Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2005, Page 58
The Allens, radical idealists who joined the group because of its anti-establishment attitude,
became disenchanted when MOVE tended toward the mainstream. ―It went from a religious
cult to a cult of personality,‖ focusing on founder John Africa. ―It‘s all about self-absorbed
narcissism.‖ MOVE spokesman Ramona Africa said only: ―MOVE people have work to do. We
have our direction. We have been coordinated by [the late] John Africa‖ [killed in a 1985
shootout].
The Allens also report, however, that they never saw a MOVE member with a weapon — this
is a group that at one time stockpiled bombs and had shoot-outs with police. They add that
members live apparently normal lives with a well-kept garden, at peace with neighbors, who
hear the sound of opera coming from the MOVE headquarters rather than the blaring music
of the past. Members now eat junk food, instead of insisting on only ―natural‖ foods and the
back-to-nature lifestyle that brought conflict with neighbors and city agencies. Today,
members go to movies and have birthday parties for the kids with Harry Potter and Dora
the Explorer themes.
The Allens say MOVE is no longer very revolutionary. He was a CVS store manager while a
member, and drove his wife to the group‘s headquarters in Philadelphia daily from their
home in nearby Salem County, NJ. They add that MOVE members live partly off $2.5 million
in settlements paid by the city of Philadelphia in compensation for the deaths of five children
killed during the 1985 police bombing of MOVE headquarters. Some hold jobs in landscaping
and newspaper delivery, while Pam and Ramona Africa earn money from speaking to left-
wing audiences around the world. (Monica Yant Kinney, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/26/04)
National Alliance
Recruiting Teens
Thomas Zibelli was arrested recently in White Plains, NY, for allegedly using alcohol and
pornography to persuade teenagers to place anti-Semitic stickers on a train station and
synagogue. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro says Zibelli is part of an ―organized ring‖ that
takes advantage of ―vulnerable‖ 14- and 15-year-olds to promote white supremacy. The
stickers bore the terms ―White Power,‖ ―Hitler was Right,‖ and ―Stop Non-White
Immigration.‖ Pirro says Zibelli is a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance and has
attended Ku Klux Klan meetings. (AP, Internet, 9/21/04)
Néo-Phare
Controlling Guru Sentenced to Prison
Arnaud Mussy, guru of the Néo-Phare sect, has been sentenced to a term in prison and
ordered to pay damages — invoking for the first time the French law of 2001 meant to apply
to such cases — for physically and psychologically ―subjugating‖ several people. Mussy has
been sought since one of his followers committed suicide and two others attempted suicide.
A representative of ADFI, a French cult watchdog, was pleased that the court recognized
and ruled on the charge of ―psychological subjugation,‖ a term which is at the heart of the
new law. (L’Express, Internet, 11/25/04)
O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal
Church Can Import Special Tea
The Drug Enforcement Administration, following a Supreme Court refusal to intervene, has
given O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, of Santa Fe, NM, a permit to
import hoasca, a sacramental tea that induces a dream-like state of mind. The Department
of Justice says that the importation contravenes an international drug enforcement treaty,
but many conservative Christian groups supported the church with friend-of-the-court
briefs, arguing that the threat of criminal prosecution for importing the tea is ―tantamount
The Allens, radical idealists who joined the group because of its anti-establishment attitude,
became disenchanted when MOVE tended toward the mainstream. ―It went from a religious
cult to a cult of personality,‖ focusing on founder John Africa. ―It‘s all about self-absorbed
narcissism.‖ MOVE spokesman Ramona Africa said only: ―MOVE people have work to do. We
have our direction. We have been coordinated by [the late] John Africa‖ [killed in a 1985
shootout].
The Allens also report, however, that they never saw a MOVE member with a weapon — this
is a group that at one time stockpiled bombs and had shoot-outs with police. They add that
members live apparently normal lives with a well-kept garden, at peace with neighbors, who
hear the sound of opera coming from the MOVE headquarters rather than the blaring music
of the past. Members now eat junk food, instead of insisting on only ―natural‖ foods and the
back-to-nature lifestyle that brought conflict with neighbors and city agencies. Today,
members go to movies and have birthday parties for the kids with Harry Potter and Dora
the Explorer themes.
The Allens say MOVE is no longer very revolutionary. He was a CVS store manager while a
member, and drove his wife to the group‘s headquarters in Philadelphia daily from their
home in nearby Salem County, NJ. They add that MOVE members live partly off $2.5 million
in settlements paid by the city of Philadelphia in compensation for the deaths of five children
killed during the 1985 police bombing of MOVE headquarters. Some hold jobs in landscaping
and newspaper delivery, while Pam and Ramona Africa earn money from speaking to left-
wing audiences around the world. (Monica Yant Kinney, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/26/04)
National Alliance
Recruiting Teens
Thomas Zibelli was arrested recently in White Plains, NY, for allegedly using alcohol and
pornography to persuade teenagers to place anti-Semitic stickers on a train station and
synagogue. District Attorney Jeanine Pirro says Zibelli is part of an ―organized ring‖ that
takes advantage of ―vulnerable‖ 14- and 15-year-olds to promote white supremacy. The
stickers bore the terms ―White Power,‖ ―Hitler was Right,‖ and ―Stop Non-White
Immigration.‖ Pirro says Zibelli is a member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance and has
attended Ku Klux Klan meetings. (AP, Internet, 9/21/04)
Néo-Phare
Controlling Guru Sentenced to Prison
Arnaud Mussy, guru of the Néo-Phare sect, has been sentenced to a term in prison and
ordered to pay damages — invoking for the first time the French law of 2001 meant to apply
to such cases — for physically and psychologically ―subjugating‖ several people. Mussy has
been sought since one of his followers committed suicide and two others attempted suicide.
A representative of ADFI, a French cult watchdog, was pleased that the court recognized
and ruled on the charge of ―psychological subjugation,‖ a term which is at the heart of the
new law. (L’Express, Internet, 11/25/04)
O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal
Church Can Import Special Tea
The Drug Enforcement Administration, following a Supreme Court refusal to intervene, has
given O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, of Santa Fe, NM, a permit to
import hoasca, a sacramental tea that induces a dream-like state of mind. The Department
of Justice says that the importation contravenes an international drug enforcement treaty,
but many conservative Christian groups supported the church with friend-of-the-court
briefs, arguing that the threat of criminal prosecution for importing the tea is ―tantamount
