Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 78
moreover, objected to the marriage. Prominent FLDS members James Allred and Mica
Barlow have been jailed for contempt of court for failing to respond to a subpoena ordering
them to appear before a federal grand jury in Phoenix that is investigating Jeffs‘
whereabouts. Barlow is a deputy town marshal for the FLDS communities of Colorado City,
AZ, and Hildale, UT, while Allred is the postmaster. FLDS followers believe that ―to betray
leadership is an extreme sin‖ that could cost them their salvation. Jeffs‘ brother Seth has
pleaded guilty to providing the means for his brother to remain in hiding last year.
Gentle Wind Project
The Kittery, ME-based Gentle Wind Project has filed a new defamation suit against a Blue
Hill couple who run a website that accuses the ―healing‖ organization of controlling their
lives, taking tens of thousands of dollars from them, and sexually abusing them during their
17-year membership. The group‘s federal racketeering and defamation suit against the
couple was recently dismissed. The racketeering allegation was based on the fact that other
websites communicated with the couple and published their material.
Grigory Grabovoi
Grigory Grabovoi, the cult leader who promised to resurrect children killed in the Beslan
hostage tragedy, has been charged in Moscow with defrauding people who believed he had
special powers.
Hare Krishna (International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
Ten British MPs have joined Hindus around the world to protest Moscow City Hall‘s
withdrawal of a permit for the [Hare] Krishna to build a temple behind a supermarket in
the northern part of the city. Russian Orthodox authorities are hostile to the group, fearing
attempts to convert young people a letter to authorities from an archbishop described the
Hindu god Krishna as an ―evil demon.‖
A Moscow court has refused an appeal by the Hare Krishna movement to build in a ―prime‖
section of the city, a decision a Krishna representative said was politically motivated and
violated both the rights of ownership and religious freedom. A representative of the city
government said it was looking for another plot of land for the Krishna ―because everybody
understands that we cannot throw out the religious community on the street.‖ ...
Authorities in Almaty, Kazakhstan, accusing the Hare Krishna of illegally acquiring land
outside the capital, say they want to destroy several summer houses put up by the group
and possibly even expel it, said Krishna spokesman Maxim Varfolomeyev. The government
says the group simply failed to follow land regulation procedures, but Varfolomeyev accused
the government of religious persecution. The head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee [a
representative of the international human rights organization] agreed with Varfolomeyev
that the Krishna were targeted because the land in question was prime real estate. Largely
Muslim Kazakhstan has a tradition of religious tolerance, but lately has tightened laws on
religious organizations, fearing extremism. ...The New York State Supreme Court has
agreed with a zoning board ruling that a Hare Krishna couple cannot keep ―holy cows‖ in the
village of Angelica, not even if they conceive of the animals as pets and integral to the
practice of their religion. ...The Hare Krishna temple in New Vrindaban, WV, fallen into
decay thanks to internal schisms and scandal of the past, and down to only 100 residents,
was the site of a gathering of Indian devotees resident in the U.S. who appear to be the
mainstays today of an organization that drew counter-culture Americans into its fold in the
1960s and 1970s. It is uncertain how long New Vrindaban will survive, especially since it is
now devoting half its budget to pay its share of a large Krishna settlement with victims of
sexual abuse suffered at the movement‘s schools and communes.
moreover, objected to the marriage. Prominent FLDS members James Allred and Mica
Barlow have been jailed for contempt of court for failing to respond to a subpoena ordering
them to appear before a federal grand jury in Phoenix that is investigating Jeffs‘
whereabouts. Barlow is a deputy town marshal for the FLDS communities of Colorado City,
AZ, and Hildale, UT, while Allred is the postmaster. FLDS followers believe that ―to betray
leadership is an extreme sin‖ that could cost them their salvation. Jeffs‘ brother Seth has
pleaded guilty to providing the means for his brother to remain in hiding last year.
Gentle Wind Project
The Kittery, ME-based Gentle Wind Project has filed a new defamation suit against a Blue
Hill couple who run a website that accuses the ―healing‖ organization of controlling their
lives, taking tens of thousands of dollars from them, and sexually abusing them during their
17-year membership. The group‘s federal racketeering and defamation suit against the
couple was recently dismissed. The racketeering allegation was based on the fact that other
websites communicated with the couple and published their material.
Grigory Grabovoi
Grigory Grabovoi, the cult leader who promised to resurrect children killed in the Beslan
hostage tragedy, has been charged in Moscow with defrauding people who believed he had
special powers.
Hare Krishna (International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
Ten British MPs have joined Hindus around the world to protest Moscow City Hall‘s
withdrawal of a permit for the [Hare] Krishna to build a temple behind a supermarket in
the northern part of the city. Russian Orthodox authorities are hostile to the group, fearing
attempts to convert young people a letter to authorities from an archbishop described the
Hindu god Krishna as an ―evil demon.‖
A Moscow court has refused an appeal by the Hare Krishna movement to build in a ―prime‖
section of the city, a decision a Krishna representative said was politically motivated and
violated both the rights of ownership and religious freedom. A representative of the city
government said it was looking for another plot of land for the Krishna ―because everybody
understands that we cannot throw out the religious community on the street.‖ ...
Authorities in Almaty, Kazakhstan, accusing the Hare Krishna of illegally acquiring land
outside the capital, say they want to destroy several summer houses put up by the group
and possibly even expel it, said Krishna spokesman Maxim Varfolomeyev. The government
says the group simply failed to follow land regulation procedures, but Varfolomeyev accused
the government of religious persecution. The head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee [a
representative of the international human rights organization] agreed with Varfolomeyev
that the Krishna were targeted because the land in question was prime real estate. Largely
Muslim Kazakhstan has a tradition of religious tolerance, but lately has tightened laws on
religious organizations, fearing extremism. ...The New York State Supreme Court has
agreed with a zoning board ruling that a Hare Krishna couple cannot keep ―holy cows‖ in the
village of Angelica, not even if they conceive of the animals as pets and integral to the
practice of their religion. ...The Hare Krishna temple in New Vrindaban, WV, fallen into
decay thanks to internal schisms and scandal of the past, and down to only 100 residents,
was the site of a gathering of Indian devotees resident in the U.S. who appear to be the
mainstays today of an organization that drew counter-culture Americans into its fold in the
1960s and 1970s. It is uncertain how long New Vrindaban will survive, especially since it is
now devoting half its budget to pay its share of a large Krishna settlement with victims of
sexual abuse suffered at the movement‘s schools and communes.
