Table of Contents Intruduction

References

1. The Holy Quran.

2. Nahj al-Balaghah.

3. Abu Muhammad Harani, Tuhfat al-`uqul, Qom: Islamic Publications, 1984.

4. Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad Ahmad, Beirut: Dar al-Fikr.

5. Sobhani, Ja`far, Questions and Answers (in Persian), Tehran: Sayyid al-Shuhada’ Publication Institute, 1990.

6. Sobhani, Ja`far, Theology, Qom: Imam al-Sadiq Institute, 1423 AH.

7. Kulayni, al-Kafi, ed., Ali Akbar Ghaffari, Tehran: Maktabat al-Saduq, 2002.

8. Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, Tehran: Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1984.

Globalization and Mahdism (Messianism):

Two Visions about the Future
Seyed Abdul Qayyum Sajjadi
Abstract
The present article is an attempt to comparatively discuss two visions about the globalization, that is, the globalization of liberalism and the global government of Islam.
The main argument of this paper is that the idea of globalization of liberalism challenges the religious idea and culture and although today it is among the exclusive claimants of globalization, from the theoretical and sociological viewpoints it lacks the necessary capacity for globalization. In contrast the global government of Islam has the theoretical capacity but faces external and social problems for its materialization. Hence the preparation of social grounds and removal of obstacles will help the materialization of the idea of globalization.
Keywords: Globalization, liberalism, global government of Islam, Mahdism, peace, justice.

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Teleology and the end of man's history is one of the research fields which has been discussed by the schools of thought and the thinkers. This issue can be discussed in various disciplines. From the viewpoint of the philosophy of history it is related to the end of history and ultimate goal of man's life and from sociological and political points of view it is related to the evolutionism and anti-evolutionism. Since longtime back two viewpoints have always been pitted against each other in the political and social discussions: evolutionism and anti-evolutionism. In the first viewpoint, man's history moves towards perfection, development and progress; while in latter, the end of history is doomed to be deterioration and decline. The progressive school of thought has an optimist, positive approach to the history of philosophy and the end of man's history; while the anti-progressive school of thought has a negative, pessimist approach, considering the end of history to be decline and deterioration. The main question is: what will be the future of mankind? Will the future witness the globalization of liberalism? If the idea of global government of Islam depicts the end and future of man's history, what will be the future of this government and its society and how can it become globalized? The teleology of history in Islamic viewpoint is analyzed on the basis of human society's evolution and progress and basically the idea of the global government of Islam, whose materialization according the Quranic verses and traditions is definite, entails a progressive, evolutionist idea. This idea first and foremost is based on an optimistic approach to the end of man's fate, contrary to many other pessimistic approaches that consider it extremely dark. *
Classifying the existing viewpoints about the future of mankind, Motahari mentions two major ones: the instrumental and the primordially natural. In Motahari's viewpoint the idea of expectation which is a harbinger of hope in the future, finds its real meaning within the primordial framework.
Any discussion about the future of mankind has to answer a fundamental question, which is related to the nature of social relations at individual level and the nature of international processes at a major level. The question about the nature of social relations in the future of mankind is more or less related to today's man's concerns: A serious question for all human societies is whether the history of human societies move towards peace and justice or will it finally be entangled in wars, hostility and injustice. If the first case is true, what will be the mechanisms for the establishment of peace and justice? If government and law are two vital disciplinary pillars of human life, the present governments that function within the geographical boundaries lack the necessary ability to accomplish this task. The national governments and laws in an ideal situation can maintain peace and security within the framework of national boundaries for a limited number of human beings. The national governments and laws neither consider the establishment of global peace and security their duty nor are they concerned about it. Even in case of having such a concern, they lack the necessary legal mechanisms to do so. Hence, naturally the question of method of establishment of global peace will lead to the idea of global government. Therefore, global government has since longtime back been a major concern of the thinkers. (Taheri, 1995, P. 134).
Among the schools of thought and scholars, the political ideas of the global society of Headiball----------, putting forth the concept of global citizens more than others, have paid attention to the concept of global government. (See: Martin Greffiths, 2003, P. 143). Saint Augustine is among the thinkers who discuss the idea of global government. In his book, The City of God,-------------- he mentions two patterns of government which are related to the global government. In the global government of this scholar, since human beings consider themselves the servants of God, they reach a common peaceful coexistence. He maintains that since God has deputed man to like his neighbor like himself, he has to extend this favor to the women and children as well as other members of the family and also all to the creatures of God and through such an approach he will peacefully coexist with all other human beings.* Augustine relies on Christian theology for his theoretical framework and the practical realization of these teachings are considered the mechanism of international peace in the light of the global government. Kant is among other thinkers who discuss the concept of global government through cooperation and preservation of human ethic. In his opinion, sustainable global peace is possible only through the establishment of an international government. Speaking about the establishment of international peace, Bertrand Russell states:
The establishment of an international government that can prevent the outbreak of war is possible. The most important reason for the establishment of international government is that if such a government is established as it should be, it can prevent wars. The renowned historian, Arnold Toynbee, too is among those who have discussed the idea of international government and have discussed the reasons for its emergence. He discusses the globalization of governments from the viewpoint of power politics. He mentions that the idea of globalization on the one hand will perpetuate the legitimacy of the domination of the center and on the other makes it possible for the international governments to adopt an independent stance from others. Here too religious teachings just like globalization are an excuse that the empires resort to in order to justify their power and domination.
In the contemporary era, Marxism and liberalism are among the ideologies claiming to establish global governments. The internationalism and cosmopolitan theory of Marxism refer to the globalization of socialism and universalization of the proletariat government. In the viewpoint of orthodox Marxists, the entire world will come under a single Communist government. The collapse of the Soviet Union as the standard-bearer of socialist bloc proved the failure of the idea of an international proletariat government and gradually such topics were set aside from the literature of international politics.
The idea of an international government has always existed in the thought of advocates of liberalism, but with the collapse of the socialist bloc, a new life was breathed into its body. The most important arguments of the advocates of an international government in the liberal bloc are:

1 – Liberalism is one of the successful, effective man-made models in the field of political management and economic and cultural systems.

2 – The rival models of liberalism have failed and faced their defeat.

3 – After the collapse of the socialist bloc no other alternative to liberalism has been put forth.

As a result, liberalism is the last human experience and the end of ideology; hence, the end of the Cold War is the end of history as well. Fukuyama who has put forth the notion of the end of history, elaborates on this point as such:
What we witness is not merely the end of the Cold War or transition to a specific stage of the post-war history; rather it is the end of history as well; that is, the end of man's ideological evolution and globalization of the Western liberal democracy in the form of man's ultimate government. (Fukuyama Francis, 1992).
In this approach the globalization of the liberal democracy is a definite issue; hence, the formation of a single global government will be the most important achievement of man. Liberalism leads to perfection, in whose meaning man's treasure can be manifested in real sense. Moreover, given the facilities at the disposal of the liberal countries, the materialization of this issue is quite possible. Therefore, the leaders of the liberal world should realized their current responsibility for establishing a global government and the critics and other currents must bear in mind that any opposition and resistance against this great historical current is doomed to fail. Thus liberalism today is the main contender of globalization and a number of thinkers try to elaborate its philosophical and theoretical foundations. (Larijani, 1995: P. 269). Fukuyama's notion of The End of History, the Global Village of Maclohan, The Third Wave of Alvin Taffler, and Huntington's Clash of Civilizations all discuss the issue from various aspects.
Anyway, a cursory look at the trend of theorization of political philosophers and thinkers would reveal that the idea of international government has since long been the focus of attention. Some scholars have elaborated upon it from the viewpoint of religious doctrines while from the viewpoint of perpetual sustainable peace, some others consider the establishment of a single international government a mechanism for the establishment of international peace.
Today, the main claimant of globalization is Western liberalism, but on the other hand the idea of global government in the Islamic culture and thought has existed since the advent of Islam till date and on the basis of the religious texts its materialization is definite. The question that comes to the fore here is: how far is liberalism capable of being globalized and what are the obstacles to the establishment of an Islamic global government? The main question regarding liberalism is the necessary conditions for the globalization of liberalism; while the main question regarding Islamic thought is the obstacles in the way of globalization of an Islamic government.
If the general human laws and doctrines are demonstrated in the idea of liberalism, to some extend the necessary conditions will be provided? But are the liberal laws and doctrines based on man’s rational necessities and demands? Can these laws become universal and global?
In this regard probably the only argument will be that the liberal model has been the successful experience in man’s history which has been gained through years of efforts. But can this successful experience which has appeared in a specific geographical region and is based on a specific culture and historical customs of a specific society, be suitable and acceptable for all human societies? The advocates of globalization of liberalism do not discuss this issue, or their answer to this question is the idea of clash of civilizations. This notion entails that liberalism by utilization of economic and political capabilities can become globalized, while there is a kind of inequality within this thought, which seems intolerable to most of the societies and cultures. Therefore, from theoretical point of view as well as experimental and objective points of view generalization of liberal democracy to other societies has faced resistance. The intensification of ethnic tendencies and spread of the idea of regionalism as well as upsurge of religious movements are only part of the reactions and resistance against the globalization of liberalism. Moreover, As James N. Rosenau states, liberal democracy is based on Westphalian concept of national sovereignty which fertilized within the framework of Western national borders. Hence, when it tends to go beyond the borders, it faces a crisis. (Rosenau: 2003)
Features of Global Government of Islam
What are the capacities of the global government of Islam for universalization and globalization? In fact, the Islamic culture and thought besides inner universal capacities and capabilities have some objective features that compensate for the shortcomings of the man-made models. The theoretical framework of the idea of global government of Islam is based on the doctrine of universality of Islam. This issue is related to man’s rational demands, which rule out the idea of imposition of globalization of Islamic thought and convinces the world communities to accept it. Since the Islamic teachings pay attention to the rational, natural demands of human beings, they enjoy a good background for universalization and globalization. The religious teachings stem from a common point among all human societies, that is, the eternal natural demand of man. The Islamic teachings and instructions too have a trans-time and trans-space nature. Since the very beginning, they have been defined in a manner that they pay attention to the natural, rational demands of man within the framework of various cultures and thoughts. Hence, the religious sources consider religiousity a natural and unalterable issue.* Therefore, the Islamic laws are qualified to be globalized.
On the other hand, the global Islamic government has some features and characteristics that can be attractive for human beings if the obstacles to its materialization are removed. The most important of these features are given below:
1 – Monotheism-based – Monotheism is among the main features of the Islamic global government. All laws and executive measures in such a government are based on monotheism. Monotheism is the source of unity of legislation and is the common pivot of all human societies as servants of the Unique God. The Islamic international government, as the manifestation of the Divine Will, is the highest managerial and executive mechanism. On the basis of monotheistic idea, class and racial inequalities pale away and all human beings will be the followers of this single religion and will follow the divine rule. Without any doubt, class, racial and family inequalities are among the harmful impediments of an independent, healthy society. In a society where inequality prevails, where the material and spiritual properties are at the disposal of a specific class or stratum, injustice and discrimination will prevail and the existence of discrimination and inequality will pit the government against the challenges of legitimacy and popularity and finally will lead to political instability. But in the Islamic global government the equality of all before the law and their equal access to the existing facilities on the basis of the idea of monotheism will lead to the enactment of a single law and single method of legislation, uniting and consolidating the multiple societies. Imam Sadiq describes such a government in the following words:

"O Mufazzil, swear by God that he [Imam Mahdi] will eliminate the differences among the nations and religions and religion becomes one; as God has said, verily true religion before God is Islam (Majlisi, vol. 3, P. 450.)

Of course, the unity of religions and the laws requires the growth and evolution of man's thought and wisdom and when man achieves intellectual and mental maturity and growth, he inevitably will be frustrated with the scattered religions and laws. Hence, the disappointed man will turn to the single global religion.
This is an objective which is common among all human societies and will assemble all the human beings free from their material affiliation on the pivot of monotheism.
The question that comes to the fore is: how far the creation of uniformity and establishment of a single political structure and law on the world will be democratic? In other words, is the rule of Islam over the entire world in contravention with the diversity and multiplicity of ideas and respect for others' ideas? The answer to this question can be stated in the following two points:

1 – What is the explanation of the critics of a global Islamic government for justifying the globalization of liberalism? Nowadays it is argued that liberalism is the only successful and suitable model of all human societies which is considered useful for all the societies. This argument is put forth while the usefulness of liberalism for all societies is still under question! The existence of intellectual and spiritual crises in the liberal world, the intensification of poverty and inequality in the light of liberal governments and the emergence of the crises of identity and meaning makes the above doubt even more serious (See, Giddens, 1997). But with regard to the Islamic government the said questions and crises have been rationally taken into consideration and will have clear answers. Due to the compatibility of the international Islamic government with man's nature and because it has taken the basic natural necessities into consideration, it will be welcomed by the masses at their own will and hence there will be no imposition or coercion. As a result, the masses will willingly welcome this model, for they will find the only redemptive solution and refuge in it.

2 – A careful study of the necessary grounds for the materialization of the global government of Islam will clearly demonstrate the attention of Islam to amnesty and free will of the masses in joining it. The religious sources on the one hand consider man's frustration and disappointment at the ostentatious and attractive man-made models as one of the grounds for the materialization of this global government and on the other consider the rational growth and perfection of man as another ground for the materialization of an Islamic global government. Hungering for peace and justice, for sometimes man may take the mirage for water and imagine that his lost ideal is the man-made liberal democracy, but finally this experience will lead to the failure of this model in establishing justice and international peace. Hence the frustrated man will try to find a safe refuge and secure place. Here, man shall willingly turn toe the global Islamic government.
3 – Justice-based: Justice has a fundamental place in the political thought of Islam. The significance of this issue in Islam is such that the holy Quran announces the realization of justice as one of the main reasons for the dispatch of prophets and revelation of the scriptures (57: 31). However, as mentioned by the holy Quran the establishment of justice has always faced the opposition of the classes called the opulent and the extravagant. Justice is a universal and natural demand, but this natural demand will endanger the interests of the authoritarian rulers and oppressors. As a result they oppose it. The idea of liberalism faces a new challenge in the arena of social justice, for one of the main pillars of liberalism is acceptance of inequality and in order to boost economic competition, liberalism encourages inequality.
Liberal democracy brings about economic development and social welfare, but these advantages go to a limited number of human beings and a specific section of the society.* The enhancement of economic welfare and materialistic development in the light of liberal democracy, which is fulfilled in a sectarian manner, is accompanied with the spread of injustice and impoverishment of the masses. Under the circumstances, better grounds are prepared for the establishment of social justice in the Islamic sphere. One of the major features of the global Islamic government is paying attention to the justice-based economic development and welfare. Here justice is a fundamental principle upon which welfare and development are built.
The day the promised Mahdi – May Allah hasten his reappearance – rises, he will rule on the basis of justice. During his government, there will be no oppression on the earth, the roads will be safe, the earth will pour out its blessings, the rights will be restored to those who are entitled to, and there will be no follower of any religion who will not follow him and embrace his religion. (Shiekh Mofid, 1999, PP. 343-344)
Commenting on the features and backgrounds of the said government, the late Sadr states: Through a study of the Quranic verses and traditions of the infallible Imams we can conclude that the message of Islam will be materialized completely only when the sublime idea of the global Islamic government is materialized. All false and illusive promises will go away and then only Islam will be the unrivalled religion of the peoples of the East and West. Injustice will evaporate and oppression and inequity will be eliminated. On the other hand justice and equity will permeate the world, the rule of the divine vicegerents will be established across the globe, the divine light will shine and the world will become full of the righteous people.
3 – Justice-based Welfare and Economic Development
According to the traditions on the future religious leader, the era of reappearance and the global government of Islam will be accompanied with a considerable economic development and welfare, but as mentioned above, this development is based on justice and all the societies will enjoy this advantage.

Imam Baqir states:

Immediately after the rise of Mahdi, the divine graces and blessings would engulf the virtuous whose reason will be perfected following this divine revolution. (Safi Golpaygani: P. 428).
The analysis and description of welfare and all-out development of his era can be explained in the light of two important factors: on the one hand man reaches the peak of application of technology and exploitation of natural resources and on the other the latent capacities and talents inherent in the nature and earth reach their maximum capacity during this period. According to some traditions, the earth would pour out all its treasures, resources and sources during this period. Alluding to the same point, a tradition states:

His government would spread to the East and West and the earth will reveal its treasuries for him and there will be no backward place on the earth that will not be developed by him. (Nasser Makarem Shirazi, 2002, p. 266).

The idea of the development of the earth which is a sign of the peak of development and economic welfare will take place through the elimination of the destructive forces and all-out employment of the nature and extraction of natural resources.

4 – Expansion of Science and Technology

Today the expansion of science and technology is one of the indexes of development, but what refers to the definition of science in the positivist, post-modern approach is mainly experimental science. This scientism mainly refers to experimental and worldly affairs and will not necessarily encompass the rational and natural sciences. Within this framework, the growth of man's rationality too is considered within the concept of instrumental rationality. The expansion of science and technology which is one of the features of the society after the reappearance of the Imam refers to the all-out expansion and development of science, rationality and awareness which also includes awareness of the values and human beliefs that have their roots in man. In other words, man's entry into this era indicates an all-out intellectual transformation which is one of the conditions of the materialization of the reappearance of the Imam and establishment of the Islamic global government. According to a tradition, the entire knowledge of man today constitutes only a small segment of the knowledge and science of the society after the reappearance of the Imam. Imam Sadiq has been quoted as saying:

Knowledge has 27 branches or divisions. What the divine prophets presented to man were only two branches and the people have thus far acquired the knowledge of those only two branches; but when our seal rises, he will reveal the other 25 branches among the people and will annex those two branches to them to complete the 27 branches (Majlesi: Vol. 52, P. 336).

According to the said tradition, the society of the time of reappearance will witness increasing growth of science and technology which will be unprecedented in the history of mankind. If it were accepted that unawareness or ignorance was the root of all social problems and disorderliness of human society, then the fundamental cause and root of all social abnormalities would be uprooted in such a society.
The social and political scholars consider man a rational actor who has a rational action. Does today man really behave in a completely rational manner? How far today man enjoys the collective reason that insures public interests? The behavior of the powerful and power-wielders indicates that man's presence in the society is accompanied with some behaviors whose rationality is under question. But in the society of the time of reappearance, man's rationality is completely insured in the light of man's perfect reason. Probably the following issues will be understandable during that era: universal peace and security, observance of the rules and regulations without such controlling mechanisms as strict governments, lack of encroachment upon the rights of others and finally respecting other's rights and behavior on the basis of social justice in the light of perfection of man's wisdom. Indeed, there is a tradition indicating that during the reappearance of the hidden Imam man's wisdom will become perfect and their thoughts will grow (Ibid., P. 328).
Conclusion:
It was mentioned above that the idea of global government of Islam is a picture of the rule of Islamic ideas in the future of mankind and this issue has its roots in the natural teachings of Islam which introduce this religion as a universal and global religion. Although the globalization of liberalism – which is today the monopolist claimants of the idea of globalization – would challenge the religious idea and culture – from theoretical and sociological points of view liberalism lacks the necessity capacity for globalization. In contrast, the comprehensiveness of Islam and the idea of global government of Islam underline the innate capability and capacity of Islam for its universalization and globalization. However, Islam will face some practical and social obstacles in the materialization of this idea. The preparation of social grounds and removal of these hurdles in effect heralds the materialization of the idea of globalization of Islam. If we consider peace and justice as two common lost objectives of the human societies, Western liberalism has thus far failed to fulfill this objective and lacks the necessary theoretical ingredients for the materialization of this idea in the future. The failure of manmade models and frustration of human societies with the said models will be one of the grounds for the materialization of the idea of global government of Islam which has been referred to in the Islamic texts.
The present article was an attempt to refer to some of the most important features of the global government of Islam which have generally made it attractive and acceptable to man. Some of the features of the society after the reappearance of the Imam have been enumerated in this article that include development-oriented, welfare, monotheistic, justice-based, and growth of knowledge and rationality. A comparative study of the indices of liberalism would clearly show that it lacks the said features and therefore is not capable of becoming global. Therefore, although liberalism today claims to be global and although technology is at the disposal of the advocates of liberalism, the lack of the theoretical features in this thought has deprived it of a universal attraction by the human societies.
Sources and References

1 – Ibn Tawous, Radhiuddin Ali Bin Musa, Al-Malhim wal-Fitan fi Dohor al-Ghaib al-Montadar, Mu'sisat ul A'lami, Beirut, 664 hegira.

2 – Russell, Bertrand, Does Man Have a Future, Tr. By Mansour Mahmoud, Tehran, Morvrid, 1981.

3 – Sheikh Mofid, Al-Irshad fi Ma'rifat Hojajullah Ala al-Ibad, Tr. By Rasoul Mahalati, Tehran, Office for Publication of Islamic Culture, 1999.

4 – Safi, Sheikh Lotfullah, Montakhab ul Athar fil-Imam al-Thani Ashar, Kitabkhaneh-e Sadr, Tehran.

5 – Sadr, Seyed Mohammad Baqir, Bahth Houl al-Mahdi, Qum, Al-Markaz ul-Ghadir Lildrasat ul-Islamiya, 1996.

6 – Larijani, Sadiq, Theoretical Studies about Foreign Policy, Tehran, Intesharat Elmi va Farhangi, 1995.

7 – Majlesi, Mohammad Baqir, Bahar ul Anwar, Tehran, Dar ul Kotob ul-Islamiya, 1984.

8 – Makarem Shirazi, Naser, Global Government of Mahdi, Intesharat Nasl-e Javan, Vol. 11, Qum, 2001.

9 – Fukuyama, Francis, The End of History and the Last Man, London, 1992.

 Head of the Policymaking Council of Center for Inter-Religious Dialogue, and President Organization of Culture and Islamic Relations.

1 Mosheb Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, P. 72. Referring to the humbleness and meekness of Jesus Christ, the article in Mosheb states that Jesus Christ rides donkey as a means of transportation.

2 Mathew, Chapter 2.

3 Marco Polo, Travelogue, Tr. By Habibullah Sahihi, P. 35.

4 The holy Quran states: Give good tidings to those servants of God who listen to the speeches and choose the best of them.

5 In the year 2000, on the proposal of the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Mohammad Khatami, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously designated the year 2001 as the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations.

6 Professor, Qum Seminary.

7 Sixth Babylonian king (1913-1955 BC) who left his codified laws on a column found in the ancient city of Susa and now in Paris

8 The theory of ideal state was always present in the ideas of philosophers like Plato and Thomas Moor as well as Muslim thinkers such as Farabi who used the concept in his book of Utopia

9 Sociability

10 For more details, see: Velayati, Ali Akbar, Andisheh-e Howzeh, No. 40.

i

Endnotes
^ Sawahata , a commitment to globalization to promote interfaith Dialogue. ‎Yasutomo Website of interreligious relations homepage.

ii Immanuel Wallerstein, Politics and Culture in the Modern World System, Tr. By Pirouz Izadi, (Tehran, Nashr Nei, 1998).

iii Shirudi, Morteza, Theoretical Bases of Globalization, Internet Site, Thought Club.

iv Farhang, Maziar, Culture in the Era of Globalization, Iran (Tehran) April 22, 2004.

v Christian communities response to globalization, interreligious dialogue, Website.

vi The Mahdaviah Discourse (Lectures, first and second), Qom (Bustan Book), 2002.

vii Leganhausen, Mohammad, Islam and Religious Pluralism, Tr. By Narjes Javandel, (Qom, Taha) 2000, PP. 8-19

viii Enayat Hamid, Trend of Political Thought in Islam, (Tehran, Amir Kabir Publishers), 1982.

ix Samuel Huntington, Clash of Civilization and Reconstruction of World Order, Tr. By Mohammad Ali Rafii (Tehran, Cultural Publications Office), 1999.

x Immanuel Wallerstein, the Modern World System, New York, academic, 1574

xi ^ Francis Fukuyama, End of History and Man, Tr. By Aireza Tayeb, Foreign Policy (Tehran) No. 2, 1993.