The Shia Islamists believe the Mahdi will set up his kingdom in Iraq, while the Bible indicates the Antichrist will rule from Babylon. Is it likely the Mahdi is the Antichrist?
There are a number of similarities between Islamic prophecies of al Mahdi and Biblical prophecies of the anti-Christ. For example, both come on the scene as peacemakers during a time of great chaos. Both head up a one world religion and a one world government. Both have 7 year reigns that end with the Judgment of Earth.
These matching traits have led some scholars to conclude that they’re one and the same. Also, the Roman Empire had both an eastern component and a western one. For many years it was generally assumed that the anti-Christ would come from the western one, but with the recent focus on Islam a growing number of scholars are beginning to see that that he could just as easily come from the eastern component, which is largely Moslem today.