In a surprise move, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday wished "all Christians happiness and prosperity on the occasion of the birth of the Christ," according to the Iranian Students News Agency.
But a Christian expert on Islam says we should not take the Muslim leader's statement as just a strange type of Christmas greeting -- but as a very serious theological pronouncement.
During the first part of his speech, the Muslim radical turned president referred to Jesus Christ in a way which seemed almost reverential.
"To guide mankind, Jesus offered all his love and sacrificed all his being," Ahmadinejad said. "He tolerated all the misunderstandings, the insults, pressures, agonies and imposition of all those around him. He was drawn into isolation and bore all this pain just to carry out his divine mission.
But the self-professed enemy of the U.S. took a very strange turn.
"I wish all the Christians a very happy new year," he said, "and I wish to ask them a question as well. My one question from the Christians is: What would Jesus do if he were present in the world today? What would he do before some of the oppressive powers of the world who are in fact residing in Christian countries? Which powers would he revive and which of them would he destroy? If Jesus were present today, who would be facing him and who would be following him?"
Ahamdinejad also called for the return of Jesus along with, as he put it, "the emergence of the descendant of the Islam's Holy Prophet, Imam Mahdi." Together, he said, the two would "wipe away every tinge of oppression, pain and agony from the face of the world."
Dr. Ergun Mehmet Caner, president of Liberty Theological Seminary at Liberty University said be careful -- Ahmadinejad is sending a wake-up call to the West. The Jesus he's talking about is different from the Christian's conception of the Savior.
"It's important for Christians to understand that Muslims are not monolithic," Caner told CitizenLink. "That is, all Muslims don't believe the exact same thing. And among the subsets -- the Shi'ia and Sunni -- there is a group called the 12th Imam Shi'ites. Iran is filled with Shi'ites. And many of the ayatollahs (religious leaders) there are 12th Imam Shi'ites.
"A Shi'ite Muslim believes that Jesus never died -- he wasn't crucified, but was assumed into Paradise -- and that there will come a day when Allah sends Jesus back to Earth and He will meet up with the other one who the Shi'ia believe has not died, Al-Mahdi, and they, together, will fight the Anti-Christ.
"So, all of this preparation that Ahmadinejad talks about, is in preparation for Al-Mahdi to return. Al-Mahdi was a caliph in the 9th Century who they believe never died -- he's hiding in caves, waiting to return.
Caner, who was raised as a Muslim, said he heard this kind of talk "just about every week of my life" before he converted to Christianity at age 18. Applying it to the War in Iraq and to Iran's creation of an atomic bomb, the theologian expressed concern.
"We constantly run into people in the American republic who think that this is a political issue," he said, "that there is negotiation is involved. You cannot negotiate with those who see this as eschatology.
"For the Muslim, especially for those in Iran, and especially for the Shi'ia, this is prophecy. And it is incumbent upon them to prepare the Earth for the coming of Allah, and for the sending of Jesus."
For Americans, Ahmadinejab's words should be a wake-up call.
"It's a wake-up call for politicians who think that all we need to do is negotiate," he said. "This is not going away."
Exactly what might Iran do to try to bring about the return of Jesus? Nuclear warfare would not be beyond the pale.
"There are words of Mohammed in the Qu'ran which teach that there is going to be 'a great fire,' " Caner said. "So the nuclear component of this for them has a prophetic dimension. Muslims see nuclear holocaust, nuclear warfare, as the bringing about of the end days -- 'the Glorious Days,' that Muslims refer to.
"They are not in this for negotiation, they are in it for the long haul -- and it is incumbent upon us to either take it up now, or it will come back to haunt us later.
"The reason why we're dealing with this now is because we did not deal with it 15 years ago," Caner said. "If we do not deal with this threat now, we will be back there when our children are grownups."
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Focus on Social Issues Web site contains information about Islam important to know in a post-9/11 environment.
/FOSI/islam/
In addition, we recommend Dr. Caner's book, "Unveiling Islam," written with Dr. Emir Fethi Caner, as an excellent look into the theology behind certain Muslim beliefs -- and behind the mindset of Islamic terrorists.
