Free Blaze by Andrew Thorp King Page B

the beloved Twelfth Mahdi had gone into hiding. As each day passed, and that number grew, so did the anticipation of Samani that the return was near and imminent. The second counter was of lesser significance but certainly dovetailed with the sentiment of the first. The installation of this counter was ordered during the first week of Samani’s presidency to illustrate the absurdity of length in which the imperialist satanic entity of the west had been occupying Iraq, the beloved home country of the Mahdi. It had now been fifteen years and counting.
    Although their role was extremely diminished and their official position was that they had pulled out, the Americans were still in Iraq. The country had since been thoroughly transformed economically and had become a site of extreme interest for tourists. Violence was now at a level only slightly higher than surrounding nations, and the economy had been growing with leaps and bounds. If Beirut was the city dubbed the Paris of the Middle East, Iraq had now become the country of the Middle East with an equal allure. It was now recognized by most as an emerging center of global commerce.
    Samani, on the one hand, was very delighted by this prosperity, particularly because many of his Shia brethren, who were brutalized by Saddam for so long, were finally sharing in the wealth and prosperity. On the other hand, Samani resented that the Sunnis and the Americans had their hands in the affairs of the country.
    It was Samani’s mission to extract the western infidels from the Iraqi equation. If the Mahdi were to return to reign in the Iraqi city of Kufa, it would need to occur under certain conditions. Those conditions would certainly dictate the absence of the Americans and the Sunnis. The removal of these elements was just one piece of his efforts toward Taajil.
    It was Samani’s divine duty to encourage the conditions that would hasten the return of the Mahdi. Unfortunately for the people of Iraq, who had finally obtained a certain level of peace and security, one of those general conditions would be the intensity of chaos, war, and bloodshed. Even in the land of the Mahdi’s birth and the site of his eventual rule. Samani was more than prepared to help facilitate these conditions.
    Samani desperately missed his dear mentor. He still remembered the day he met him at a meeting for the Hojjatieh Society. The Hojjatieh Society was a secret fraternal group that was mystical in nature. The members devoted themselves to the cult of the Mahdi as led by the groundwork laid down by its founder, Sheikh Mahmoud Halabi. Ahmadinejad instantly recognized and rewarded Samani’s intellect, enthusiasm, and devotion. Ahmadinejad made extra effort to take Samani under his wing and make it a priority to direct Samani in the ways of the Mahdi. As much as Samani despised Western Culture and Hollywood, he couldn’t help but imagining, in his quiet moments, that his relationship with Ahmadinejad was much like that of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker.
    Hadi sat back in his leather office chair and exhaled some smoke from the hookah pipe while praying to Allah for the strength and wisdom to continue Ahmadinejad’s legacy. He knew that Allah would pave the way for this to happen, and ultimately pave the way for the return of the Mahdi. As Hadi reached for yet another puff from his hookah he was interrupted by the ring tone of his cell phone, which was an Islamic prayer sung over acoustic guitars. It was brother Samere.
    â€œSamere!”
    Samani put down his hookah so he could fully focus on his conversation with Samere.
    â€œGood morning President Samani!” Samere’s excitement was audible.
    â€œHow are you today my friend?” Samere was Hadi Samani’s most faithful employee, and liaison for all things Messianic.
    â€œI’m well. I have good news. The construction has begun for the train line. It will be a direct line from Tehran to the Jamkaran Mosque. Just