People Claiming To Be The Mahdi

Over the course of history, there have been several individuals who have declared themselves to be the Mahdi prophesied in Islam. Similar to the notion of a Messiah in the Judeo-Christian religions, the notion of a Mahdi as a redeemer to establish a society has lent itself to various interpretations leading to different claims within minorities or by individuals within Islam.
The first historical recorded reference to a movement using the name of Mahdi is al-Mukhtar's rebellion against the Umayyid Caliphate in 686, almost 50 years after Muhammad's death. Al-Mukhtar claimed that Ibn al-Hanifiya, a son of the fourth Caliph Ali (the first Imam of Shi'ite), was the Mahdi who would save the Muslim people from the unjust rule of the Umayyids. Ibn al-Hanifiya was not actively involved in the rebellion, and when the Umayyids successfully quashed it, they left him undisturbed.
Another claim was that of the Bab (Arabic:"the Gate") in 1844, founding the religion of Bábism. He was later executed in the town of Tabriz by a firing squad. His remains currently reside in a tomb at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. He is considered to be the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh. (ba-haa-ol-laa Arabic:"Glory of God") Both are considered Prophets by Baha'is.
The late nineteenth century saw another person, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who appeared in British india and claimed to be the promised Mahdi as well as the Promised Messiah (second coming of Jesus) being the only person in Islamic history to have claimed to be both. He founded the Ahmadiyya religious community in 1889 which, though claims to be Muslim in every sense of the word is not recognised as such by a majority of mainstream Muslims.
Sudanese Sufi Muhammad Ahmad, declared himself Mahdi in 1882 and defeated Ottoman-Egyptian forces to set up his own state. The Mahdi died in 1885 but his Mahdist state lasted until 1899 when a British army destroyed it.[citation needed]
Muhammad bin Tumarat, a tyrant who spread corruption and even buried some of his companions because they did not believe that he was the Mahdi described by the Ahaadith of Rasulullah Some believe it was Muhammad bin Al-Sakari who disappeared at the age of five and went into hiding and has been hiding 10 centuries.
The most recent notable claim to Mahdiism was by Mohammad Abdullah al Querishi whose brother-in-law, Juhayman ibn-Muhammad ibn-Sayf al-Otaibi, led several hundred men to take over the Grand Mosque in Mecca in November of 1979. This uprising was defeated after a two week siege with at least 250 rebels, soldiers and pilgrims killed.