On this date, August 22nd, in 2006, the Iranian government did not trigger a global cataclysm.  Famed Middle East scholar Bernard Lewis had predicted that the Iranians might try to commemorate the "night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq"  to the "farthest mosque" (which Muslims claim without evidence is Jerusalem) and back, by detonating nuclear weapons.

In the months and weeks leading up to August 22, Iran's president Ahmadinejad had made several references to the date and its importance to Shi'a Muslims.  Shi'a believe that the end of the world will be preceded by the return of the Hidden Imam, and that the Hidden Imam could only conjured back by global chaos and destruction.  Bernard Lewis, whose writings have usually been quite fawning and sympathetic when it comes to Islam, believed it entirely possible that the Iranians would try to hasten the coming of Judgement Day by using nuclear weapons.

Lewis believed that Iran's leadership knew full well that the West, whether Israel, the U.S., or others, would be sure to respond with full fury against Iran.  Lewis also understood that the threat of a nuclear retaliatory strike was no deterrent to the Shi'a in Iran.  In fact, they would welcome it, since it would guarantee them eternity in Islamic Paradise.

The concept of MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction, is what guided the U.S. and Soviets through the Cold War:  the knowledge that if either side used nuclear weapons, the other would surely respond, and both sides would lose.  Lewis understood that this concept is useless when dealing with religious fanatics who welcome the end of the physical world.

Of course, as it turns out, the Iranians did not use nuclear weapons on August 22, 2006.

So, did this mean that Lewis and others, including the esteemed and inestimable Robert Spencer, had misunderstood Shi'a beliefs?  Or, was there a technical glitch on the Iranians' side?  Was the deadline set, and then missed for whatever reason?  Or, was Ahmadinejad just "rattling sabres?"  The story of the Iranian nuclear weapon program is not over yet, and we will have to wait and see what the final resolution will be.

But this event was important, in that it marked one of the first times in modern history when non-Muslims attempted to see the world through the prism of true Islamic beliefs, not through the distorted George-Bush-"All religions are the same" funhouse mirror.  Lewis and Spencer used references to core Islamic texts to formulate their positions.  The scholars who studied mainstream Islamic documents found that they encourage True Believers to bring about Armegeddon through massive death and destruction.  That is what we should take away from this incident.

That fact that one group of Muslims, the Iranians, did not usher in the end of the world on one particular day is of trivial importance.  When the Iranians or some other group have their weapons of mass destruction ready, there will always be a date to commemorate:  the birth of Mohammad; the death of Mohammad; the first Hajj; the military victory by the Muslims over some or another early tribe; the disappearance of the Hiddan Imam; the end of the Caliphate; the beginning of Ramadan; the end of Ramadan; the beginning of Ashoura.  Pick almost any day of the year, and Muslims could find some reason to celebrate it by causing the end of the world.  We cannot predict which day it will happen, only that they will one day try to make it happen.

Previous Days in the "Religion of Peace™":

Aug 21: PLO Leave Lebanon
Aug 20: Barbarossa Attacks Tunis
Aug 19: Stoning Sentence in Nigeria
Aug 18: Iranian Jihad Against Kurds
Aug 17: Mass Murder in Lahore