International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012 27
low self-esteem. I have seen some patients who
were sent to a madrassa because they were
considered the bright and intelligent ones and
more likely to do well at memorizing the Quran.
They were considered the special ones among
their siblings. This context certainly is better
than just feeling abandonment nevertheless,
their unconscious resentment for being used was
many times evident and contributed to their
symptoms of depression.
In July 2007, Lal Masjid, a madrassa in the heart
of Islamabad, was under siege for 8 days by the
Pakistan army. When negotiations failed, an
intense battle ensued between the heavily armed
madrassa students and the Pakistan army.
Women inside the madrassa were given free
passage out of the combat area. Not even
thinking of how concerned her parents might be,
a journalist, asked a 14-year-old girl why she
resisted coming out. She responded that her
parents had eight children, and if one of them
died in the name of Islam, why would that be a
concern for them? One could clearly see her
resentment and anger toward her parents for
abandoning only her out of the eight children.
One can also assume that her death wish
developed not only because of low self-esteem
and unhappiness, but also as the result of
unconscious wishful thinking that dying would
make her parents regret their decision of
abandoning her she felt she might gain their
love through her dying and their mourning her
loss.
In this example, Islam as a cause is irrelevant
and is only rationalization for this complex
dynamic. This scenario is similar to that of a
patient who overdoses on the medicines his
psychiatrist has prescribed, as opposed to taking
more lethal over-the-counter drugs such as
acetaminophen (Tylenol). Having developed
transference, the patient sees his psychiatrist as
uncaring, unloving, or unavailable, like a past
parent figure. The patient perceives that
overdosing on the prescription medication is a
good way to make the psychiatrist regret his
attitude.
Cruel, Guilt-Inducing, Physically Violent
Discipline
Cruel physical discipline is the second factor
that leads to unconscious murderous rage toward
authority figures or symbols of authority. This
combination, in turn, can contribute to the
development of a Pakistani Muslim suicide
bomber.
Islam is taught to most children in a harsh and
violent manner in some2 madrassas. I have
personally witnessed this mistreatment as a child
when I went to a local mosque only for a brief
time after school. Belonging to an educated and
affluent family, I was spared but most other
children around me were treated cruelly.
The guilt-inducing and physically abusive
teaching in some Muslim religious schools is a
well-known phenomenon. Discouragement of
independent thinking is the norm. Students can
question or discuss nothing. Everything is
shoved down their throat. They are made to
memorize for several hours every day. I
remember a 9- or 10-year-old boy being hit with
a stick because he momentarily looked at the
boy next to him and uttered a few words instead
of memorizing. An enormous amount of guilt is
induced in students for innocent childhood
behavior. It would not be an exaggeration to say
that these children are robbed of their
childhoods.
According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development, these children are at the level of
concrete thinking and clearly unable to have any
meaningful understanding of religion and the
concept of God, and of why they are subjected
2 Madrassas in Pakistan vary widely. They can be registered
institutions in which a nonviolent approach of teaching Islamic
studies, along with encouragement of a secular education, are the
focus. These madrassas also conduct exams after course
completion and award graduates a Master’s in Islamic Studies
degree. Unfortunately, such madrassas are fewer in number. Most
others focus just on Islamic studies many are not registered and
are unregulated. In these, physically violent discipline is a routine,
as Lawson describes (A. Lawson, BBC News, July 14, 2005).
There are other extreme cases in which the intent is simply
criminal, and Islam is used only as a cover. One such incident was
reported in the news of December 12 and 13, 2011, when police
rescued 70 students from a madrassa in Karachi where young men,
boys, and children as young as 5 years old, whose parents had sent
them to the madrassa, were chained, tortured, and generally
mistreated—for example, by not being fed (Geo News TV and
WatchPakistani).
low self-esteem. I have seen some patients who
were sent to a madrassa because they were
considered the bright and intelligent ones and
more likely to do well at memorizing the Quran.
They were considered the special ones among
their siblings. This context certainly is better
than just feeling abandonment nevertheless,
their unconscious resentment for being used was
many times evident and contributed to their
symptoms of depression.
In July 2007, Lal Masjid, a madrassa in the heart
of Islamabad, was under siege for 8 days by the
Pakistan army. When negotiations failed, an
intense battle ensued between the heavily armed
madrassa students and the Pakistan army.
Women inside the madrassa were given free
passage out of the combat area. Not even
thinking of how concerned her parents might be,
a journalist, asked a 14-year-old girl why she
resisted coming out. She responded that her
parents had eight children, and if one of them
died in the name of Islam, why would that be a
concern for them? One could clearly see her
resentment and anger toward her parents for
abandoning only her out of the eight children.
One can also assume that her death wish
developed not only because of low self-esteem
and unhappiness, but also as the result of
unconscious wishful thinking that dying would
make her parents regret their decision of
abandoning her she felt she might gain their
love through her dying and their mourning her
loss.
In this example, Islam as a cause is irrelevant
and is only rationalization for this complex
dynamic. This scenario is similar to that of a
patient who overdoses on the medicines his
psychiatrist has prescribed, as opposed to taking
more lethal over-the-counter drugs such as
acetaminophen (Tylenol). Having developed
transference, the patient sees his psychiatrist as
uncaring, unloving, or unavailable, like a past
parent figure. The patient perceives that
overdosing on the prescription medication is a
good way to make the psychiatrist regret his
attitude.
Cruel, Guilt-Inducing, Physically Violent
Discipline
Cruel physical discipline is the second factor
that leads to unconscious murderous rage toward
authority figures or symbols of authority. This
combination, in turn, can contribute to the
development of a Pakistani Muslim suicide
bomber.
Islam is taught to most children in a harsh and
violent manner in some2 madrassas. I have
personally witnessed this mistreatment as a child
when I went to a local mosque only for a brief
time after school. Belonging to an educated and
affluent family, I was spared but most other
children around me were treated cruelly.
The guilt-inducing and physically abusive
teaching in some Muslim religious schools is a
well-known phenomenon. Discouragement of
independent thinking is the norm. Students can
question or discuss nothing. Everything is
shoved down their throat. They are made to
memorize for several hours every day. I
remember a 9- or 10-year-old boy being hit with
a stick because he momentarily looked at the
boy next to him and uttered a few words instead
of memorizing. An enormous amount of guilt is
induced in students for innocent childhood
behavior. It would not be an exaggeration to say
that these children are robbed of their
childhoods.
According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development, these children are at the level of
concrete thinking and clearly unable to have any
meaningful understanding of religion and the
concept of God, and of why they are subjected
2 Madrassas in Pakistan vary widely. They can be registered
institutions in which a nonviolent approach of teaching Islamic
studies, along with encouragement of a secular education, are the
focus. These madrassas also conduct exams after course
completion and award graduates a Master’s in Islamic Studies
degree. Unfortunately, such madrassas are fewer in number. Most
others focus just on Islamic studies many are not registered and
are unregulated. In these, physically violent discipline is a routine,
as Lawson describes (A. Lawson, BBC News, July 14, 2005).
There are other extreme cases in which the intent is simply
criminal, and Islam is used only as a cover. One such incident was
reported in the news of December 12 and 13, 2011, when police
rescued 70 students from a madrassa in Karachi where young men,
boys, and children as young as 5 years old, whose parents had sent
them to the madrassa, were chained, tortured, and generally
mistreated—for example, by not being fed (Geo News TV and
WatchPakistani).
