Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 63
By no means does this suggest that concepts such as ―brainwashing‖ are meaningless or
irrelevant to understanding how seemingly normal people can change in ways that lead
them to commit unspeakable acts of violence. However, such concepts are misused when
they function as labels designed to lock people into their own worldviews instead of helping
them understand how other individuals can live according to very different and sometimes
incompatible worldviews. Such understanding requires that we see the world as others see
it, even though their worldview may be alien, even repugnant, to us. Seeing the world
through ―alien‖ eyes, however, requires a temporary suspension of belief in our own
fundamental assumptions about life, an action that can be frightening as well as cognitively
challenging. If we lack the courage and skill to penetrate into these ―alien‖ systems of
thought and value, we cannot understand them and, as a consequence, our responses to
them will forever remain uninformed.
Such courage and skill is required to understand the seemingly inexplicable acts of violence
associated with the Jihadist terrorism that so preoccupies us today. Although ―jihad‖ can
refer to ―an individual‘s striving for spiritual self-perfection,‖ in the context of violence and
terrorism, the term refers to a ―Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels‖
(answers.com definition), the definition used in this paper.
Cultic studies experts can contribute to the international conversation about Jihadism
because they have experience in understanding and responding constructively to the large
variety of ―alien‖ systems of thought and value observed in cultic organizations. Although
much ambiguity surrounds the term ―cult‖ (see Rosedale &Langone, Internet Langone,
Internet), it is frequently associated with those groups that appear to exercise high levels of
influence and control over their followers in order to induce them to serve the goals and
needs of the groups‘ leaders. Certainly, some terrorist groups exhibit such dynamics of
influence and control.
In this essay I will apply a cultic studies perspective to the phenomena of Jihadism. I will
examine the following questions:
1. Why do seemingly normal, average people join extremist or other socially deviant
organizations?
2. What factors can lead group members down a pathway to violence?
3. How can a cultic studies perspective contribute to attempts to counter violent
Jihadism?
This essay makes no claim to be the definitive analysis of the subject. It is one of a number
of articles on terrorism that this journal has published (Centner, 2002 Centner, 2003 Dole,
2006 Gomez, 2006 Mansfield, 2003 Micewski, 2006 Morehead, 2002 Mutch, 2006
Stahelski, 2005). The essay will clarify the points of intersection of Jihadist terrorism and
cultic studies so as to make future research and action endeavors more meaningful to
experts outside the cultic studies field than has been the case thus far. In so doing, I hope
to enhance dialogue among experts in terrorism, Islamic studies, and cultic studies.
Why do seemingly normal, average people join extremist or other socially deviant
organizations?
Conversion
Elsewhere (Langone, 1996) I have discussed three models of conversion to cultic groups:
1. The deliberative model (i.e., what a person thinks about a group this model is often
favored by sociologists, clergy, and religious studies scholars)

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 64
2. The psychodynamic model (i.e., what a group does for a person, especially in terms
of meeting psychological needs about which he/she might have limited awareness
this model is often favored by psychodynamically oriented therapists)
3. The thought reform model (i.e., what a group does to a person—the social-
psychological dynamics of influence and control this model is often favored by cult
critics).
Although I separate these models for purposes of explanation, in practice probably all three
models are relevant to varying degrees for almost all conversions. Those observers who are
rigidly partial to one or another of the models will, in my opinion, have difficulty gaining a
well-rounded picture of a particular conversion.
I think it is useful to divide the conversion process into three phases, each of which involves
the interaction of variables within the person and within the environment:
1. attraction
2. conversion proper
3. acculturation
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many college-age youth were attracted to cultic groups.
The highly manipulative Moonie (i.e., Unification Church) recruitment of college students
was especially noteworthy because nearly one-half of the people entering the cult-watch
network were concerned about the Moonies (Conway, Siegelman, Carmichael, &Coggins,
1986). For this reason, many cult critics tended at that time to emphasize the role of
deceptive, manipulative, even orchestrated recruitment tactics, which were so conspicuous
at Moonie recruitment centers in the United States. However, as time passed and Moonie
recruitment slowed to a trickle, workers in the field began to appreciate more that there
were many paths into cultic groups, some more dependent upon environmental pressures,
others more dependent upon personal needs or interests of the recruits. As Zablocki (1998)
pointed out, the ―brainwashing‖ frequently associated with cultic groups refers more to the
difficulty in getting out (what Zablocki calls ―exit costs‖) than to the manner in which people
get in.
Although highly manipulative recruitment into cultic groups certainly still occurs, the
interaction of cultural factors with personal needs, interests, and goals of potential recruits
must be examined to understand the attraction phase of cult conversion. This interaction is
important, for example, in some conversions to cultic Christian groups, which appear to
attract people already operating within a Christian worldview. I suspect that a similar
attraction exists in the movement of some Muslim youth from mainstream to extremist
groups.
Whether persons are recruited into or attracted to a particular group, they may still undergo
a profound change in worldview. ―Conversion‖ refers to the process—sometimes sudden,
sometimes gradual—whereby persons come to accept a worldview different in fundamental
ways from that which they formerly held. Conversion is often associated with, if not
dependent upon, a powerful inner experience, which is typically given a spiritual
interpretation (Langone, 2003). Sometimes these experiences may arise spontaneously. For
example, a meditator in a monistic Hindu tradition may suddenly experience a shift to a
particular alternate state of consciousness, which he/she interprets—sometimes under the
manipulative guidance of group members or a guru—as a mystical experience of the
godhead to which the tradition refers. Another example: A disconsolate Christian, Muslim,
or Jew who seeks comfort by reading Holy Scripture may stumble upon a verse that dispels
the confusion in his or her troubled soul, an experience that engenders a sense of special
destiny and connection to God. Sometimes powerful inner experiences can be engineered.