In light of ongoing, successive collapses, boundless bloodshed, and deepening divisions across the Arab world, a voice suddenly whispers to the common people: “The appearance of the Mahdi is near… be patient, for these trials are signs of his closeness.”
These messages, though cloaked in religious hope, are far from innocent. They form part of a comprehensive, diabolical plan orchestrated by intertwined political, religious, military, and intelligence forces—all working to numb the consciousness of Arab peoples and psychologically prepare them for a foundational transformation: the restructuring of the Middle East on new terms—stripped of sovereignty, identity, and genuine resistance.
The “appearance of the Mahdi” is not solely a religious concept. It has become a psychological-political instrument activated whenever authoritarian regimes or hegemonic powers seek to suppress popular outrage or deflect attention from massacres and strategic concessions. Recent statements by Iranian cleric Mohammad Mahdi Mir Baqeri, close to the Supreme Leader, exemplify this manipulation. He declared:
“The process of bringing forth the Imam of the Age in the world has begun, and the command for his appearance has been issued. It is in the process of realization… trials and challenges must occur before empowerment.”
Such words are saturated with deceit, speaking directly to the collective emotional psyche at a moment of extreme vulnerability. Political catastrophe is rebranded as “preparation for relief,” and despair is reframed as “part of a divine plan.” Instead of resisting the humiliation, hunger, and devastation imposed upon them, people are led to believe that these sufferings are necessary—perhaps even blessed—because the Mahdi is near. This is not faith—it is strategy. A methodical sedation of public awareness, no different from the opiate Marx described when he portrayed religion as a tool of authority.
As crises intensify, references to “preparation” and “appearance” multiply. People increasingly and reflexively associate collapse with salvation, and massacres with imminent victory—without a shred of tangible evidence. Worse still, certain Islamic movements have become integral to this dangerous narrative. Hamas played a pivotal role in one of its most perilous episodes on October 7th.
Set aside the chants and slogans. A cold, dispassionate analysis raises troubling questions: How did Hamas execute such a large-scale operation without broader coordination or a defined post-strike strategy? How did thousands of Palestinian families end up in the abyss of Israeli retaliation while no other front meaningfully moved? Was this outcome unforeseen—or, in some circles, quietly desired?
On a silver platter, Hamas handed Israel the very pretext it had long awaited: justification for expansion and utter devastation in Gaza, the emptying of its population, the erasure of true resistance, and the military and demographic re-engineering of the region. Meanwhile, the masses were distracted—chanting, hoping, waiting… or whispering, “O Allah, hasten the appearance of the Mahdi!”
Here lies the core question: Are we witnessing strategic naivety? Or complicity masked as resistance? Has Hamas, wittingly or unwittingly, fallen into the snare of a far larger design? One not devised solely in military command centers, but also in the shadowy offices of British and American intelligence agencies—experts in psychological warfare, social dismantling, and public manipulation to reshape the region in service of their own interests.
The covert role of Western intelligence in embedding and amplifying apocalyptic ideas is not new. For decades, agencies such as MI6 and the CIA have used “political Islam” as a means of infiltration and influence. But today, the paradigm has shifted: religion is no longer a tool for revolution—it is now a sedative. The myth of the Mahdi’s imminent return, the glorification of prophecies, and the portrayal of suffering as divine signals are mechanisms to suppress awakening and delay resistance.
The new Middle East is not being constructed through military might alone, but through deep psychological engineering. A cornerstone of this strategy is the manipulation of the religious imagination. What we are witnessing today is the coordinated activation of this apparatus: on one side, the spread of Mahdist rumors in Iran and Iraq; on the other, the intensifying destruction in Gaza, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. The aim: to immerse the Arab individual in utter helplessness—and to offer, in return, the false comfort of “divine salvation.”
All of this unfolds under the watchful eye of Western intelligence. Strings are pulled, strategies are revised, and control mechanisms are recalibrated—while peoples are caught between brutal reality and numbing illusion. In this intricate landscape, there is little distinction between a bomb dropped on Gaza and a sermon claiming, “The command for the Imam’s appearance has been issued.” Both are weapons. Both are elements of the same war.
The most perilous development today is not the bombings, the displacement, or the geopolitical schemes. It is the sedation of Arab populations in the name of religion, and the numbing of their emotions and consciousness from opposing the oppression they endure. Anyone who helps spread these rumors of the “near savior,” or who justifies mass suffering as “divine trial” without challenging reality and resisting it, is complicit in the crime.
Now is the time to reclaim our awareness, expose this grand deception, and redefine religion as a force of rejection and liberation—not sedation and compliance. This is the final front: consciousness. And those who do not defend it will soon find they have nothing left to defend.
Dr. Hatem Sadek – Professor at Helwan University
