Video: Iranian documentary fans the flames of regime's fanatic messianism

Brethren: Peace and Good to you in Christ Our Lord.

In March 2011, the Iranian regime produced this propaganda documentary which I found very interesting. It is about 30 minutes long. The captions appear to have been added by Reza Kahlili, an Iranian dissident now residing in the U.S.


Commentary. First, let me address the form. The sensationalistic tone of the video reminded me of The World Today broadcasts by the late Protestant minister Jack Van Impe - who by the way, was is friendly to the Catholic Church. I do appreciate the friendship and he did takes a lot of flak for it from the anti-Romish crowd in American Protestantism, but still I find these attempts at rousing the masses for action too close to demagoguery, at least where Christians are concerned. Evidently, officials of the Iranian version of Shi'ism have no such qualms. To them is only natural due to their long history of playing the underdog in the Islamic world.

Now to substance. Are they serious? Yes, they are. This how the Iranian officialdom sees itself and their national destiny in the world. I find these attempts at influencing their population through inflammatory propaganda as even more disturbing than those of Goebbels in Nazi Germany and almost as evil as those seen in North Korea, where the personality cult of its leader ranks as a religion unto itself.

I find this Iranian propaganda video disturbing and reprehensible precisely because it glorifies a decisive, bloody war against non-Islamic countries in the name of "God" and of just religion.

Much can be said about fallen man's natural inclination to bend faith in the service of death and suffering and we have not been immune to that infection ourselves, as history shows. But we still haven't learned our lessons.

That Islam (in both its Sunni and Shi'a versions) is a false religion is without question for Christians. I'm sure that they think the same about us - and about each other. That we don't have to kill each other due to the difference is a lesson that we Christians have learned because the Gospel, and the Lord's Gospel, compels us to it. There's no such safeguard in Islam and its abscense is acute and strident in Iran's official Shi'a interpretation.

Watch the video and let us pray for the conversion of the Iranian people to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I also pray, and I'm not afraid to say it, for the bloodless fall of the Iranian regime and a new dawn of peace, justice, and tolerance in that troubled country.