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What If……?

I pay little attention to “dooms day” predictions, but this is an interesting thought nonetheless. What if Iran was/is testing Israel’s responses to pronged attacks along its borders, in order to gauge just how well its managed to conceal Iranian military/technical advances, in preparation for something bigger? Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a strong believer in the return of the Mehdi, the Islamic equivalent to the Jewish and Christian Messiah.

Kenneth Timmerman provides an interesting insight as to why Iranian school textbooks are written in way that appears to be preparing their young for war with the West. He notes:

“Highly-respected Princeton University scholar Bernard Lewis warned recently that Ahmadinejad’s choice of August 22 for his response to the U.S.-backed ultimatum on Iran’s nuclear program could have a religious significance. In an oped in the Wall Street Journal, Prof. Lewis pointed out that August 22 coincides with the date in the Muslim religious calendar when the Prophet Mohammad traveled to Jerusalem in a dream, tied up his horse, and ascended to the 7th heaven to speak with Allah directly.

Prof. Lewis argues that the West must take such things seriously, not as mere coincidence, and warns that Ahmadinejad could use the opportunity to unleash “the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world.” In support of his conclusion that Ahmadinejad and his followers in Iran are not wild-eyed fanatics but represent the mainstream of the Islamic Revolution since 1979, Prof. Lewis cites a well-known admonition by Ayatollah Khomeini that is found in an 11th grade Iranian textbook, Islamic Viewpoint.

“I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them,” Khomeini says. “Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another’s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours.”

Bret Stephens, (from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board) in a hypothetical interview between himself and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asks:

“The scholar Bernard Lewis recently made note of your repeated references to the 27th day of Rajab in the Islamic year of 1427. That date corresponds to Aug. 22 — a week from today. Anything special planned for the occasion? Or is it a surprise? “

While I am not saying that I believe a threat by Iran is imminent, I won’t discard the notion that such a scenario could take place, especially when religous fanaticism is factored into the equation. KGS

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