A cabal of teens. A secret ceremony. A ritualistic raffle. Then a human sacrifice.
It’s not an American Bible-belt cult.
It’s a growing “doomsday” movement among Middle Eastern youth.
Five youths took their own lives in disturbing rituals in the Iraqi governorate of Wasit last month, the Iraqi National Security Services reports. A similar spate took place in Iraq and Lebanon early last year.
“This is not a scene from a Hollywood movie,” says Atlantic Council think-tank analyst Sarah Zaaimi.
Instead, it’s a “worrying phenomenon” linked to a Judgement-day sect called Jamaat al-Qurban (Brotherhood of Offerings).
It’s just one example of the growing international appeal of doom and gloom across religious, political and geographical divides.
“It is important to note that this phenomenon is part of a larger messianic resurgence across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the past two decades,” says Zaaimi.
“Cases of self-proclaimed end-of-day prophets emerge every other day on social media”.
Islamic State rose to power in 2015 in part because it built its unique blend of terrorism and extremist Islam around an old apocalyptic prophecy.
And Jewish Haredi and Christian evangelical movements are once again embracing the notion of the “end times”, thanks in large part to the ongoing Gaza war and the threat of it spilling over into the broader Middle East.
“In a region where the borders between the natural and supernatural remain blurred, it is extremely worrisome … to observe an unprecedented doomsday fever and a high concentration of messianic groups – probably the most important since Prophet Mohammad and Jesus of Nazareth,” warns Zaaimi.
What foul beasts
In June last year, a young Lebanese-Canadian man took his life in Beirut. A day later, his wife suffered serious injuries in a similar attempt. Both were naked. Their two-month-old son only survived after family intervened.
Both were reportedly fiercely anti-technological and insisted on unusual behaviours such as not sleeping in beds. Both have since been linked to Jamaat al-Qurban.
This suicide cult is built around a secretive cleric based in the Iranian holy city of Mashad.
Ali Abd-Moneim Al-Hassani preaches the worship of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad. The children he had with Mohammad’s daughter, Fatima, went on to found the dynastic leadership that defines Shia Islam.
Believers are promised spiritual rewards for giving up their lives as an expression of gratitude.
Jamaat al-Qurban is a doctrine rejected by mainstream Shia Islam as heresy.
It’s not the only one.
Another, this time based in London, is urging social media followers to donate money for the purchase of three private islands. There, says Sheikh Yasser al Habib, his Twelver Shia congregation (which worships the first 12 Shia Imams) will live strictly spiritual lives in preparation for the return of their messiahs.
A third doomsday cult, led by a beanie-adorned preacher in the United Kingdom, sells a very different message. Zaaimi describes the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light as “a syncretic (combined) faith mixing psychedelic consumption, New Age beliefs, soul reincarnation, ancient Egyptian gods, and space aliens”.
It has converted an old Manchester orphanage into a temple where it preaches the imminent demise of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
“This is but the tip of the iceberg,” says Zaaimi. “These peculiar incidents – along with the flourishing of tens of other doomsday sects led by self-claimed prophets, charlatans, and characters with a Messiah complex – should be understood as a social phenomenon.”
Sons of light, sons of darkness
Apocalyptic invective is nothing new.
What is new is the appeal and reach such evocative imagery has gained.
“Another internet and media sensation to follow is the Texas red heifers associated in the scriptures with the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem and the advent of the Jewish Messiah,” adds Zaaimi.
Jewish tradition states the birth of a perfect red heifer will trigger a prophesied chain of events leading to the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount – and the construction of a new Jewish Temple.
And that will summon the Jewish messiah.
While doomsday beliefs are many and varied, Zaaimi says the root cause is similar: They are “symptomatic of profound social and economic malaise”, and a form of “resistance by frustrated citizens opposing the existing tyrannic political and theological structures”.
Apocalyptic events are associated with immense change.
That’s what their followers desire most.
Which is why they find new appeal in the aftermath of war and economic collapse.
A traumatised society. Explosions of conflict. Political upheaval. Religious unrest. Fragmented institutions. Corruption.
All “might offer explanations for why so many Iraqis are plunging into the abyss of obscure metaphysical beliefs after seemingly losing hope in the physical realm,” Zaaimi argues.
Words without end
Doom dominates 2024 US Presidential election messaging.
“The blood-soaked streets of our once great cities are cesspools of violent crimes” insists Donald Trump, who regularly evokes such apocalyptic scenes.
Joe Biden, for his part, has proclaimed the election to be “a battle for the soul of this nation” … “because if we lose, we lose everything”.
Little wonder 50 per cent of US citizens believe a second civil war would break out within their lifetimes.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Netanyahu coalition government and its supporters have repeatedly cited the Biblical genocide of the Amalek tribe in its efforts to justify the Gaza war as an existential struggle.
It’s a highly charged environment of history, spirituality and conflict.
And that’s great clickbait.
Doomsday movements have found a willing host in social media algorithms hungry for new traffic. Especially those that offer live streams (with regular ads).
“This tendency created an entire ecosystem of social media content creators,” says Zaaimi. “This new army of influencers interprets the holy scriptures, tracks the signs of the end of days against current regional conflicts like the Gaza war, and projects apocalyptic Islamic protagonists on modern-day political leaders … Only a few become full-fledged religious leaders.”
