• "End Of The World"

    From Steve Asher@3:800/432 to All on Fri Nov 25 02:46:20 2005
    The "Mahdi" will not provide a solution to earth's problems,
    and many people will place their trust in a false messiah, the
    Beast whose number is 666.

    --------------------------------------------------------------

    Don't Panic, It's the End of the World
    By Observer Staff
    Nov 24, 2005 - Vol.VIII Issue 46

    War may hang as grim threat over the Middle East, but for some
    people in Yemen the current situation has a strange silver lining.

    The political situation of accusation and recrimination may seem to
    have no end, yet some religious scholars oddly welcome it - because
    they see the trouble as a sign that heralds the Mahdi's redemption of
    the world.

    The Mahdi, from the Arabic al-mahdi-, literally "he who is rightly
    guided," from hada-, "to lead in the right way", is the Muslim messiah
    who is expected to appear in the world sometime before it ends.

    Just as the American Christian evangelist Pat Robertson claims the
    recent wave of natural disasters points to the return of Jesus, so
    Sadeq al-Haymi, a 70-year-old religious elder in Sana'a, claims the
    troubles in the Middle East point to the Mahdi's coming.Indeed, Al-
    Haymi, who counts prayers with an antique rosary in his hand, actually
    smiles when he talks about Syria and its strained relations with the
    USA.

    "The world only needs one more thing for it to end," he said. "Perhaps
    an embargo on Syria might be the final sign that foretells the return
    of the Mahdi. The Mahdi will appear at the end of time." He continued:
    "War and an embargo on Syria could be those very signs of a change.
    When the Mahdi comes he will create a strong Muslim caliphate that
    reverses injustice and spreads justice across the world."

    Surprisingly, Al-Haymi is not too concerned about his forecast for
    apocalypse, exuding a chirpy fatalistic enthusiasm for destruction.

    "What is the use of fearing something since everything is
    preordained?" he says. "This is the end of the time and after that,
    God's kingdom will dominate. Then there will be no other powers
    conflicting, no American-Iran conflict, no Israel-Palestine conflict,
    there will be only God showing the people how powerful he is."

    [...]

    "It all marks one thing: The End Is Coming," she prophesied
    cheerfully, adding in a sweeping comment that the "Jews and the
    Christians are all behind it", although she struggled to explain
    either how or why - nor provide any evidence to back up her claim.

    "The world's military buildup is now at its apex," she continued
    undeterred. "It is preordained. There only needs to be a spark to
    start a devastating war, nuclear weapons are used and humanity will
    be back to the Middle Ages."

    -=<*>=-

    Full article at "Yemen Observer"
    http://www.yobserver.com/news_8704.php


    Cheers, Steve..

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    * Origin: Xaragmata / Adelaide SA telnet://xaragmata.thebbs.org (3:800/432)