Back in 2008, on my old website, I posted a Q & A with the leader of a (then) new Mahdist group in Iraq, one Sayyid al-Yamani–also known as Ahmad al-Hasan. His Ansar al-Mahdi, “Supporters of the Mahdi,” believed that al-Hasan was the son of the out-of-occultation Twelfth Imam (although they were a bit vague on the details). Well, that group has now evolved into the “Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light” (not to be confused with the much larger Ahmadiyya community–which dates from the 19th century, and also believes its founder was the Mahdi, as well as the returned Jesus). Its leader is Ahmad al-Hasan’s son, Abdullah Hashem Aba al-Sadiq, whom they refer to as the “second Mahdi.”

These folks are syncretistic (every major prophet and thinker is history is revered), oh-so-progressive, and even open to those of the LGBTQ persuasion. Those sorts of beliefs, coupled with their overt Mahdism, makes them a target for mainstream, especially Sunni, Muslims. And that’s what happening in Turkey. A hundred or so of them have been detained in Turkey, trying to get into Europe via Bulgaria. Some report being held in horrible conditions, and even abuse. Members are said to have come from Thailand, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Azerbaijan and the Palestinian territories. Their leader is said to have been raised in Egypt. On the website of a Western follower, al-Sadiq is shown wearing a toboggan cap pulled down over his eyes, sporting a close-cropped beard and stylishly clad in black. He published a book on the group’s teachings in 2022, which include reincarnation and that these are the end times.

Screenshot from the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light website.

If a more belligerent Mahdi is your cup of tea, then the latest news out of Iran should thrill you. Last month, Professor Gholamreza Qasemian, “director of the Majlis [Parliament] library, museum, and archives and expert in religion for Iran’s broadcasting” had some interesting public comments. “Israel only has three years left to exist. There is even no need for a war….[it] will self-destruct.” And so the Islamic Republic’s main enemy will not be the Jewish state. “Who will we face at the final war? The Hejaz, Saudi Arabia, which is the America of the Arabian Peninsula. This will lead to the conquest of the main Qibla [the direction facing the Ka`abah in Mecca] and the Hidden Imam will reappear there.” Qasemian also opined that “since they know this, they have snipers all around the Masjid al-Haram” [the Sacred Mosque of Mecca]. I wonder if it takes some kind of magic bullet to kill the Mahdi? Those snipers better hope they don’t miss. Because if they do, the Twelfth Imam will probably wreak a terrible vengeance.

These quite different Islamic messianic figures stand at the two opposite poles of Twelver Shi`i eschatology. The latter view presented has the advantage of being supported by a rich and powerful nation (which just got richer, thanks to Joe Biden). That of Abdullah Hashem Aba al-Sadiq seems destined to fail. But since it’s much more in tune with the zeitgeist, perhaps not. Time will tell.

We Christians, looking at the Ahmadis’ one-size-fits-all messianism, might be forgiven for seeing hints of Antichrist. Especially their claim that al-Sadiq’s teachings constitute a “new Gospel.” St. Paul warned “even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse” (Galatians 1:8).

Russia’s #2 man, Dmitry Medvedev (currently Security Council Deputy Chairman; former PM and President), has been waxing eschatological lately. Last year he warned that the horsemen of the Apocalypse might well be riding out (by the way, Newsweek: why do you capitalize “New Testament” but not “bible?”); and he stated that Russia’s war in Ukraine is part of its struggle against Satan. Last week he doubled down, claiming that “the prophecies of the Apocalypse are getting closer.” This echoes, albeit in more overtly Christian language, what Numero Uno Vladimir Putin says. Whether these two men are true believing Orthodox Christians, or deceptive opportunists, is debatable. (Although why couldn’t they be both?) But when the chaps in charge of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal talk like this, we need to take them seriously–not scoff at their beliefs (a phenomenon about which I was interviewed two weeks ago). The folks in our government and media who do so are making the same arrogant mistake they do with Islam and Muslims: “REAL Muslims (or Christians) wouldn’t believe or act like that. Those religions are PEACEFUL.” Can such types be any more ignorant, willfully or not, of religions in history?

“Ragnarök,” Wikipedia (Public Domain). Maybe Hela is the Sixth Horseman, er, Horsewoman?

Speaking of the world’s second-largest religion, there’s End Times news on that front, too. In Gujarat, India, some Muslims have been arrested for “targeting interfaith individuals” by “intercepting the couple” and then “thrash[ing] them in the name of moral policing”–after which they would upload the videos thereof to social media. This group called themselves the “Army of Mahdi.”

Of course, it could be a lot worse than just some “thrashing.” Mainstream Sunni and Shi`i commentators on the End Times believe that the Mahdi and Jesus (who returns as a Muslim) will give non-Muslims the Hobson’s choice of conversion or death. (When I attended a Mahdism conference in Iran in 2008, I sat through an entire panel on this topic. I refrained from commenting during, however.) The Mahdi may as well mount up and ride out with the Four Horsemen, then.

Russia’s Orthodox Christian leadership is simply warning about the intersection of geopolitics and their faith’s eschatological elements. Some Muslim leaders, however, especially in Iran, do seem to want to get the End Times timer counting down. It remains to be seen whether you can hotwire a horse.