SPOTLIGHT
IS THE ANTI-CHRIST A FALSE MESSIAH OR A FALSE MAHDI ?
Just as there have been false Messiahs , there have been false Mahdis 1 . It is a common belief in the Muslim community that the Anti-Christ will be a False Messiah . Similarly , some in the Jewish and Christian communities believe the Anti-Christ will be a False Mahdi .
Every Abrahamic religion has its own concept of the Anti-Christ , the villain in God ’ s story who shall emerge during the end times to plunge the world into utter darkness . In medieval Judaism , he was known as Armilus . In Islam , his title is Dajjal , and more specifically , Masih ad-Dajjal which literally translates to The Deceptive Messiah or False Messiah .
It may be this translation that led some Muslim clerics to believe that the one recognised by the Jews to be the Messiah will actually be the Anti-Christ . Since Jews await the Messiah and Muslims await Imam Mehdi , such clerics perceive that Imam Mehdi and the Messiah are two different personalities who shall serve the interests of Muslims and Jews respectively . This misconception has spread far and wide in the Muslim community – perhaps in part because of the anti-Semitic attitudes that have prevailed since the politicisation of both Islam and Judaism in recent times .
On the other hand , some Western internet scholars perceive that the Anti-Christ is actually Islam ’ s messianic figure , Imam Mehdi . This extremely dangerous and gravely misguided notion also seems to be influenced by the deterioration of Muslim- Jewish relations .
1
‘ Mahdi ’ is a misnomer for the original title of the messianic figure in Islam , Imam Mehdi . ‘ Mahdi ’ means ‘ Guided One ’ whereas the original word , ‘ Mehdi ’ means ‘ Man of the Moon ’. The title of Imam Mehdi is in reference to the Messiah ’ s image being prominent on the Moon .
THE TRUE MEHDI • ISSUE 02 • FEB 2017 5