Al-Masih

## Payam Golshiri

**Payam Golshiri** (Persian: پیام گلشیری), also known as **al-Masih** (Arabic: المسيح), is the main protagonist of the Netflix television series *Messiah*. He is a mysterious messianic figure who first emerges in Damascus during an attack on the devastated city by Daesh (ISIS). He is portrayed by Mehdi Dehbi.

## Biography

### Early Life

Payam Golshiri was born in Iran to a Jewish father and a Christian mother. In 1991, he and his brother, Adar, lost their parents, who were killed while escaping Iraq during the Liberation of Kuwait. Payam and Adar were then taken in by their uncle Yusuf, a con artist and magician who passed down his tricks to the boys. Payam thus spent most of his youth traveling around the Middle East with his brother and uncle. Since childhood, he has also suffered from psychological issues and mental illness. Sometime in his early adulthood, Payam was institutionalized at a psychiatric hospital in Tehran, where he was diagnosed with a messiah complex and delusional disorder.

Payam would attend Tehran University, later choosing to study abroad for a semester at Williams College in Massachusetts. There, he became well acquainted with professor Oscar Wallace, a wanted terrorist who would eventually flee to Russia after hacking the stock exchange.

### *Messiah*

Payam first arrives in Damascus, Syria, along with a month-long sandstorm that forces all ISIS troops to flee the country. The Syrians credit Payam for the miracle and henceforth refer to him as "al-Masih". He then leads a group of around 2,000 Palestinian refugees living in Syria towards the northern border with Israel.

This catches the attention of the CIA who start to closely monitor Golshiri's every move. As Golshiri attempts to cross the border of Israel, he is quickly arrested by Israeli forces and is taken into custody while leaving the group he led at the edge of the border to fend for themselves.

Golshiri is then interrogated by Aviram, a hardened Israeli operative who finds himself caught off guard after realizing that Payam knows more than he thinks. Later, Golshiri is able to escape the prison with the help of a guard, walks to al-Aqsa mosque and delivers a message to the muslims there. Once there, Israeli forces try seizing al-Masih when a sudden shot is heard which hits a young boy in the stomach. Payam miraculously heals the boy and withdraws the bullet from him and all who are there are left baffled. Golshiri then once again disappears.

After the CIA have a hard time finding al-Masih, he mysteriously appears on the other side of the planet in a small town in the middle of Texas while a severe tornado devastates the town there. The local pastor, Felix, recognizes him from the news and asks if he came to prevent him from burning his church. Right after, a CIA officer arrives and takes al-Masih into custody.

al-Masih has a hearing with a conservative judge and is then released. Payam then goes with Felix. Many followers flock towards Dilley, Texas. They wait on Golshiri to make a move.

Felix then decides to take Golshiri to Washington, DC where after delivering a speech to those who followed him, al-Masih performs a miracle by walking on water.

## Appearances

### Season 1

* "He That Hath an Ear"
* "Tremor"
* "The Finger of God"
* "Trial"
* "So That Seeing They May Not See"
* "We Will Not All Sleep"
* "It Came to Pass as It Was Spoken"
* "Force Majeure"
* "God Is Greater"
* "The Wages of Sin"