President Ahmadinejad’s speech before the UN General Assembly in
September was a towering diplomatic dud. Instead of assuaging the
prim gentlemen in the audience — who are always willing to suffer
through long harangues from third-world despots, as long as they
paint the West as omnipresent villain — Ahmadinejad indulged in
warlike hyperbole, threatening to “reconsider” his nation’s
supposedly peaceful pursuit of nuclear energy if Washington and its
allies continued to “impose their will” on Iran. The vitriol stood
out in the staid chambers of the UN, giving rise to another round
of vigorous brow-furrowing among the gathered elites.
Less well publicized — but no less important — was the content
delivered near the end of Ahmadinejad’s speech. Instead of
hard-edged provocations concerning his country’s quest for nuclear
power, Ahmadinejad unexpectedly delved into the mystical,
stating:
“From the beginning of time, humanity has longed for
the day when justice, peace, equality and compassion envelop the
world. All of us can contribute to the establishment of such a
world. When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all divine
religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human
being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the
world to justice and absolute peace. O mighty Lord, I pray to you
to hasten the emergence of your last repository, the promised one,
that perfect and pure human being, the one that will fill this
world with justice and peace.”
The “repository” of which Ahmadinejad spoke is the 12th Imam, or
Mahdi, who Shi’ite theology holds will return it some distant date
to bring about an earthly utopia. Of course, any mention of
religion inside the palace of effete secularism would have raised
eyebrows, but Ahmadinejad’s fire and brimstone must have been
particularly confusing to those unaccustomed with the finer points
of myopic Shi’ite mysticism. Ahmadinejad evidently failed to pick
up on the discomfort of the audience, however. During a recent
discussion with leading cleric Ayatollah Amoli, Ahmadinejad
revealed that he had sensed “a light” surrounding him as soon as he
uttered the words “in the name of God.” With the favor of the
divine in place, Ahmadinejad suggested that the spectators at the
UN “had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic
Republic” and that the incandescent specter prevented them from
blinking.
To most Iranians, President Ahmadinejad’s revelations and
over-the-top religious imagery are standard faire. While
undoubtedly magnified by rumor and street chatter, Ahmadinejad’s
confirmed relationship with religious extremists, along with the
degree to which he has embraced their bleak and violent visions, is
a sufficient cause for concern.
AHMADINEJAD’S ODD FIXATION ON the apocalypse may stem from his
close association with Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, a fire-brand cleric
who advocates total separation from the West. Mesbah-Yazdi has
lived in virtual isolation for the past 20 years, holed up in
de-facto exile in the Shi’ite holy center of Qom. Considered
extreme even by the hard-liners of the ruling Guardian Council,
Mesbah-Yazdi is thought to be a rival of Supreme Guide Ayatollah
Khamanei, the two having clashed quietly over political and
doctrinal issues. Such a fissure is not difficult to imagine, given
Mesbah-Yazdi’s fanatical devotion to the tenets of extremist Shi’a
Islam, which — in his estimation — justify the immediate
execution of those who dare insult the religion. Mesbah-Yazdi has
also suggested that killing “intellectuals” is sanctioned by God
himself, and that “pluralism” is Satanic trickery.
The invective of Mesbah-Yazdi is usually transmitted in the
pages of Parto Sakhan, a Qom-based daily which regularly
pillories anyone who deviates from the extremist line. Targets in
the past have included Presidents Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami,
who was deemed especially “problematic.” Other pages are devoted to
the recruitment of suicidal “martyrs” to be deployed in Iraq or
against the “Jews in occupied Palestine.”
With the elevation of Ahmadinejad — who considers the mad
Ayatollah his chief “spiritual guide” — Mesbah-Yazdi may no longer
be relegated to the shadows. Already, close advocates of his
maniacal brand of Islam have stepped into leadership positions,
including, most notably, Mojtaba Hashemi Samareh, the president’s
chief political operative. Mesbah-Yazi acolytes were also thought
to have played a leading role in Ahmadinejad’s cabinet selections,
which were notable both for their lack of credentials and their
excess religiosity. Additionally, internal security agencies have
been placed under the command of Mesbah-Yazdi followers.
Upon his assumption of office in Iran, Ahmadinejad chaired a
formal meeting of ministers and deputies. The first order of
business, suggested the new president, was the ratification of an
agreement between the government and the 12th Imam. Apparently
unfazed by the paranormal request, the presidential-loyalists
signed the agreement, which was then dropped down the Jamarakan
Well, a likely setting for the return of the Long Awaited One.
This story — sourced mostly to opponents of the regime — seems
so farcical that its authenticity is indeed somewhat questionable.
However, its central suggestion that Ahmadinejad is a devoted
religious literalist — one who believes that the goal of national
leaders is to ready the world for the reemergence of divine
guidance — seems increasingly accurate. From his first day in
office, Ahmadinejad has thought nothing of connecting his belief in
the imminent return of the 12th Imam to the execution of state
policy. In a 7,000 word policy document delivered to Parliament or
Majlis, Ahmadinejad states clearly that power belongs to God and
the 12th Imam, who is currently in stasis. Therefore, reasons
Ahmadinejad, all authority should reside with the clerics, who can
ably rule in his temporary absence. Democracy, or even the faulty
version currently practiced by the Iranian state, will only delay
the return.
Ahmadinejad has been thoroughly honest in this use of dogma as
policy guide, including the 12th Imam in almost every one of his
public speeches. At various conferences with officials, Ahmadinejad
is known to preface most recommendations with the statement that
“followers of this divine school of Islamic thought are doing their
best to pave the way for his [the 12th Imam’s] urgent
reappearance.” During a meeting with regional governors following
his election, Ahmadinejad excoriated the officials for their
terrestrial concerns — crops, roads, and crime — and urged them
to concentrate their energies on constructing the perfect Islamic
state. In November, before a gathering of the nation’s leading
clerics, Ahmadinejad reiterated his role in the return of the
Mahdi: “Our revolution’s main mission is to pave the way for the
reappearance of the 12th Imam.”
MESBAH-YAZDI AND AHMADINEJAD’S SINCERE belief that the imminent
return of the 12th Imam — ushered in by an apocalyptic
conflagration — echoes the grim prognostication of the shadowy
Hojjatieh Society. Founded in 1953 by the Shah, the society was
originally dedicated to converting followers of the Ba’hai
religion. As the group expanded, it began to develop and embrace
more fantastic concepts, including one which justified the
instigation of societal chaos, so as to augur the return of the
Mahdi. Using this belief as their guide, Hojjatieh members refused
to become involved in the 1979 Revolution, believing the Shah’s
missteps to be the perfect spark for the return of the Mahdi.
Considered so extreme that the Ayatollah Khomeini formally banned
the group in the early 1980s, the society was forced to move
underground.
However, it is widely believed that the philosophy of Hojjatieh
survives, espoused by numerous theological schools in Iran, the
most prestigious being the Hojjatieh-founded Haqqani school in Qom.
Haqqani’s most famous graduate? Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi.
While Ahmadinejad’s advocacy of tyrannical order do not
necessarily gel with the tumultuous prophecy of Hojjatieh, their
shared recognition of chaos on an international scale as a
legitimate precursor to the return of the mythical figure of the
12th Imam is troubling enough, especially considering the fact that
Ahmadinejad is close to gaining the perfect weapon for the
instigation of said disorder. The idea that such a man, mesmerized
by stagnant and violent myth, could soon gain access to nuclear
weapons, is simply unconscionable, especially considering the
tragic historical precedent of allowing certifiable madmen to gain
access to the instruments of mass destruction.
