LOL! @ you guys!
IWS: It's so nice to come across someone who knows what I am talking about!

Yes, true. Al Mahdi = 12th imam, also known as 'the hidden imam' as he was believed to have gone into occultation. President Amedenijad of Iran said he has been in direct contact with Allah and that it was his mission to prepare the world for the appearance of the Mahdi. Scary stuff. Like the Antichrist, the Mahdi can only appear on the world scene amid chaos and war. This is how they make their entrance as an alleged peace maker.
Wez: You raise a good point but the evidence points to religion not only dying but being murdered. Our society is taking an obvious shift towards materialism, secularism, and rationality (which we are erroneously being programmed to believe is the opposite of religion, spirituality, and faith). If you need examples I will happily explain but it should be pretty obvious. Evolution (naturalism) has replaced creationism, nations are ditching their declared religions in favor of secularism, prayer has been taken out of school (not just in America), etc. We live in a protective bubble here in the west but that doesn't mean we are still a religious nation. The East has pretty much become wholly secular and even 'Christian' nations have secular governments. The last strong hold is Islam.
Those behind the NWO seem **** bent on destroying Christianity by any means necessary- even propaganda and lies. Some examples would include things like Zeitgeist or creation scientists being shut out of their own field. So, although your argument might have held some weight, in light of the evidence of the paradigm shifts, it is appearing to me it was not a conspiracy to keep the masses under lock and key- especially using the Judeo Christian faith of all things- the NWO's enemy. Remember, nothing warns against the NWO as loudly and as adamantly as the Bible.
Lastly, this prophecy was discovered by Dr. Grant Jeffrey in the 90's- not prior to 1948. The 'to the day' prophecy could not have been forced because it was not yet known. He executed the Bible math approximately 40 years after the fact although the passages had existed for around 2,700 years. Then just for fun, I find the astronomical tetrads coinciding with Israel's rebirth and reunification of Jerusalem amazing.
I also don't want to get too stuck on this one prophecy- there are literally
hundreds. It's imperative we remember the Bible is 35-40% prophecy by volume. It is impossible to say they were all self fulfilled.