Doctrine of Imam Al-Mahdi(AS) and Its Aroused Doubts : Orientalist Doubts as a Model

Abstract

The belief in Imam al-Mahdi (peace be upon him) is subject to many doubts and suspicions throughout history, as there was no period void of these issues . Such was a burden on Islam in general, and on Shiites in particular, the anti-Muslims were the first to raise these issues and regarded such a belief as a myth. The paper will manifest how the orientalists dealt with this doctrine, focus on their approaches to this belief , and mention a number of their writings about Mahdism and certain Islamic papers pertinent to the paper in question.