The Hojjatieh Mahdatieh Society

Hojjatieh is a group of ultra-orthodox Muslims, who believe that humans can stir up chaos to encourage the return of the Twelfth Imam, a 6 year-old boy who "was hidden by God " around 874 AD.  In the West, the members of Hojjatieh (and their related groups in other countries, who subscribe to the same apocalyptic sentiments) are referred to as "Twelvers" or "12th'ers."  They believe that they must cause apocalyptic death and destruction to hasten his return.  The Ayatollah Khomeini banned the group because they rejected one of the fundamental precepts of the Iranian Revolution: Vilayat-i Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist).  In other words, the 12th'ers, in the view of Khomeini, were opposed to the very idea of an Islamic republic "because it would hinder the Twelfth Imam's return on account of it being too just and peaceful."

Who are some of the members in Hojjatieh? Ahmadinejad spoke about his belief in Twelferism in a speech on 16 November 2005.  He is believed to be a member.   His spiritual advisor, Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, who is an ULTRA-conservative hardliner, whom Iranians refer to as the "crocodile" and the "crazed one," is considered the leader.  According to reports, at least 4 of Ahmadinejad's 21 cabinet members are members of Hojjatieh. Ayatollah Messbah Yazdi has sought to place his proteges in the Assembly of Experts - the only body in Iran that can constitutionally replace the supreme leader.

Hojjatieh is an underground, Messianic cult. Before some of you jump in and start screaming that, "It is just like Christianity, especially fundamentalist Christianity!"  No, it is not.  While Christianity does have a Messiah and the Book of Revelations certainly predicts an apocalypse, there is no place in the Bible where the followers of Christ are ordered or even encouraged to engage in activities designed to rain down death and destruction on a mass scale in order to hasten the return of the Messiah.  In fact, quite the opposite is the case.  Simply put, the Bible says that only god or Christ knows the hour of his return and there is nothing that humans can do to change the timetable.  (As an atheist, I encourage any Christians to correct me in the comments section if I am incorrect, but please cite the scripture so that we can all read it).  It is nearly the equivalent of Heaven's Gate. You might be fine with nutters like the Hojjatieh, but I would prefer that their fingers be far, far, faraway from a nuke button.  Does this mean that I want to invade and occupy Iran?  No.