The Mahdi: Coming soon to a theater near you?

According to a report in the Tehran Times, Iran has formally invited American film production company Cineast to produce a documentary about the Islamic Messiah figure, Imam al-Mahdi.

In my book "Islamic Antichrist," I have gathered a wide range of information from various Islamic traditions, scholars and authors to show that Imam al-Mahdi bears many striking similarities to the biblical Antichrist.

Cineast's Michelle Nickelson has "welcomed the proposal." The purpose of the documentary will be "to prepare for the appearance of Imam Mahdi (AS) as the savior of humanity."

The report was based on an interview with Mohammadreza Eslamlu, who is a close friend to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's art adviser, Javad Shamaqdari.

Eslamlu spoke about the need for a documentary to correct the negative image that Mahdism has gained in the Western world: "Under the present circumstances in which we live, Islam, particularly Shia, increasingly has come under attack by the Western media, " Eslamu said.

After WorldNetDaily recently reported on the fifth annual Mahdi conference in Qom, Iran last month, the conference organizers expressed that the report unfairly portrayed Mahdism in a negative light. Ironically, the report was based on quotes taken directly from the Conference's Bright Future Institute website.

Understand the significance of the Muslim's Mahdi 'messiah' in Joel Richardson's new book, "The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast." Note: The book is also available in electronic form at reduced price through Scribd.

Opening the conference this year was Dr. Mahdi Mostafavi, the chairman of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization, who spoke against the dangers and evils of Christian Zionism. "Putting an end to the tyranny and brutality" of Zionism is one of the basic goals of Mahdism, he explained.

Eslamlu also expressed his disappointment with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, whose three-part series "God's Warriors" included footage from Iran. "She never presented an accurate image of Iran in 'God's Warriors'; moreover, it is absolutely against the culture of Mahdaviat and Shia. … By means of this proposal to Nickelson, we intend to correct this inaccurate and distorted image," he said.

Ironically, Nickelson was slated to produce a documentary entitled "We the People of the Islamic Republic of Iran" about the Iranian presidential election in June, but which could not be made due to the post-election turmoil.

Also ironic is the fact that Nickelson will not have free reign to produce the movie as she sees fit, but rather, Eslamlu has been directly assigned by Ahmadinejad's art adviser, to "accompany Nickelson in making the documentary."

The goal of producing a movie about Mahdism intended to sway the opinions of Western audiences seem to be part of the larger goal of spreading the ideology of the Iranian Revolution. At the Mahdi conference in August, the expansion of outreach was discussed. It was announced, for instance, that Iran will be establishing a University of Mahdism to train theologians and politicians.

Another speaker at the conference, Abdollah Adam Gaya from Nigeria, spoke about the need to export Mahdism to the West:

[In order] to fight against the [Western] cultural invasion against Islamic Shiite values, we must also export the Mahdism culture to the West. … Imperialist powers fear the growth of that culture and therefore they are after attacking it. …

Gaya also explained that the vehicle of Mahdism was the most effective tool to unite not only all Muslim countries, but also the whole world:

Propagating and defining the Mahdism Culture are the most effective steps in order to establish unity among Muslim nations of the world because not only Messianism and Mahdism are the common grounds for understanding between all Muslims but between all religions in the world.

Shortly thereafter, Ayatollah Khamenei seems to have picked up Gaya's prompt by calling on the Muslim nations of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan to unite militarily in response to the imminent coming of the Mahdi.

While some in Iran, including Eslamlu, may feel that the Western world does not properly understand Mahdism, it would seem that much of their problem is simply that we do understand it. And much of our information come directly from the lips of Eslamu's own leaders.

Joel Richardson is the author of the latest WND Books offering, "The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast." Note: The book is also available in electronic form at reduced price through Scribd.