Category: Soldiers of Heaven / Supporters of Mahdi

Many, including the president, pray for the Mahdi’s return to defeat evil. Western critics fear such beliefs may lead to irrational policies. JAMKARAN, Iran — Each Tuesday, thousands of people arrive here at dusk by car and bus. Beneath the twinkling lights of the blue-tiled mosque, they sit on carpets, following prayers broadcast over loudspeakers: families, pilgrims from distant provinces, young men frantic with expectation, women hoping for cures. The devout make their way to the back of the shrine. There, they write their hopes, dreams and prayers onto slips of paper that they drop into two wells — one