There are many labels we could apply to the era we live in: the age of the communication and technological revolution; the age of artificial intelligence; the age of individualism and the collapse of mainstream narratives; the age of unipolarity; the age of sophistry and new philistinism. With this, the expectation of building a peaceful, cosmopolitan civilisation, multiracial and multicultural, governed by human rights, rationality, secularism, democracy, science, and reason, now appears to be an evaporating mirage. This is despite the fact that left-wing dominance seemed, only a few years ago, like an unquestionable certainty.
Many studies have predicted a global decline in religion and religiosity, often accusing the Arab and Islamic world of lagging behind material modern civilisation that rejects spirituality and theocracy. For example, a study published in ‘Nature Communications’ (2025) predicted a generational decline in religiosity, noting that this decline is more pronounced in some countries than others, and that societies undergo a similar secularisation process that begins at different times. The study describes this transformation in three stages: beginning with a decline in participation in public religious practice, followed by a reduction in the personal importance of religion, and ultimately the abandonment of religious affiliation altogether. It draws on survey data from 111 countries conducted by the Pew Research Centre, as well as data from 58 countries in the World Values Survey and the European Values Study. Yet the rise of the European right and the phenomenon of Trump’s presidency in the United States may call all of this into question.
Easter: Trump and Christ
While former U.S. President George W. Bush used religious rhetoric during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the dominant narrative at the time was still the spread of democracy. Today, however, talk of religion, prophecy, and divine promises has become an almost daily feature of political discourse under the current U.S. administration.
During the recent Easter season, religious fervour reached an unprecedented level. Recently, Paula White-Cain, Trump’s spiritual advisor and a televangelist, said: “Trump was betrayed and falsely accused in a familiar pattern we also see in the life of our Lord and Savior,” referring to Jesus Christ. Standing beside Trump, she drew parallels between his legal battles and assassination attempts and the suffering endured by Christ.
At an Easter lunch, Trump compared himself to Christ, saying: “On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem amid a massive reception of people welcoming him in praise and hailing him as king.” He added with a smile: “They call me a king now, can you believe it?” He sarcastically noted that he was “so much of a king that he couldn’t even get approval to build a ballroom,” implying that if he were truly a king, he would have accomplished far more.
In another statement after Easter, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth compared the rescue of an American pilot whose plane was shot down in Iran to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, during a press conference chaired by Trump. Hegseth described the timing of the operation stretching from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, as highly symbolic emphasising that the pilot evaded capture for more than a day, climbing rugged terrain while being pursued by the enemy. He said the pilot’s first message after activating his transmitter was simple and powerful: “God is good,” adding: “On Easter Sunday morning, a pilot was reborn.” Earlier, Hegseth had called for an American crusade and is known for religious tattoos that reflect these beliefs.
All of this reveals a growing religious discourse in America. Trump’s spiritual advisor has even called on people to donate 10 percent of their income to support Israel, claiming this brings “God’s Favour.”
Previously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that “Iran is ruled by madmen—religious extremists with nuclear ambitions.” Hegseth also said: “Insane regimes like Iran, driven by delusional Islamic prophecies, cannot be allowed to possess nuclear weapons,” referring to Shiite beliefs about the appearance of the Mahdi at the end of time. Yet this ignores the fact that American and Israeli discourse itself also adopts and circulates religious apocalyptic prophecies in the media.
Israel’s Red Cows and the Third Temple
In Israel today, rhetoric about a “Greater Israel” and settlement expansion in southern Lebanon and Syria is rising. The biblical name “Bashan” has been revived for Jabal al-Arab in Suwayda Governorate. There is also a renewed desire to present five red heifers as sacrificial offerings and use their ashes in purification rituals, with the aim of fulfilling a biblical prophecy to rebuild the Third Temple in Jerusalem.
This prophecy is based on the Book of Numbers, which describes the ritual of the red heifer in detail (Numbers 19:1–7). On this basis, the Temple Institute, “Machon HaMikdash,” brought Red Angus cattle from Texas to Israel in 2022, with the goal of rebuilding the temple on the site of the current Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
Meanwhile, after using the biblical term “Amalek” during the war on Gaza, the Israeli prime minister again invoked it in reference to Iranians, framing them as absolute evil and enemies of the Children of Israel.
Islamic Apocalyptic Narratives
Similarly, both Sunnis and Shiites believe in the appearance of the Mahdi at the end of time to fill the earth with justice. These narratives resemble saviour myths found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions. A visual platform has also issued calls for prayer and to hasten the appearance of the Imam amid the escalating war between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other.
At the same time, some Shiite clerics speak of the emergence of the Sufiyani, a prominent apocalyptic figure described as tyrannical and descended from Abu Sufyan and the Umayyads. He is said to seize power in Syria and attack Iraq and the Hijaz. These clerics attempt to link the Sufyani to Syria’s current interim president Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Al-Jolani), while social media accounts have promoted claims that the Russian far-right philosopher Alexander Dugin has endorsed such narratives.
Sunni traditions also contain overlapping eschatological stories, including the second coming of Christ, the Mahdi, and the final battle—often called the Battle of Dabiq (similar to Armageddon in biblical narratives). It is described as a great confrontation north of Aleppo between Muslims and “Romans” before the emergence of the Antichrist. Some Sunni preachers today interpret this alliance with the “Romans” in increasingly strained ways, even equating Jews with Romans, an identification absent from classical Islamic and Arabic sources, and suggesting a joint struggle against Iran and Shiites, despite the fact that Arabs are not in a position to be allies in this framing.
Some also speak of Jews descending upon Damascus, echoing biblical readings such as Isaiah’s prophecy of the city’s destruction: “An oracle concerning Damascus: Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins” (Isaiah 17:1). Such ideas carry dangerous implications, as they may normalise and, for some, justify catastrophic transformations as divinely ordained prophecy.
The Age of New Religious Obsession
Despite a declared two-week ceasefire and negotiations mediated by Pakistan, the launching of wars without reference to the United Nations or international law, threats to target national infrastructure, and war rhetoric devoid of diplomacy all signal the end of the post–World War II order as we have known it.
Narratives embraced by ruling elites suggest that the world, especially with the resurgence of the Western right, has entered a new age of religious obsession with end-times stories, religious wars, and the justification of mass violence and the dehumanisation of opponents. If this wave continues, it may close the chapter on any remaining hope for a world governed by democracy, human rights, and international law.
The dismantling of these values, argued by some to have been façades for deception and intrusion, in favour of blunt confrontation, may embolden authoritarian regimes worldwide to bare their teeth, since the supposed “model” civilisations have abandoned them.
The rise of extremism everywhere operates in a complicit dynamic. Its victim is the centuries-long effort of Enlightenment, humanism, and modernity, as the world risks sinking again into cycles of hatred and superstition, now armed with far more destructive weapons. This could place us all before a bleak future and a new Middle Ages. It seems that the end of this world may come at the hands of its own madmen everywhere.
This article is published in partnership with the Iraqi Network for Investigative Journalism (NIRIJ). Adapted by Jummar from Arabic, available here.
