The things people like "malgudidays" are saying have no basis in the Quran at all. In fact, everything these people say actually proves my point. Say one assumes that all these things ("imam is hujjat of Allah, he is wajh Allah he is divinely appointed" etc etc) then why is he hiding like a coward? In fact, the reality of matter is there is no such person and there is no basis in the Quran for any of these absurd claims.
Also, consider the following: lets add up the followers of the 3-4 petty dai's who claim to be representative of this so-called "hiddern imam". (The luxury loving low-IQ moron, the hedge-fund manager, the screeching character in Varodra and the obscure figure in Yemen). Their followers likely number about a million or so. There are more than a billion Muslims. Are we to really believe that Allah would leave the billions of Muslims without guidance or without any hope for salvation? It is absurd! And how absurd these representative of this so-called "hiddern imam" are living in India (or Orange County!) or some obscure part of Saudi Arabia, while Muslims are found in every corner of the planet, speak every conceivable language and have every conceivable cultural heritage!
Are we to seriously believe that Muslims, say in China, were damned because they have not heard of or follow the lion- and elephant-hunter enjoying himself 24/7 in his palaces in Mumbai, Sri Lanka, America etc etc?
In fact, the message of Islam is universal, highly egalitarian and provides a framework for individual salvation that each person can undertake for themselves. Now, over the centuries there have been thousands and thousands of Aawlia who have provided guidance to their local communities, and they provide a Path that is useful for some and allows their followers to achieve a higher station in the Divine Presence than they could do by themselves. However, it does not mean that individual salvation through Islam requires believing in any hidden figures who are supposedly hiding for centuries, so terrified that they dare not show their face.
Let us also examine the blasphemous statement from the mullah representing the luxury loving low-IQ moron, i.e. "the Quran is mostly metaphors and hence cryptic".
Really? The Quran makes it clear in many, many places that it is a guide that is clear, about which there is no doubt etc. Yet these obscurantist mullahs hell-bent on enjoying a Yazdi-lifestyle for themselves and their extended families want us to believe that the Quran is "mostly metaphors and hence cryptic"! In fact, to say that the Quran is "mostly metaphors" actually puts this silly and fatuous mullah beyond the pale of Islam, and even the Ismaili philosophical position. For example, in Ismailism, specially in the Fatimid interpretation and then the Tayebbi formulation, one must adhere to both the zahir and the batin. Now we have this foolish man telling us that Quran is "mostly metaphors"!
Now, it is true (as I have argued extensively before) that the Quran has deeper layers of meaning and allusions that are not immediately apparent at first sight. But that does not mean that the Quran is "mostly metaphors"! So, for example, when the Quran (as it does so often) enjoin believers to give charity and take care of the orphans etc, are these "mostly metaphors"?! I mean, how could any Muslim say this?
A final point: in the Quran there is repeated mention of the "last days" and the judgement to come in those times. However, the specific claims that there is some so-called cowardly imam in hiding is no where to be found in the Quran. In fact, the concept of a "mahdi" is also not explicitly mentioned in the Quran, but likely was borrowed from the apocalyptic literature of the Christians (for example, the Book of Revelations) and other religions. Even if one were to assume that such a Mahdi were to appear in the end times (whatever that means) it does not mean that there is some hidden character at present in this world who corresponds to the absurdly inflated claims of made by fatuous mullahs of the bohris!
Incidentally, I find it funny that people here are crying for the "moderators and admin" to come kick people like Humsafar, SBM and I out of the board, or that we are being lectured by ignorant, illiterate and foolish people to study "history". In fact, if you really study history and the wondrously egalitarian nature of Islam, you will realize that the claims by such foolish and parochial mullahs (and mullanis!) have no basis in reality at all. And, I am actually pretty certain, the admin of this board is closer to our views than that of the fanatical and backward mullahs. Just saying
Yes you are right in your initial post. It is this Dana committee that were the geniuses behind the infamous plate licking videos. I wonder how a spatula helps. If the food is crappy, people are still going to throw it away.