Prologue: the end of the world draws near -- True and false messiahs of Islam -- Archeology of the end of the world -- Grand masters of the medieval apocalypse -- Avatars of the Mahdi -- Apocalypse now -- Dawn of the fifteenth century of Islam -- Pioneers of the contemporary apocalypse -- The horsemen of apocalyptic jihad -- The beginning of the end in Iraq -- The grand return of the Shi'i Mahdi -- Diasporas of the apocalypse -- The armageddon of jihad -- Epilogue: through the looking glass-and beyond