The Process of Evolution in the Orientalists’ Views on Mahdism (from 2001- up to now)

Orientalists and Western scholars have been interested in the subject of Mahdism and its place in the Islamic beliefs for over 150 years. They have been active in this field. A look at some of the scientific works of these Orientalists indicates such changes and evolution in the reports. Considering some of the indicators, the viewpoint of scholars and Western writers about Mahdism can be divided into four periods. Examining the process of evolution in their views in the fourth and the last period (2001-now) is the subject of the present paper. The current paper is prepared based on the descriptive-analytic method and is in the form of “exploratory” research. After categorizing and mentioning the most important views of the Orientalists in the field of Mahdism in this period, various analysis and statistics in relation to the type and volume of topics have been used and some of other statistics, including the nationality of Orientalists in this period are presented.