Reverence for the Shiite messiah, or Mahdi, has played a central yet contested role in Iran’s Islamic theocracy—bolstering the legitimacy of its two leaders while also fueling subtle power plays by hardline zealots.
Iran’s system of clerical…
Reverence for the Shiite messiah, or Mahdi, has played a central yet contested role in Iran’s Islamic theocracy—bolstering the legitimacy of its two leaders while also fueling subtle power plays by hardline zealots.
Iran’s system of clerical…