28 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 3, 2012
to such cruelty. For them, the experience is of
being subjected to anger and violence from
authority figures. As a reaction, they develop
unconscious murderous rage toward authority
figures or symbols of authority figures.
One can see much indirect evidence of such rage
in the society. An example is those who
experience blasphemous thoughts as part of
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In my 8
years of clinical experience in the United States,
where I see many patients suffering from OCD, I
have seen none with blasphemous thoughts. In
Pakistan, blasphemous thoughts are a common
presenting symptom of OCD. The psycho-
dynamic understanding is that Islam is harshly
and sometimes violently imposed on most
people, who then develop enormous rage toward
authority figures and Islam. That anger or rage
remains unconscious because of the associated
guilt. Then it comes out symbolically in the
form of uncontrolled ego-dystonic thoughts of
abuses toward the Prophet, Allah, and the Quran
because they not only represent Islam but also
are ultimate symbols of authority. Islam and the
authority figure is exactly what the unconscious
rage is harbored against. One example is having
thoughts of throwing away or kicking the Quran.
Listing other examples would be inappropriate
and disrespectful to Islam.
Patients would relate their experience with great
difficulty after I responded calmly by
describing their thoughts as a common mental
illness for which Allah wouldn’t hold them
accountable, they would sigh with relief. Many
said that they were afraid they would be wajib-
ul-qatal (deserving to be killed) if they told their
experience to someone. I see this concern as a
paranoid position: projecting one’s own
murderous rage onto others. However, many
such stories appear in the news about people
who actually have been killed by the mob in
Pakistan for blasphemy. One report was of a
manic patient who claimed to be the Prophet and
was then attacked by the mob and stoned to
death before anyone could intervene.
The dynamics of such acts are that the mob’s
own unconscious rage toward religion, which
makes them feel very guilty, is projected onto a
scapegoat. Once they see it in someone else in
the form of blasphemy, their inner “evil” faces
them extraneously in the form of this other
individual, whom they attack and kill. Along
with soothing their guilt, this action also
gratifies their murderous rage. Of course, they
do all this in the name of Islam, for which Allah
will reward them in life hereafter. In other
words, there are two unconscious gains and one
conscious gain.
The issue of the Danish cartoons in 2005 and
2006 that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad,
and the total furor by many in the Muslim world
in response also reflect this phenomenon. In
contrast, many other Muslims who truly believe
in Islam and have genuine respect for the Prophet
saw the cartoons only as a joke in bad taste.
Deranged Experience of Puberty and
Adolescence
The third factor that can contribute to the
making of a Pakistani Muslim suicide bomber is
deranged experiences in puberty. Such
experiences can lead to identity foreclosure for
many adolescents.
As the result of thorough brainwashing with
heavy doses of radical religious stereotypes and
discouragement of independent thinking, these
youths are poorly prepared to deal with this
stage of identity formation. One can assume that
many of them would end up with what Erikson
(1968) called identity foreclosure. Before this
stage, most of us live with a borrowed identity
from our parents. The concepts of right and
wrong, ethics, morality, the general belief
system, and so on are based on what we have
learned or seen around us. During adolescence,
this identity is tested, debated, and experienced
otherwise before we internalize all of the above
to form a stable identity. For these religious-
school teenagers in Pakistan, there is no such
debate, and their identity is foreclosed at this
stage. They might have a clear answer about
what is right or wrong, a clear distinction
between good and evil, and a simplistic or even
dangerous view as to the purpose of life but
they are deeply confused about their identity,
even without being aware of this confusion. The
more they are confused about their identity, the
less able they are to tolerate or debate confusion
about the purpose of life and the unknown.
to such cruelty. For them, the experience is of
being subjected to anger and violence from
authority figures. As a reaction, they develop
unconscious murderous rage toward authority
figures or symbols of authority figures.
One can see much indirect evidence of such rage
in the society. An example is those who
experience blasphemous thoughts as part of
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In my 8
years of clinical experience in the United States,
where I see many patients suffering from OCD, I
have seen none with blasphemous thoughts. In
Pakistan, blasphemous thoughts are a common
presenting symptom of OCD. The psycho-
dynamic understanding is that Islam is harshly
and sometimes violently imposed on most
people, who then develop enormous rage toward
authority figures and Islam. That anger or rage
remains unconscious because of the associated
guilt. Then it comes out symbolically in the
form of uncontrolled ego-dystonic thoughts of
abuses toward the Prophet, Allah, and the Quran
because they not only represent Islam but also
are ultimate symbols of authority. Islam and the
authority figure is exactly what the unconscious
rage is harbored against. One example is having
thoughts of throwing away or kicking the Quran.
Listing other examples would be inappropriate
and disrespectful to Islam.
Patients would relate their experience with great
difficulty after I responded calmly by
describing their thoughts as a common mental
illness for which Allah wouldn’t hold them
accountable, they would sigh with relief. Many
said that they were afraid they would be wajib-
ul-qatal (deserving to be killed) if they told their
experience to someone. I see this concern as a
paranoid position: projecting one’s own
murderous rage onto others. However, many
such stories appear in the news about people
who actually have been killed by the mob in
Pakistan for blasphemy. One report was of a
manic patient who claimed to be the Prophet and
was then attacked by the mob and stoned to
death before anyone could intervene.
The dynamics of such acts are that the mob’s
own unconscious rage toward religion, which
makes them feel very guilty, is projected onto a
scapegoat. Once they see it in someone else in
the form of blasphemy, their inner “evil” faces
them extraneously in the form of this other
individual, whom they attack and kill. Along
with soothing their guilt, this action also
gratifies their murderous rage. Of course, they
do all this in the name of Islam, for which Allah
will reward them in life hereafter. In other
words, there are two unconscious gains and one
conscious gain.
The issue of the Danish cartoons in 2005 and
2006 that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad,
and the total furor by many in the Muslim world
in response also reflect this phenomenon. In
contrast, many other Muslims who truly believe
in Islam and have genuine respect for the Prophet
saw the cartoons only as a joke in bad taste.
Deranged Experience of Puberty and
Adolescence
The third factor that can contribute to the
making of a Pakistani Muslim suicide bomber is
deranged experiences in puberty. Such
experiences can lead to identity foreclosure for
many adolescents.
As the result of thorough brainwashing with
heavy doses of radical religious stereotypes and
discouragement of independent thinking, these
youths are poorly prepared to deal with this
stage of identity formation. One can assume that
many of them would end up with what Erikson
(1968) called identity foreclosure. Before this
stage, most of us live with a borrowed identity
from our parents. The concepts of right and
wrong, ethics, morality, the general belief
system, and so on are based on what we have
learned or seen around us. During adolescence,
this identity is tested, debated, and experienced
otherwise before we internalize all of the above
to form a stable identity. For these religious-
school teenagers in Pakistan, there is no such
debate, and their identity is foreclosed at this
stage. They might have a clear answer about
what is right or wrong, a clear distinction
between good and evil, and a simplistic or even
dangerous view as to the purpose of life but
they are deeply confused about their identity,
even without being aware of this confusion. The
more they are confused about their identity, the
less able they are to tolerate or debate confusion
about the purpose of life and the unknown.
