The Theological Roots of Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program
A Christian Examination of Iran's Apocalyptic Threat
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is widely understood to pose one of the greatest contemporary threats to global security. Less well known is why a nuclear-armed Iran would be so dangerous.
Nine countries currently possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. All the world’s nuclear weapons states are non-Muslim except for Pakistan, which acquired the so-called Islamic Bomb in 1998. Although Pakistan is an Islamic republic, it’s nuclear weapons are to deter a military attack by its arch-rival, India, a nuclear weapons state since 1974.
Why, then, is there such particular concern about the nuclear weapons program in Iran? Ultimately, the issue boils down to ideology, theology, and the apocalyptic worldview held by the jihadist leaders of Iran, and the eschatological imperatives that incentivize them to use such weapons against Israel and the rest of the Judeo-Christian world.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic state based on the Shiite branch of Islam. Shia Muslims comprise roughly 15% of the global Muslim population, with the other 85% being Sunni Muslim. The main difference between the two branches of Islam lies in a historical dispute over the rightful successor to Muhammad, the founder of Islam, after his death in AD 632. Shias believe Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and son-in-law, was the true successor; Sunnis believe Abu Bakr, a close companion of Muhammad, was the rightful heir. In essence, the centuries-long quarrel between Shiites and Sunnis boils down to whether Muhammad’s legitimate successor must be a blood relative.
