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Red Alert
written by Adam Yoshida
November 6th 2003
It is my belief that there is a very high probability that, within the next two weeks, one or more major terrorist attacks will be attempted against American targets. I base this prediction based upon two factors: first, there has been a drastic increase in terrorist ?chatter? on al-Qaeda affiliated sites in the recent weeks and months, including a news Bin Laden message which apparently contained coded instructions to his followers. The second, and in many ways more important reason why I fear a severe attack in the coming days has to do with the peculiar theology of the Moslem religion.
According to Islamic theology, a leader called the ?Mahdi? is supposed to rise during a time where Moslems are oppressed all over the world. He will fight these oppressors and create a single, unified, Islamic world state. The Mahdi is, in other words, the Islamic version of the second coming of Christ. This legend is widely believed among Moslems at all the corners of the Earth.
There is a reason why this is suddenly relevant. According to Islamic literature, the Mahdi will rise at a time when both a solar and a lunar eclipse occur during Ramadan. That will occur this year and it will not happen again for, at an absolute minimum, several hundred years. The Lunar Eclipse will fall on November 9th, the Solar Eclipse on November 23rd. During that time, therefore, a massive upsurge in terrorist activity must be anticipated. But it could be much worse than that.
Islamist messages have warned Moslems to leave New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. Moreover, they have warned of terrorist attacks when the ?Moon turns read?, an event which will fall this Saturday- November 8th here and November 9th in the Middle East. Interestingly enough, using the method by which the non-American world records dates, November 9th, would also be 9-11.
Islamic prophecy matters not because of its validity, but because of the esteem in which it is held in the Moslem world. Imagine how Christians would behave if events led them to believe that the second coming of Christ had occurred. Now imagine how much of the Moslem would will act if they believe that their divine leader has come.
The worst possible scenario would be one or more major terrorist attacks falling on the 9th of November, followed by some sort of worldwide appearance by the ?Mahdi.? Now, I am far from certain that this individual will actually be Bin Laden, for I am not entirely certain that Bin Laden is still alive. Rather, it could be his son or another individual altogether. Al-Qaeda could release a video in which it accounted the martyrdom of Osama Bin Laden and then follow it up with a message from the Mahdi, calling for all Moslems to rise up and launch a worldwide Jihad.
I realize that this all sounds far-fetched and bizarre. It sounds that way to me too. Since this war began, I have begun to regard the enemies of America as entirely foreign it the truest sense of that word. Their ideas and way of thinking seem as distant to me as those of Klingons in Star Trek. I have a hard time believing that, in the year 2003, we have to worry about the possibility of fighting a Holy War against the hundreds of millions of screaming followers of a man who claims to be a prophet of Allah but, alas, here we are.
What would one or more successful terrorist attacks, combined with the rise of a ?Mahdi? bring to the world? Al-Qaeda?s warnings promise that America will be ?split into three parts? and, these days, I wonder if they are so wrong.
On one side will be those who actively side with the enemy, Islamists and their fellow travellers, who will be in the minority but who, especially if roused to action by religious fervour, could be particularly deadly and dangerous.
On another will be the nihilists, the defeatists, the appeasers, and the traitors. It will be that group of people who have concluded that there is nothing left worth dying for in this world and that, therefore, the nation should simply submit to the enemy to avoid conflict.
Finally, there will be us and, upon us, the battle shall turn. Will we be faithful to our cause, however deadly the enemy proves to be? I hope that it shall be so, though I am far from certain that it will be. We will need to be prepared to fight against all enemies, terrorists and traitors alike, and we will need to shed our illusions about the nature of this war.
If the Moslem extremists are so bent upon a Holy War, let them have one. If they wish to fight ?Crusaders?, then let?s give them a Crusade to fight. We will not win this war by irresolution and inaction. Victory will be ours when we accept the simple mathematics of the situation. Islamism cannot be reasoned with or contained; it can only be destroyed altogether.
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