Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 55
News
Amish
Account of Amish Banishment
Irene Miller Garret's recent memoire, Crossing Over: One Woman's Exodus from Amish
Life," provides a window into the Old Order Amish community, whose strict rules and
insularity proved too much for the spirited Garrett. She remains excommunicated from the
Amish church — she ran away from home to marry an outsider who worked for Amish
families in Kaolona, IA — and shunned by her family. Garrett says that women are "second-
class, subservient to men" among her Amish kin, and that certain "inconsistencies" in the
community bother her: a few select members of the church could break rules while most
others could not. She also questioned the notion that the outside world was wicked. Since
her marriage, Garrett has earned a GED, in her new Kentucky home, and hopes to attend
nursing school. (Cynthia J. McGroarty, Knight-Ridder Tribune New, Houston Chronicle,
1/18/2002, Internet)
Association of Disciples
China Cracks Down on Protestant Group /China
Chinese police arrested, and sentenced without trial to reeducation through labor, leaders of
the evangelical Protestant "Association of Disciples" for setting up a chapter in northwestern
Lintao city, Gansu province. According to the China News Service, the leaders were also
accused of setting up "home sects" in villages, of "cheating the people," and "disturbing
social order." A large rally was held to announce the sentences and "educate" the local
population of the dangers of the group, which boasts up to 500,000 followers. The
whereabouts of "guru" Ji Sanbau are unknown. (Yahoo! News, 1/11/02, Internet)
Aum Shinrikyo
New Aum (Aleph) Leader /Japan
Fumihiro Joyu, the high-profile spokesperson for Aum Shinrikyo, now called Aleph, has been
elected to lead the group. In December 1999, Joyu was released from prison after serving a
three-year sentence for perjury and forgery. He was one of only a few senior Aum leaders
not charged in connection with the 1999 nerve gas attack, which left 12 people dead and
injured thousands. News 24, 1/28/02, Internet)
Aum Terrorists Planned to Spring Leader /Russia
Three Russian Aum members — Dmitri Shigachev, 24, Sergei Topeko, 28, and Dmitri
Voronov, 32, stand accused — and admit the substance of the accusation — of having
plotted to bomb various locations in Tokyo in a bid to spring Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko
Asahara from prison. Banned in 1995 after the cult's lethal sarin gas attack on Tokyo
subway commuters, Aum's Russian branch nonetheless maintains a shadowy existence,
with some 300 believers in Moscow performing devotions under the supervision of four
Japanese Aum priests. (In Japan, Aum now calls itself Aleph.)
Shigachev, the youngest of the three defendants, is the trio's leader. In 1999 he used the
Internet to recruit collaborators for a daring plan he had conceived. The logic was simple.
"Asahara," co-defendant Topeko told the court, "should be free. Since there were no legal
means to free him, we had no choice but to use terrorism and violence to demand his
release."
Flush with funds from an Aum-affiliated Japanese entrepreneur Shigachev met in Phuket,
Thailand, the little group set to work. Topeko procured the weaponry. Voronov, a
Vladivostok used-tire salesman, made local preparations, securing a garage to hide the
News
Amish
Account of Amish Banishment
Irene Miller Garret's recent memoire, Crossing Over: One Woman's Exodus from Amish
Life," provides a window into the Old Order Amish community, whose strict rules and
insularity proved too much for the spirited Garrett. She remains excommunicated from the
Amish church — she ran away from home to marry an outsider who worked for Amish
families in Kaolona, IA — and shunned by her family. Garrett says that women are "second-
class, subservient to men" among her Amish kin, and that certain "inconsistencies" in the
community bother her: a few select members of the church could break rules while most
others could not. She also questioned the notion that the outside world was wicked. Since
her marriage, Garrett has earned a GED, in her new Kentucky home, and hopes to attend
nursing school. (Cynthia J. McGroarty, Knight-Ridder Tribune New, Houston Chronicle,
1/18/2002, Internet)
Association of Disciples
China Cracks Down on Protestant Group /China
Chinese police arrested, and sentenced without trial to reeducation through labor, leaders of
the evangelical Protestant "Association of Disciples" for setting up a chapter in northwestern
Lintao city, Gansu province. According to the China News Service, the leaders were also
accused of setting up "home sects" in villages, of "cheating the people," and "disturbing
social order." A large rally was held to announce the sentences and "educate" the local
population of the dangers of the group, which boasts up to 500,000 followers. The
whereabouts of "guru" Ji Sanbau are unknown. (Yahoo! News, 1/11/02, Internet)
Aum Shinrikyo
New Aum (Aleph) Leader /Japan
Fumihiro Joyu, the high-profile spokesperson for Aum Shinrikyo, now called Aleph, has been
elected to lead the group. In December 1999, Joyu was released from prison after serving a
three-year sentence for perjury and forgery. He was one of only a few senior Aum leaders
not charged in connection with the 1999 nerve gas attack, which left 12 people dead and
injured thousands. News 24, 1/28/02, Internet)
Aum Terrorists Planned to Spring Leader /Russia
Three Russian Aum members — Dmitri Shigachev, 24, Sergei Topeko, 28, and Dmitri
Voronov, 32, stand accused — and admit the substance of the accusation — of having
plotted to bomb various locations in Tokyo in a bid to spring Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko
Asahara from prison. Banned in 1995 after the cult's lethal sarin gas attack on Tokyo
subway commuters, Aum's Russian branch nonetheless maintains a shadowy existence,
with some 300 believers in Moscow performing devotions under the supervision of four
Japanese Aum priests. (In Japan, Aum now calls itself Aleph.)
Shigachev, the youngest of the three defendants, is the trio's leader. In 1999 he used the
Internet to recruit collaborators for a daring plan he had conceived. The logic was simple.
"Asahara," co-defendant Topeko told the court, "should be free. Since there were no legal
means to free him, we had no choice but to use terrorism and violence to demand his
release."
Flush with funds from an Aum-affiliated Japanese entrepreneur Shigachev met in Phuket,
Thailand, the little group set to work. Topeko procured the weaponry. Voronov, a
Vladivostok used-tire salesman, made local preparations, securing a garage to hide the
