Unleashing the Beast

76 / U NLEASHING THE B EAST

lineage as a direct descendant through Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad.  His father and Mohammed's have the same name. He will have the disposition of Mohammed.  He will have a bald forehead and a high, hooked nose.  He will have a distinctive mole (the "mark of a prophet") and a V-shaped aperture between his front teeth.  He will appear just before the end of the world, during a time of great difficulty.  He will convert the world to the Islamic faith. Most Muslims believe the Mahdi will arise from the East. Other traditions state that this man will unite Muslims in a single, united kingdom. If men do not submit to his teaching and following, he will beat them into submission until they return to Allah. Of course, those who rebel against him will meet a swift death by the sword of Islam. Some Islamic nations still behead people for certain crimes. My father's former CIA friend was in Saudi Arabia when a group of men were buried in the sand with their heads protruding from the ground. Using a bulldozer with a sharp blade, the heads of the offenders were literally severed from their bodies and covered in the sand. A NOTHER S ET OF T RADITIONS Other Islamic traditions indicate the areas where many Muslims believe their final leader will arise: