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MUSLIMS SEE SIGNS OF THE TIMES IN WAY OF PORTENTS IN NATURE AND RUMBLINGS

Experts on Islam don't believe that terrorist Osama Bin Laden is solely propelled by an apocalyptical view, but, like many Christians, those who belong to the Islamic faith carefully watch the flow of events in terms of an end scenario -- and an end-times conflict.

The Koran is filled with predictions about the end of the world, according to David Cook is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University and known as a U.S. expert on apocalyptic literature within Islam. "The prophet Mohammed envisioned the End as being very close, within a few years after receiving his revelation," Cook told Presence magazine after the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. "My own personal belief is that Islam was started as an apocalyptic movement, not necessarily a millennial movement. An apocalyptic movement is one that feels the end of the world is imminent, whereas a millenarian movement seeks to bring about a messianic otherworldly kingdom."

The Hal Lindsey of modern Muslim apocalyptic, according to Cook, is an Egyptian named Said Ayyub. In 1987 he wrote The Anti-Christ. "This was an extremely powerful political and social apologetic for Muslims, identifying the United States as the Great Satan. He claimed to interpret all of the events of the modern world as if they were predicted in either the Muslim traditions or the Bible. He was quite successful; he literally created modern manifestation of the End-Times genre in Islam. Numerous Muslim intellectuals have tried to flesh out the details of his framework or update it after the Gulf War. This material can be highly revolutionary and is often banned in moderate Arab countries. Nevertheless, I've been able to obtain over 120 popular titles in Egypt and Jordan, sometimes in back rooms, not counting hundreds of articles that appear in more scholarly Islamic journals debating these matters." 

The anti-christ is sometimes the U.S.; other times it's the entire Western culture. The defeat of this "satan" is what motivates so many to holy war, among them Bin Laden. "The End of the West, not the End of the World, appears to be his primary motivation," said Cook. "No doubt he is aware that harping on this secondary theme can ignite apocalyptic fervor among the masses."

Like Christians, those of Islamic belief often look for signs for signs of the times. "Muslims believe in the last judgment," notes one reference site. "There will be 'signs' of its imminence: portents, ominous rumblings, strange occurrences in nature, finally the last trumpet, at whose sound the dead will rise and all souls will assemble before Allah's judgment throne." 

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