belief in the Mahdi in the Islamic Republic of Iran.  An examination of the Mahdi gives us a window into the Iranian government's beliefs.

     The ruling clergy in Iran impose a strict interpretation of Twelver Shi’i Islam on their people.  Central to their Twelver belief system is the dual role of the Twelfth Imam as both an Imam of the Age and the Mahdi, the rightly guided descendant of Muhammad whose arrival will herald the end times.  According to Twelver clerics, the Mahdi is in the Occultation, awaiting his return to lead the battle of good versus evil.  Twelvers claim he will return with Jesus and defeat the Masih ad-Dajjal, the false messiah or Anti-Christ.  After the Dajjal’s defeat, Jesus will reign for forty peaceful years then die and be buried next to Mohammed in Medina.  Both Twelvers and Sunnis believe in the Mahdi, but the Sunnis do not believe in Imams of the Ages.  Many Iranian politicians use the Mahdi as rhetorical tool in speeches or other public releases.  

     Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one who made great use of the Mahdi for politicking.  Ahmadinejad sponsored conferences on discussions of the Mahdi, claiming world peace can be achieved through belief in the Mahdi.  The former President’s views most likely stem from previous Shi’i scholars like Khomeini, Mottahari and al-Din al-Afghani.  Al-Din al-Afghani, a nineteenth century Shi’i scholar who pretended to be Sunni, focused on unifying Islam and showing its usefulness in the modern world.  That belief goes beyond Ahmadinejad and properly serves as a fitting analogy of the Islamic Republic's philosophy.  Iran, a religious fundamentalist country, ties together religion and modernity to create a functioning nation despite the contradictions between religious extremism and values of modern nations like skepticism and scientific inquiry.  The return of the Mahdi requires Iran, as they will herald the return of the Mahdi in their role as his true followers.  Iran must survive and thrive in the modern world to fulfill their religious commitments.  Without a nation for the Mahdi to return to, he will delay his appearance.

     Since the rise of ISIL, Iranian state officials have put forth the conspiracy that the US and Israel created ISIL to sow conflict within the Islamic community.  For this discussion, whether Iranian officials actually believe this is irrelevant.  What is relevant is discerning the motives behind this move.  Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the evidence of the conspiracy lies in the actions of ISIL.  He says ISIL's focus on fellow Muslims and the destruction of Islamic holy sites, serve the goals of Israel and the US.  Khamenei claims ISIL militants to be the Rome mentioned in end times hadith of Abu Hurairah, a companion to the Prophet Mohammed, known as Dabiq, a link to said hadith http://goo.gl/KEpFPO.  By claiming ISIL to be Western backed, their conflict with ISIL takes on a new apocalyptic tone due to the accordance with the end times prophecy by Mohammed.  This, as the Supreme Leader claimed, has halted an Islamic awakening and diverted attention from Muslim versus non-Muslim issues, such as the plight of the Palestinians or US interventions in the Islamic World, to internal Muslim issues.

     The Mahdi serves an integral part of Iran’s Twelver Shi’i religion, which in turn means it has an important role in official state policy.  Iran’s mission is to be the base for the return of the Twelfth Imam, and then serve as his headquarters during his righteous reign.  Without Iran, there is no place for the Imam to return.  That gives Iran the task of navigating and thriving in a modern world that has largely rejected religious dogma, while staying true to their faith.  This is how they can on one hand claim the West is backing Sunni extremist groups while on the other hold successful talks with those Western nations’ state departments.  Therefore, when people claim that insane fundamentalists rule Iran, it is important to remember they are only half-right.

Bibliography

Oregon State University. Definitions of Anthropological Terms. 26 December 2012. 22 July 2015. <http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth370/gloss.html>.