Muqtada as-Sadr himself is enraged by the claim. In any case, this incident demonstrates that religious movements can grow up in the Islamic world as easily as anywhere else; they’re just punished more severely in majority-Muslim countries, because of Islam’s death penalty for heresy and apostasy. In light of that, these people got off easy with just prison terms.
“Over 50 arrested for spreading rumors that Sadr is long-awaited Imam,” Rudaw, June 11, 2023 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s judiciary announced on Sunday that members of a group of Sadrist followers were sentenced to prison for spreading rumors claiming the Shiite cleric is a long-foretold messianic figure.
In April, a group called “People of the Cause” started spreading rumors that the long-awaited Imam al-Mahdi will appear at the Kufa mosque, at a time which coincided with the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s religious retreat at that mosque. The claims by the group that Sadr was the promised one enraged him, prompting him to announce the freezing of his Sadrist Movement for a year.
On Sunday, Iraq’s judiciary announced in a statement that Baghdad’s al-Karkh court sentenced 51 of the members of the group to one year in prison, and the leader of the group to two years.
According to the statement from the judicial council, the leader of the group recruited a large number of youth and released many statements as well as speeches to convince his followers that he was the Angel Jibrail (Gabriel) who came down from the heavens, and that he had been tasked with announcing the appearance of the long-awaited Mahdi.
The leader of the group planned to make the announcement live on Facebook on “Lailat al-Qadr”, which is a holy night in the month of Ramadan when Muslims spend the night praying and worshipping.
Islamic theology says that a messianic figure, known as Imam al-Mahdi among Shiites and Muhammad al-Mahdi among Sunnis, will emerge at the end of times to redeem Islam and rid the world of evil. Naming the figure is condemned by both sects, as it falls into the category of al-Ghaib (the concealed), which is information known only by God….
DHZ says
A cult (People of the Cause) within a cult (Shiism) within a cult (Islam) that was created using elements of previous polytheist religions, by a middle aged man with a sex addiction. If religion is a search for truth than the “People of the Cause” are insane and operate in a place far removed from reality.
Nick says
Every religion had a spiritual cause. Religion is not the problem , false religions are the problem. Islam was created by Satan and Muhammad admits to communicating with Satan and being beaten up by the angel.
Burnaby Lad says
Sadr announced the freezing of his Sadrist Movement for a year
Iraqis know him as ‘Baghdad Bob’ so translation – no national elections for a year
mahdi news
Walter Sieruk says
To give some Bible based information with authorized Islamic literature also taken into account and yet not to go into detail and that state that this is a theory of Bible prophecy and not a complete prophecy fact. This is what might happen. This awful and terrible conflict in the twenty -first century is part of the war between the Judo- Christian West and the Islamic East. The Mahdi will arise in the Middle East he will appear a wonderful man to many people, in reality he will be wicked man and will be so very deceitful and lying to he will seem, very much, like a good righteous and rightly guided man who will make a short and false “peace” in the Middle East. The Mahdi with have a partner who will be the false “jesus” of Islam. This Islamic ”jesus” will give Christian’s a choice , which is convert to Islam or die by beheading, this is the Koranic way to killing non-Muslims, as in 47:4. Those vicious murders of Christians in the future are predicted in the Bible. As seen in Revelation 20:4.
Furthermore in Israel the Mahdi “shall divide the land” Daniel 11:39. [K.J.V.] between the Jews and Muslims and the Mahdi will also by many deceiving lying signs and wonders, will unify Shi ‘ite and Sunni Islam together common goal destroying the State of Israel ,once and for all. The Mahdi will then take the all the military force of Islam with Satanic intention of totally destroying the Jewish State, one and for all. The when the Second Coming of real Jesus will occur .This is at the Battle of Armageddon where the final and complete defeat of the Mahdi, along with false ”jesus,” and his Islamic military forces. After the great Victory there will be then the total destruction of Islam. As found in the Bible in, for example, Ezekiel chapter 37 and 38. Zechariah Chapter 12 and then 14:9-21 well as in Revelation 19:11-21.
There is an Christian Arab pastor ,Michael Youssef who had written two well researched and informative books about the Islamic messiah called the Mahdi the are END TIMES AND THE SECRET OF THE MAHDI also the book entitled JESUS , JIHAD AND PEACE Furthermore, another Christian author on the topic of the Mahdi and prophecy is other than pastor Youssef is Joel Richardson who wrote THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST :THE SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE BEAST and the other book entitled THE MIDEAST BEAST : THE SCRIPTURAL CASE FOR THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST.