Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 8
groups function most effectively when they operate in a wider society that shares a large
proportion of the group‘s worldview.
It is often observed by security officials that the hardest thing to come to grips with is
home-grown terrorist groups in Western societies (and let‘s face it: We are talking about
tiny groups that have adopted a perverted view of Islam abhorrent to the moderate view
adhered to by the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims). The head of the Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Paul O‘Sullivan, has noted that
the major challenge facing us is the terrorist that we don‘t know about … If
you look at the London Bombings of July 2005, you see examples of people
who are apparently out there in the community, members of British society
and then, in a short time, they engage in suicide bombings … the speed of
this radicalising process means that categorising people is futile.viii
However, it seems to me that by strengthening our information-gathering pathways, we
would be better placed to obtain timely information about these groups precisely because
they are operating in an environment hostile to their proposed methods. This hostile
environment includes members of their own families and the wider Muslim community, of
which the vast majority, certainly in Australia and the United States, have proven to be
cheerleaders for the style of life, community tolerance, and widespread sharing of material
prosperity generally found within Western democracies.ix
It was not surprising that the reaction of the families of the London bombers was one of
utter dismay and disbelief. Nor was it a surprise to cult watchers that a group of normal
young men could do such a thing, although the existence or otherwise of a senior
indoctrinator is still subject to speculation. The mother of one of the Kings Cross tube
bombers said ―something must have happened‖ to her son, who was devastated after 9/11
and cried for the victims. ―If my son did this, I want to know what happened to him because
something has to have happened. He was always laughing, always kind,‖ she lamented. His
wife thought he had ―been acting funny lately.‖x Other parents claimed, truthfully, I have
no doubt, that they were ―devastated that our son may have been brainwashed into
carrying out such an atrocity, since we know him as a kind and caring member of our
family.‖xi Therapists who have worked with the families of cult members have heard these
kinds of statements for decades.
If only there was an Islamic counter-cult group to which these family members might have
taken their concerns, or that might in some cases have prompted them to become
concerned. It seems to me that these bombers were of the ―altruistic‖ category explored by
Pape, yet they were operating in a physical environment not supportive of their actions—
exhibiting just the sort of naïve altruism found among young people recruited by
controversial cults, sects, and new religious movements operating in societies inhospitable
to their objectives.
Cult-Watch Groups
No one who has taken even a cursory interest in the study of cults would be surprised that
such a level of indoctrination could be so readily achieved. We have seen it all before:
college students from middle class families joining ―weird‖ groups and changing radically in
a few days parents confused and bewildered allegations of brainwashing deprogramming
controversies.xii Cult-watch groups represented at this conference form a large part of the
nonofficial response to the phenomenon. We can thank people such as Professor Eileen
Barker of INFORM and Mike Kropveld of Info-Cult, among others, who have contributed to
the debate about the classification of watch groups and provided us with a broad picture of
the cult-watch scene. Single-group-focused complaint groups rise spontaneously and
morph sometimes into collections of individuals who attempt to understand the broader
groups function most effectively when they operate in a wider society that shares a large
proportion of the group‘s worldview.
It is often observed by security officials that the hardest thing to come to grips with is
home-grown terrorist groups in Western societies (and let‘s face it: We are talking about
tiny groups that have adopted a perverted view of Islam abhorrent to the moderate view
adhered to by the vast majority of peace-loving Muslims). The head of the Australian
Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Paul O‘Sullivan, has noted that
the major challenge facing us is the terrorist that we don‘t know about … If
you look at the London Bombings of July 2005, you see examples of people
who are apparently out there in the community, members of British society
and then, in a short time, they engage in suicide bombings … the speed of
this radicalising process means that categorising people is futile.viii
However, it seems to me that by strengthening our information-gathering pathways, we
would be better placed to obtain timely information about these groups precisely because
they are operating in an environment hostile to their proposed methods. This hostile
environment includes members of their own families and the wider Muslim community, of
which the vast majority, certainly in Australia and the United States, have proven to be
cheerleaders for the style of life, community tolerance, and widespread sharing of material
prosperity generally found within Western democracies.ix
It was not surprising that the reaction of the families of the London bombers was one of
utter dismay and disbelief. Nor was it a surprise to cult watchers that a group of normal
young men could do such a thing, although the existence or otherwise of a senior
indoctrinator is still subject to speculation. The mother of one of the Kings Cross tube
bombers said ―something must have happened‖ to her son, who was devastated after 9/11
and cried for the victims. ―If my son did this, I want to know what happened to him because
something has to have happened. He was always laughing, always kind,‖ she lamented. His
wife thought he had ―been acting funny lately.‖x Other parents claimed, truthfully, I have
no doubt, that they were ―devastated that our son may have been brainwashed into
carrying out such an atrocity, since we know him as a kind and caring member of our
family.‖xi Therapists who have worked with the families of cult members have heard these
kinds of statements for decades.
If only there was an Islamic counter-cult group to which these family members might have
taken their concerns, or that might in some cases have prompted them to become
concerned. It seems to me that these bombers were of the ―altruistic‖ category explored by
Pape, yet they were operating in a physical environment not supportive of their actions—
exhibiting just the sort of naïve altruism found among young people recruited by
controversial cults, sects, and new religious movements operating in societies inhospitable
to their objectives.
Cult-Watch Groups
No one who has taken even a cursory interest in the study of cults would be surprised that
such a level of indoctrination could be so readily achieved. We have seen it all before:
college students from middle class families joining ―weird‖ groups and changing radically in
a few days parents confused and bewildered allegations of brainwashing deprogramming
controversies.xii Cult-watch groups represented at this conference form a large part of the
nonofficial response to the phenomenon. We can thank people such as Professor Eileen
Barker of INFORM and Mike Kropveld of Info-Cult, among others, who have contributed to
the debate about the classification of watch groups and provided us with a broad picture of
the cult-watch scene. Single-group-focused complaint groups rise spontaneously and
morph sometimes into collections of individuals who attempt to understand the broader
