Cartoons and Raptures and the Twelfth Imam

One of the blogosphere’s most observant writers, Alexandra of All Things Beautiful has been watching the ongoing “Cartoon War” and she’s wondering about how things like End-Times scenaria, the Christian Right and Israel are part-and-parcel of the broader scheme of things. She wants to get a discussion going over at her place and writes:

I am particularly interested to know what impact in your opinion, if any, contemporary dispensational thinking might have on foreign policies concerning the Middle East at large and Jerusalem in particular in the coming years.

I think it’s a discussion more than worth having, and knowing the caliber of Alexandra’s commenters, the comments thread is bound to be one you’ll want to check back with over and over as the day goes on. Days, even, as sometimes the talks at ATB can go on for a while.

I would add only one thing to the stew she’s cooking up over there, and that is the whole question of Iran and it’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who seems to believe that he has been put into office to usher in The Twelfh Imam.

According to Shi’ite teaching, the Twelfth Imam will not require an introduction upon his return. His identity will be self-evident to all, or at least to those capable of recognizing him. One view states that he will rule through a deputy, or perhaps the deputy will precede the Imam’s return. Perhaps the deputy’s identity should also be evident to all who can see.

While Ahmadinejad has not drawn an explicit connection between his desire to see Israel wiped off the map and an activist belief in the Twelfth Imam’s return, the dots are there to be connected once one understands the tyrannical “logic” behind someone who, perhaps viewing himself as a self-proclaimed deputy for the Twelfth Imam, might wish to effect Mahdi’s return. The deputy would promote Iran’s nuclear capabilities for they are key to effecting chaos in the world. The deputy would also purge diplomats, dozens of deputy ministers and heads of government banks and businesses, and challenge the Iranian ruling clerical establishment. All these moves push the regime toward a “coup d’état” (according to one Iranian source) or at least a constitutional crisis. But a constitutional crisis would be a mere stepping stone for a president for whom the Twelfth Imam does not require an Islamic republic to return.

There are some who believe that President Bush and Ahmadinejad both believe they are ushering in “the end times.” I don’t believe it of Bush, but I know some do. What a world!

All of this would be a hell of a movie, wouldn’t it? Starring Julia Roberts as Christiane Amanpour, of course! :-)

If you’re more of a mind to keep reading about the “Cartoon Wars,” there is certainly a lot out there.

Gina Cobb is bucking the CW and suggesting that the mocking of Muhammed is going too far, that lines are being crossed which really shouldn’t be.

Gateway Pundit, who like Michelle Malkin has been all over this story from the beginning, reports that some – I say, SOME – on the left are finding common cause with Radical Islam. Again. Speaking of “again,” Michelle looks at the libraries and finds that many of our librarians are, shall we say, conflicted. Yes, let’s say conflicted, for now.

Gerald at Closed Cafeteria links to a pretty inflammatory sermon broadcast over Al Jazeera, and he notes a few signs you may not have seen. Why do all these signs look like they were made by one busy grad student?

Kobayashi Maru imagines the press story were the Midwest to “rise in protest” over depictions of Jesus.

UPDATE: The astounding Michelle Malkin has an exhaustive round-up of which American papers and news shows are and are not showing the “offensive” cartoons. Michelle makes the point that when these cartoons appeard (back in SEPTEMBER, ’04, let’s not forget) they were not printed with an intention of malice but as part of a news story. Can’t be said too often, but no one seems to be listening. I’m a little surprised to read that some television reports are pixilating the images – I don’t recall them doing so for “Piss Christ,” but then they’ve all grown in enlightenment and sensitivity since then, right? Right?