Christianity and Radical Islam:

[Aquila]

It appears that most of Christianity is ignoring a very dangerous factor regarding radical Islam. As we quietly practice our faith and speculate about theological issues Islam is taking over as the fastest growing religion on the planet. It's also the most powerful religion represented at the United Nations. Add the complexities of radical Islam's enfluence and things can get pretty nasty fast. One thing I've not heard many talk about is that Islam is also awaiting a Messiah of sorts, one they call the al-Mahdi. According to Islamic tradition the al-Mahdi will unite Muslims with the aid of Jesus (who preaches Islam and works miracles), wage war against the Jews and infidels. Establish his rule in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock) and take over the world. He also prepares the world to war agaist the ad-Dajjal (Islamic Antichrist) who appears after al-Mahdi establishes his rule. Al-Mahdi's rule is believed to last 7 or 19 years.

Most Christians will find the Islamic eschatology erily familiar with one exception.... the Islamic Messiah does what most traditional Christians see the Antichrist as doing. As we speak radical Muslims are praying for the arrival and revealing of al-Mahdi. Are we as the body of Christ prepared if this should happen? Will the al-Mahdi be the Antichrist many believe the Bible warns us about? Will Islam be the vehicle by wich the final Antichrist gains religious and political power over the world?

[Dedicated Mind]

I don't believe a muslim will be the antichrist. Islam is one huge mistake away from being nuked. I believe the antichrist will be a european universalist who will outlaw all forms of esclusivism, christian or islamic.

[Praxeas]

We've had several threads on Islam, most started by me. I don't think "we" are ignoring it. I think "we" see very little to do about it and the world in general, other than pray and keep reaching out to lost souls

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by Aquila

It appears that most of Christianity is ignoring a very dangerous factor regarding radical Islam. As we quietly practice our faith and speculate about theological issues Islam is taking over as the fastest growing religion on the planet. It's also the most powerful religion represented at the United Nations. Add the complexities of radical Islam's enfluence and things can get pretty nasty fast. One thing I've not heard many talk about is that Islam is also awaiting a Messiah of sorts, one they call the al-Mahdi. According to Islamic tradition the al-Mahdi will unite Muslims with the aid of Jesus (who preaches Islam and works miracles), wage war against the Jews and infidels. Establish his rule in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount (Dome of the Rock) and take over the world. He also prepares the world to war agaist the ad-Dajjal (Islamic Antichrist) who appears after al-Mahdi establishes his rule. Al-Mahdi's rule is believed to last 7 or 19 years.

Most Christians will find the Islamic eschatology erily familiar with one exception.... the Islamic Messiah does what most traditional Christians see the Antichrist as doing. As we speak radical Muslims are praying for the arrival and revealing of al-Mahdi. Are we as the body of Christ prepared if this should happen? Will the al-Mahdi be the Antichrist many believe the Bible warns us about? Will Islam be the vehicle by wich the final Antichrist gains religious and political power over the world?

I would love to hear what Walks in Islam would have to say on this topic

[Aquila]

From an interesting article...

+ = Christianity
* = Islam
- = Commentary

Comparisons

• THE FIRST MAJOR FIGURE: Introducing the Antichrist in the Bible and Al-Mahdi

+ The first major personality we will deal with is the Antichrist mentioned in the Bible, also called "The Beast". This Beast is symbolic of the personality behind it and is not interpreted literally as an animal. This person will be an unparalleled political, military and religious leader in the Last Days (Rev 13:1-9).

* Muslims expect that at the End Times, there will arise a Muslim leader called al-Mahdi, meaning "The Guided One". He will be the leader of all the Muslims and will wage jihad against the rest of the world and bring the entire world under Islam. This means his kingdom will be world-wide and his accomplishment will surpass all the great Empires in history. Thus, he will be an unparalleled ruler over the whole world.

– Mahdism, as some call it, is a very important expectation among Muslims. Several Muslims, including Osama bin Laden, President Ahmadinejad of Iran, etc, have in recent history made speeches concerning this. More aspects of the al-Mahdi will be reviewed as we go down this list.
Some Muslims think that ad-Dajjal corresponds to the Biblical Antichrist. Islamic hadiths say that the followers of ad-Dajjal are mostly the Jews (numbering 70,000) and women. This hardly indicates a prominent Israeli leader, let alone a world leader. Hence, it is safe to say that ad-Dajjal is not a world leader. However, the hadiths do credit him with the ability to wreck havoc around the world. We shall see that there are other End Times personalities in the Bible that also have this ability. Also, the hadiths say that Muslims will be able to recognize ad-Dajjal and therefore will not follow him, so only that leaves a large segment of the world population who will resist him. Again, this indicates that ad-Dajjal is not the global leader that the Bible describes.
Now, turning the question around, how about the Antichrist and the "Christian" nations? The problem is of course one will be hard-pressed to find any "Christian" nation in the world. Europe is in the post-Christian era, and America is really not much far behind. There is no nation in this world that has its constitution grounded in the Bible (influenced, yes, but not grounded). After-all, with separation of church and state in these traditional "Christian" countries, many have abandoned Christianity as state religion to be more inclusive of everyone, including Muslims. So, for the whole world to follow the al-Mahdi (the Beast) is a real possibility, since another reason as we shall soon see, is that any Biblical Christians around will be persecuted during the End Times. Another reason is that Europe is fast becoming Islamicized, and as such, Europe might even become "Eurabia" soon. Thus Europe is or will be ready to accept, either willingly or not, the domination of Islam soon.


• WORLD'S REACTION TO HIM

+ The Bible says that the people of this world will be amazed and will follow the Beast (Rev 13:3,7). Many Christians believe that this is most probably after certain miracles have been performed and certain victories have been attained. The Bible describes him to have suffered a fatal wound, but was healed, thereby causing many people to marvel and follow him. Another reason is the Antichrist's military genius in conducting warfare.

* Regarding al-Mahdi, the hadiths say that "The inhabitants of Heaven and Earth will be pleased with him." and "Allah will sow love of him in the chests of the people". This means al-Mahdi will be a leader much loved and followed by the world, either through voluntary allegiance or because of being subdued through jihad. Thus, it is al-Mahdi will be a charismatic and attractive person that can command the love of the world.

– It is significant that the Bible describes the Antichrist as being one that the world will follow, while the hadiths describe that al-Mahdi will also be loved and followed. Once again, this clearly shows that the Antichrist does not correspond to ad-Dajjal since his followers numbers about 70,000 only. A significant portion of the world, the Muslims (forming about 1/4 of the world at this moment), will not follow ad-Dajjal. Hence, we should equate al-Mahdi with the biblical Antichrist.

To be continued....

[Aquila]

Continued...

• HIS EMPIRE

+ The Bible describes the Antichrist Empire as a resurrection of one or more of the seven Empires that preceeded it (Rev 17:9-11). When the Apostle John recorded the Book of Revelations, the Empire at the time was the Roman Empire, the 6th Empire ("one is"), and one more was yet to come, which will stay for a considerable period of time. (Rev 17:10). The eighth and final Empire before the End of the World is from the seven, but it is not the Roman Empire (Rev 17:11). For an explanation of why it is not the Roman Empire, see this article.

* The large world Empire that came after the Romans is of course the Islamic Empire, beginning at the time of Muhammad in the 7th century. Within a few decades, it has captured the entire Northern Africa, Persia and has reached Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Muslims fought many wars with the Romans until the latter fell in 1453. While the Islamic Empire could actually be divided into the Ummayyad, Abbassid and Ottoman Empire, they were essentially still Islamic empires. With the end of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1923, the Islamic Caliphate came to an end.
However, near the end of the world, Muslims are expecting al-Mahdi to appear to restore the Caliphate of the Muslims. While this revived Caliphate may have nothing to do with the Ottoman Caliphate, it is significant that it will definitely be an Islamic Caliphate.

– The Empires described in Rev 17:9-11 were great kingdoms that have to do with the Middle East. Bible teachers have identified the first five empires to be:
1. the Egyptian Empire,
2. the Assyrian Empire,
3. the Babylonian Empire,
4. the Persian Empire, and
5. the Greek Empire.

The 6th is the Roman Empire, the Empire during the time that the Apostle John was recording down the book of Revelations. Historically, we know that the Islamic Empire is the seventh. It conquered the Eastern Roman Empire with the fall of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul).
No real large Empire has emerged in the Middle East after the Ottomans. As Muslims are eagerly expecting and working to revive the Islamic Caliphate and if it indeed comes true sometime soon, then this new Caliphate will be a revival of the previous Islamic Empire that ended the Roman Empire. Not only that, such a revived Islamic Caliphate of al-Mahdi will also include the geographic regions of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th empire. And if our observation about Europe turning into Eurabia is correct, then this Islamic Caliphate will also cover the previous Roman Empire, meaning that the revived Islamic Caliphate will then be a revival of all seven previous empires. It will indeed be "from the seven", however you slice it!

• SOME LISTED NATIONS UNDER HIS RULE

+ The Bible describes that ten nations will come under the rule of the Antichrist, and he "will subdue three nations" (Dan 7:24). Here, "nations" may not necessarily be the countries we know today. These ten "nations" will form the basis of his Empire, from which he will then seek to subdue the rest of the world.
The Bible also describes some of the lands the Beast will lead (Dan 11:42, Ezek 38):
o Egypt, which he will attack and subdue (Dan 11:42).
o Meschek and Tubal (most likely parts of Turkey, parts of Southern Russia, parts of Iran),
o Magog (a region convering parts of either Syria and/or former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Turkey, Iran, Dagestan),
o Persia (modern Iran and Iraq. Ancient Persia also includes Iraq. The Euphrates River in Iraq is also mentioned together with the two Beasts in Rev 16:12-13),
o Cush (African Cush covers parts of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia. Asian Cush covers Arabia through Euphrates),
o Put (Libya),
o Gomer (Cappadocia, Turkey),
o Togarmah (southeastern part of Turkey near Syria)

Basically, this is the region spanning N. Africa, Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian Islamic Republics (the various -stans). This region are all Muslim dominated nations. The Bible says that these nations will then come together and attack the land of Israel.

* Muslims expect al-Mahdi (together with Isa) to unify and rule over all the Muslims, and thus the Islamic nations. Anyone who looks at the world map that shows the various religions can easily see that the region described above are all Muslim countries. Even though Muhammad said in the hadiths that Muslims are to pledge their allegiance to al-Mahdi when he is revealed, it is conceivable that some Muslims leaders do not or do not want to recognize him. This may cause him to want to attack and subdue those Muslim nations that do not recognize him. However, it is very likely that the people of those nations will give their allegiance to al-Mahdi.
Once he has united the Muslims, Al-Mahdi is said to then lead the Muslims and wage jihad against other (non-Muslim) nations and bring the entire world under Islam.

– It is significant that the list of areas and countries given in Dan 11:42 and Ezek 38 (written hundreds of years before Christ), and who will attack Israel, are today Muslim dominated nations. Many Muslims have expressed their desire to destroy the nation of Israel, from the Palestinians to the Iranian President Ahmadinejad. Thus, if al-Mahdi corresponds to the Biblical Antichrist, then he will already have a ready set of states to start his rule, whose people are united in religion and also in their desire to destroy Israel. In fact, various hadiths also say that the Muslims will attack and destroy Israel once and for all.
Dan 11:42 also prophesied that this world leader will attack and subdue Egypt (this could be one the three nations that was subdued by the Antichrist). This might seem strange as Egypt is also a Muslim country and one which has strong anti-Israel sentiments. However, it should also be noted that Egypt is a nation that currently has a peace treaty with Israel. Could it be that Egypt was attacked when it failed to respond to the call to war by al-Mahdi to attack Israel? Moreover, when Ezekiel prophesied about the nations coming to attack Israel (Ezek 38), Egypt was conspicuously absent.
Jordan is another country that currently has a peace treaty with Israel. And again, in Ezek 38, Jordan is also missing from the list of nations attacking Israel.
Is it just plain coincidence that two of Israel's surrounding nations that were not mentioned in the list of nations attacking Israel, and they so happen to be nations that currently have a peace treaty with Israel (namely Egypt and Jordan)?
Another interesting point is also the protest (albeit a very feeble one) against this attack by Saudi Arabia:
Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages will say to you, "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?" (Ezek 38:13)
Interestingly, these three countries were also singled out by al-Qaida in their message on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 incident:
"The collusion of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan is very clear."
It is interesting that current events are lining up in the exact same fashion as the Bible had prophesied thousands of years ago.

To be continued....

[Aquila]

Continued...

+ The Beast's Empire will combine characteristics of three previous Empires (Rev 13:2). The three empires described symbolically are:
1. Babylonian (symbolized by lion),
2. Medo-Persian (symbolized by bear) and
3. Greek (symbolized by leopard).
If we combine the three Empires, we again get almost the same areas above.

* al-Mahdi, of course, will rule over the Islamic states, and then some more. The core regions of his Empire coincides with the Bible's description.

– With the exception of the Macedonian portion (modern Greece) of the Greek Empire, the rest of the Greek Empire are all Islamic today. The areas covered by the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires are also all Islamic today. Greece used to be part of the Ottoman Caliphate. Will al-Mahdi try to reclaim Greece as part of the Islamic Caliphate soon after his rise to power? Once again, we see that the Empire of the beast is of the seven previous Empires.

• LENGTH OF HIS RULE

+ The Bible describes the Antichrist to rule for seven years (Dan 9:27).

* al-Mahdi will rule for seven years (some hadiths say 8 or 9, but the majority says seven). Some Muslims say that the seven years is the amount of time it takes for the jihad against the rest of the world.

– There are some disagreements if the "sevens" (or "weeks") in the book of Daniel are years or not, although many do believe it to be years. When compared against Dan 11:12 and Rev 11:2-3, it appears that a "seven" equaling seven years is a very reasonable interpretation.

• WHERE HE WILL COME FROM

+ The Beast will appear from the region occupied by the Seleucid Empire, one of the four that the Greek Empire founded by Alexander the Great was broken up into after his death (Dan 8:8-9). This region spans from the Aegean Sea to Afghanistan.

* The hadiths indicate that a Muslim leader will appear with an army from Khorasan (Greater Khorasan includes north eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Central Asian Islamic Republics), so it could be one of these regions or countries. This army will come to aid al-Mahdi.
"The world will not come to an end," said Muhammad, "until a man from my family (Ahlulbayt) and of my name shall be master of the world, When you see a green ensign coming from the direction of Khorasan, then join them, for the Imam of God will be with the standards who will be called Al-Mahdi."
Other hadiths say that he will come with black flags.

– The region mentioned in the hadiths are part of the regions of the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid Empire is the part that "grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land (another name for Promised Land)".

• HIS LOOKS

+ He has a stern look (Dan 8:23) - probably means intimidating. He will be a master of intrigue - that means highly intelligent. Some say that he will look like an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14) - probably means that he behaves religiously and/or have good looks and/or that there is light or glow on his face.

* The hadiths describe al-Mahdi as having a handsome look with broad forehead and a prominent nose, with an Arab complexion, but looks like a Jew (Children of Israel), "imposing and hardy". His face will be like a glittering star.

To be continued...

[Aquila]

Continued...

• HIS ASCENSION TO RULE

+ The ten nations are such that "They have one purpose, and they will give their power and authority to the beast." (Rev 17:13). This means that except for the subduing of the three nations, the rest of the league of ten nations will willingly give their right to govern their countries to the Antichrist. Also they will rule with the Beast for a moment (Rev 17:12).

* Muslims are commanded by Muhammad to give allegiance to al-Mahdi when he appears, "even if [they were to] crawl over ice". This means that some Muslim leaders, if they are good Muslims, will willingly give their allegiance and governance to al-Mahdi.

– Again, it is significant that both the biblical Antichrist and al-Mahdi are described as leaders that were given authority to rule, that people voluntarily come under his rule. The manner in which this person ascends to power is again uncannily similar.


+ "he was given a crown." (Rev 6:2), indicating that he was not of royalty, nor one that attempts to gain power at first. Instead, he was somehow persuaded to take up his rule.

* The hadiths say that al-Mahdi originally denied that he is the one Muslims are waiting for, and will try to escape but the knowledgeable people will search for him and finally people will pledge allegiance to him. Once his identity is revealed, all Muslims are to pledge allegiance to him.
– Once again, the similarity in people asking, persuading, even "forcing" him to lead is uncannily similar.

• HIS OTHER DISTINGUISHING TRAITS

+ He will come riding on a white horse and conquering (Rev 6:2).

* Ironically, some Muslims also think that al-Mahdi will be coming on a white horse and conquering, using the same passage (Rev 6:2) to justify it.

– Note that this description is not really in the hadiths. However, some Muslim scholars and writers, after studying the Bible, concludes that Rev 6:2 refers to al-Mahdi. It is indeed ironic that Christians view this passage to describe the Antichrist!

• HIS WEALTH

+ The Antichrist will have treasures of Egypt, Libya, Nubians (Northern Sudan, Southern Egypt) to give to his followers (Dan 11:43).

* These countries are all Muslim countries. The previous discussions already made clear that al-Mahdi will rule over them.

– Given that al-Mahdi rules over the areas listed above, it is no surprise that he has the treasures of those nations to give out.


+ He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers (Dan 11:24). He will distribute land (Dan 11:39).

* The hadiths says that during al-Mahdi's reign, "wealth will be in such abundance that no one will care about it" and that "At the end of Time, a Caliph will come who distributes wealth without counting." Thus, the hadiths say that there will be plenty of wealth during al-Mahdi's reign and so he will give to his followers. Since al-Mahdi rules over the nations mentioned above, he has the ability to give those treasures, as well as booty captured through jihad.

- It is interesting that Daniel 11:24,39 mentions the distribution of loot as part of the wealth available to him to distribute. This indicates that it was wealth that came through conquering other people and lands. When Muhammad began fighting the non-Muslims, he also distributed booty to his followers, a precedent followed by his successor Caliphs. Moreover, we are told that al-Mahdi will engage in jihad against the non-Muslims and thus, when he conquers them, he will have much booty to distribute.
Besides, al-Mahdi will sit over three-quarters of the world's oil reserves (also counting African and Asian countries that have Muslim majority). Oil is a commodity that is becoming more and more important in this modern world. Without oil imports, the economy of this world will grind to a halt. Fast and large developing economies like China and India (that is 40-50% of the world population) are today eagerly forging long term contracts with the Middle East (eg. Iran). Much of the world will be beholden, and likely even more so, to the Middle East for the foreseeable future before the oil runs out.
Not only that, the continued rising revenues from oil, will of course cause much wealth to flow into the Middle East. OPEC in September 2006 told the world to prepare for an age of new oil prices (signaling that the days of "cheap" oil is gone forever). The oil in much of the rest of the world will run out first, long (as in decades) before the Middle East, creating a very big dependency. The only other large oil reserves outside the Muslim dominated areas is in Canada, but this is in the form of tar-sands, which takes a lot of energy and money to extract. For the rest of the world, such dependency means that al-Mahdi will be able to bring about his rule much quicker. The conditions are simply too ripe for the global leader to emerge.


+ The Bible says that the Antichrist will enter peaceably the "richest province" (Dan 11:24). Note that in Hebrew, "richest" comes from the word "shiman" meaning fat, oil, grease. The Hebrew word for "province" is "Medinah".

* al-Mahdi will rule over the oil of the Middle East, which much of the whole world is beholden to.

– Islamic hadiths say that the ad-Dajjal (Muslim version of Antichrist) cannot enter Medinah in Arabia (the second most holiest place in Islam). So, if this verse coincides with Islamic apocalyptic expectations, then this passage should be referring to al-Mahdi and not the ad-Dajjal. This also means the ad-Dajjal is not the Antichrist the Bible is talking about.

To be continued...

[Aquila]

Continued...

• HIS FOREIGN POLICIES

+ He will make a treaty with many (likely Israel and possibly the West) for 7 years (Dan 9:27).

* The hadiths say that there will be a treaty with the Romans for seven years (the last of 4 such treaties). This appears to coincide with the reign of al-Mahdi. Muslims say this treaty is through a "Son of Aaron" (a Levite).

– The word "Romans" is often used in Muslim literature to refer to the Christians, although it is not clear if Christians were meant in the hadiths. In any case, many Muslims equate the West with Christianity. The treaty could also be made with a world body (eg. United Nations). Actually, the Bible does not mention Israel concerning this treaty, so it may or not be with an Israeli leader. However, it mentions the Temple sacrifice, so the content of this treaty is likely concerning Israel.
There are some disagreements over the interpretation of "sevens" or "weeks". However, many Bible scholars do believe that it refers to seven years.


+ He will break the treaty when the time is ripe; he is said to terminate the sacrifice in the middle of the seven years (Dan 9:27).

* Remember the 10 year Treaty of Hudaibiya that Muhammad was forced to sign with the Meccans? Two years later, when the Muslims had become a much stronger force, Muhammad broke the treaty on a minor infraction.

– Muslim scholars have said that there is no such thing as a permanent peace treaty with non-Muslims; there is only a truce treaty (hudna). This was exactly what happen with the Treaty of Hudaibiya. Will al-Mahdi do the same thing? Possibly. In fact, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat alluded to the Treaty of Hudaibiya when he signed the Oslo Peace Treaty with Israel. And since al-Mahdi will lead the Muslims in jihad against the non-Muslim nations, whatever treaty that may have existed before will have to be broken in order to bring about a world-wide Islam. In particular, the Jizya tax whereby Christians were "protected" under Muslim rule but in the status of dhimmitude will be abolished. Hence all other treaties appear to be able to be broken at that period.


+ The Antichrist will "by peace shall destroy many" (Dan 8:25), indicating an empty promise of global peace.

* al-Mahdi and Isa are supposed to usher an era of peace as the whole world follow Islam. However, this also involves killing all those who refuse to accept Islam (Isa will "kill the swine, break the Cross, and abolish the Jizya tax" ... so Isa will accept nothing except Islam from the Christians). This means those who refuse to follow al-Mahdi and Isa will be faced with death.

– Dan 8:25 provides a clue as to how the Antichrist actually destroyed (as in deceived by Satan and ultimately destroyed in hell) many people. While he will engage in warfare and win, the majority were destroyed through peaceful means. The word for "peace" in the verse above has also been translated as "secure" (NIV), "at ease" (NASB) or "in prosperity" (NKJV). This means that the "peace" promised is in reality an empty one.
Many Muslims tout Islam as a religion of "peace". When Muhammad wrote to neighboring rulers inviting them to Islam, he always ended his letters with "Aslem Taslam", meaning "Surrender and you will be safe". After the invitation to Islam is passed, then warfare is conducted to bring them into submission. Since al-Mahdi is supposed to follow the Sunnah of Muhammad, it is very likely that he will do the same. In fact, Osama bin Laden and Iranian President Ahmadinejad have extended invitations to Islam to President Bush of USA. Of course, when President Bush ignores these invitations, then war is the logical next step according to the Sunnah. Islam, as a "religion of peace", will wage wars against infidel nations and also kill Jews, Christians, and all apostates (as it has done since Muhammad's days) in the days of al-Mahdi and Isa, in order to institute the "religion of peace" globally.
Islam has been plagued by violence from within since its early days, with Caliphs Umar, Uthman, Ali (Muhammad's son-in-law), Imam Hussein (Ali's son) violently assassinated. Imam Hasan (also Ali's son) was allegedly poisoned. Even Muhammad himself was poisoned, and for two years suffered greatly its effects until he died, despite the "Angel Gabriel" telling him that he will be healed.
Muslim scholars divide the world in Darul Salam (House of Peace), the abode of all Muslims, and Darul Harb (House of War), the abode of all infidels (non-Muslims), where Muslims are to wage jihad against the non-believers. It is very likely that in the early stages of al-Mahdi, there will be much unity and peace within the Muslim world, especially while waging jihad against the rest of the infidel world.

To be continued...

[Aquila]

Continued...

• HIS RULE

+ He will desecrate the Jewish Temple (Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). Jesus also alluded to this prophecy (Matthew 24:15) in His famous discourse on the End-Times in (Matthew 24).

* Although the hadiths say nothing about this, al-Mahdi and Isa will certainly do away with Judaism and Christianity. Once the Jews (and Christians) are out of the way, the conversion of the Temple to an Islamic mosque/shrine is a definite possibility after the abolition of Judaism and Christianity. In fact, a number of archaeologists and historians believed that the Dome of Rock, the al-Aqsa mosque, on the temple was originally a Byzantine church building which the Muslims converted into a mosque.

– Any Islamic artifact, eg. Islamic inscriptions like those on the al-Aqsa Mosque (Dome of the Rock) is clearly a desecration of the Jewish Temple (from the Biblical point of view), even though in the eyes of al-Mahdi, he will be cleansing the temple and dedicating it to Allah, the one who gives him the authority and power to rule over the world.
However, there is currently no Jewish Temple on the site. While there is no consensus among Christians, many believe that it will be rebuilt in the future, and that there are some orthodox Jews who are preparing for the resumption of the Temple sacrifice. In fact, it is not impossible to see the Temple rebuilt under the treaty mentioned above, but in the middle of the treaty, it will be taken over by the Antichrist who then goes on the set up the "abomination that causes desolation".
Some Christian teachers have taught that this prophecy has already been completely fulfilled in the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who reigned 175-163 BC), a Seleucid ruler who severely suppressed the Jewish people. He also desecrated the Jewish Temple by sacrificing a pig on its altar, leading to the Maccabean revolt. However, it is also clear from Jesus' allusions that the prophecy in Daniel refers to events in the future since Jesus was speaking some 200 years after Antiochus Epiphanes' death. Thus, most Christian teachers are of the opinion that Antiochus Epiphanes was only a prototype of the Antichrist that is to come. Indeed, as we have seen above, the Antichrist will also arise from the remains of the Seleucid Empire.

• HIS PLACE OF RULE

+ The Beast will set himself up in the Jewish temple and exalts himself there (2 Thess 2:4).

* Muslims believe that Jerusalem will be "the center and headquarter of the future Islamic Caliphate"
For example, the head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement Sheikh Raed Salah addressed an audience of 50,000 in September 2006 that "soon Jerusalem will be the capital of the new Muslim caliphate, and the caliph's seat will be there." (Ynet News article)
Imam Ahmad, Al-Hakim and Abu Dawud quoted 'Abdullah Ibn Zughb Al- Ibadi who heard from 'Abdullah Ibn Hawwala Al- Azdi that: "The Prophet put his hand on my head, and then said: 'Ibn Hawwala, if you see that the Caliphate has taken its abode in the holy land, then the earthquake, the tribulations and great events are at hand, and the Last Hour on that day will be closer to people than my hand is to your head." (Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad. also Abu Dawud).
Ibn Sa'd quoted 'Abd Al-Rahman Ibn Abi 'Umayra al-Mazni, "There will be an oath of allegiance according to guidance in Jerusalem." (ibn Hanbal, Musnad)

– The Temple is of course in Jerusalem. The general area therefore agrees. However, since the "abomination" is probably set up about midway through his rule, it is most likely that it is only the second part where the exaltation in the temple happens. As for the first part of his rule, it could be some area in Jerusalem or it may not even need to be so.
Again, the hadiths do not necessary mean that the headquarters of the al-Mahdi will be in Jerusalem all the time. However, the fact that both the Antichrist and al-Mahdi will choose Jerusalem as their seat of authority sometime in their career is again no mere coincidence!

I thought this article was facinating. If this is true... Islam is poised to become the greatest vehicle of deception this world has ever seen.