Investigating the Course of Mahdi Studies in the West after the Islamic Revolution of Iran

Being more acquainted with the efforts and goals of Western scholars active in the field of Mahdism is one of the major necessities of the modern era after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. One of the necessities of realizing this goal is to study the changes of Shiite studies, specifically the study of the Mahdism in the four periods of Shi'ism, focusing on the evolution of these studies in the historical turning point of 1979. In this research, by an extensive search on the works of the Orientalists in order to find Mahdavi studies, analyze the views and adapt the viewpoints to the events, it has been attempted to improve the quality of the information obtained. The product of this research is to familiarize with some of the extensive amount of Mahdavi studies of Western Orientalists and to examine some of their most important views. Considering the strengthening of Mahdavi's studies in the post-Islamic Revolution period, especially after the events of 9/11, given the special status and flagship of some anti-Islamic groups, such as Zionism in these studies, the widespread and well-organized entry of religious and academic institutions into the realm of Western Mahdi-researchers is necessary.