Unleashing the Beast

C LUES FROM THE B IBLICAL P ROPHETS / 127

Antichrist spirit that denies Jesus is the Son of God. Certainly Islam denies Jesus is God's Son! T HE I RANIAN C ONNECTION Presently, Iran is the strongest radical Shiite Muslim stronghold in the world. Iran desires to eventually take over the country of Iraq. During the Gulf War, the reason our government restrained itself from assassinating Saddam Hussein was his hatred for Iran. Saddam has actually served as a buffer between the radicals of Iran and the nation of Israel. In fact, for several years, America supported Saddam and assisted in building up his military. Then, he became offended at America and turned against the West. The desire of the Iranians to take over Iraq may be for more reasons than just seizing more oil reserves and positioning armies closer to Israel. It appears to be rooted in the concept that the Mahdi may reappear in present-day Iraq. To the Shiite Muslims, Iraq is an important place with its past and future history. After the death of Mohammed, both Damascus, Syria and Baghdad, Iraq became the two headquarters for Shiite Islam.  Many years ago the headquarters for Shiite Islam was Baghdad, Iraq. The Shiites could make this city the headquarters of the Shiite branch of Islam.  The city of Karballa is in Iraq. Karballa is a holy city to the Shiites. It is where Al-Hussien, the grandson of Mohammed was murdered, along with 70 of his