Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 92
Scientologist Meier Ezra and Dr. Haim Mell, head of the Israeli government‘s Anti-Drug
Authority, are in Oklahoma to tour Scientology‘s Narconon drug treatment center to
evaluate its programs for possible use in Israel. Ezra says Narconon is already working well
in Israeli prisons to end drug dependency.
Today, more than three decades after it arrived to make the city it‘s international
headquarters, Scientology has become an ―indelible, if still mysterious, part of
Clearwater.‖ Some say the organization has cleaned up the once-decrepit downtown but
others believe retail merchants who aren‘t Scientologists, and people going through
Clearwater, avoid downtown because of the church‘s dominance there, where ―masses of
uniformed people [Scientologists] walk the streets, wearing belted green, navy, or russet
pants and crisp white or pale blue shirts,‖ and move ―in purposeful strides, with the
quickened footsteps of people with a mission.‖
Seas of David/Moorish Science Temple of America
Narseal Batiste, 32, head of the Miami-based alleged terrorist cell Seas of David, which
is accused of planning to blow up Chicago‘s Sears Tower, has been described as a ―Moses-
like‖ figure who roamed his neighborhood wearing a robe and holding a cane while
recruiting young men to embrace the tenets of the Moorish Science Temple of America,
a group founded in 1913 by circus magician Noble Drew Ali. The Moorish Science Temple
believes that all black people are born Muslims and descended from the nomadic Moors of
North Africa. Clement Rodney Hampton-El, another Moorish Science adherent, was
convicted in 1995 of taking part in a failed plot to blow up New York City transit tunnels.
Lawyers for some of Batiste‘s associates — mostly poor, young, Haitian-Americans— argue
that the government had, through an informant who taped their oath of loyalty to Al Qaeda,
entrapped them, luring them into doing more than they would otherwise have done. Critics
say the case is typical of the Bush administration‘s exaggeration of terrorist threats,
especially since Batiste had no ability to carry out his proposed attacks. The government
calls the case an example of the ―pre-emptive‖ strategy needed to discover credible plots
among those that are not likely to come to anything.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations‘ (CAIR) has asked the media not refer to Seas
of David members, recently arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks, as ―Muslims.‖
The request [according to this report] is consistent with CAIR‘s policy of apologizing for
radical Islam and insisting, through disinformation, that the linkage of terrorist activities to
Muslim militants is simply the product of prejudice.
Smiths Friends
A father of 13 children and former adherent of the Smiths Friends Christian Community, in
Norway, has been sentenced to four months in prison for flogging his children over a 14
year period. He says he was simply doing what the leaders of the community ordered him to
do— beat the children with coat hangers, lamp cables, yardsticks, and birch-rods as
―expressions of love.‖
Terrorism
Canadian Liberal Party MP Wajid Khan, a Muslim in whose constituency recently accused
terrorist plotters resided, says, ―The onus is on our community to address this problem.
We‘re talking about a cult, a small number of extremists. The majority of us are moderates.
But these are the voices that haven‘t been heard. This has to change. We can‘t let these
people get their roots down here.‖ He called for an end to certain local imams‘ preaching
hate of Canadian institutions and suggested setting standards for imam training. He also
asked parents to stop ignoring changes in their teenagers‘ behavior. ―If a child is abused or
falls victim to drugs or other crimes, we intercede and seek help. Why is this [recruiting
Scientologist Meier Ezra and Dr. Haim Mell, head of the Israeli government‘s Anti-Drug
Authority, are in Oklahoma to tour Scientology‘s Narconon drug treatment center to
evaluate its programs for possible use in Israel. Ezra says Narconon is already working well
in Israeli prisons to end drug dependency.
Today, more than three decades after it arrived to make the city it‘s international
headquarters, Scientology has become an ―indelible, if still mysterious, part of
Clearwater.‖ Some say the organization has cleaned up the once-decrepit downtown but
others believe retail merchants who aren‘t Scientologists, and people going through
Clearwater, avoid downtown because of the church‘s dominance there, where ―masses of
uniformed people [Scientologists] walk the streets, wearing belted green, navy, or russet
pants and crisp white or pale blue shirts,‖ and move ―in purposeful strides, with the
quickened footsteps of people with a mission.‖
Seas of David/Moorish Science Temple of America
Narseal Batiste, 32, head of the Miami-based alleged terrorist cell Seas of David, which
is accused of planning to blow up Chicago‘s Sears Tower, has been described as a ―Moses-
like‖ figure who roamed his neighborhood wearing a robe and holding a cane while
recruiting young men to embrace the tenets of the Moorish Science Temple of America,
a group founded in 1913 by circus magician Noble Drew Ali. The Moorish Science Temple
believes that all black people are born Muslims and descended from the nomadic Moors of
North Africa. Clement Rodney Hampton-El, another Moorish Science adherent, was
convicted in 1995 of taking part in a failed plot to blow up New York City transit tunnels.
Lawyers for some of Batiste‘s associates — mostly poor, young, Haitian-Americans— argue
that the government had, through an informant who taped their oath of loyalty to Al Qaeda,
entrapped them, luring them into doing more than they would otherwise have done. Critics
say the case is typical of the Bush administration‘s exaggeration of terrorist threats,
especially since Batiste had no ability to carry out his proposed attacks. The government
calls the case an example of the ―pre-emptive‖ strategy needed to discover credible plots
among those that are not likely to come to anything.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations‘ (CAIR) has asked the media not refer to Seas
of David members, recently arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks, as ―Muslims.‖
The request [according to this report] is consistent with CAIR‘s policy of apologizing for
radical Islam and insisting, through disinformation, that the linkage of terrorist activities to
Muslim militants is simply the product of prejudice.
Smiths Friends
A father of 13 children and former adherent of the Smiths Friends Christian Community, in
Norway, has been sentenced to four months in prison for flogging his children over a 14
year period. He says he was simply doing what the leaders of the community ordered him to
do— beat the children with coat hangers, lamp cables, yardsticks, and birch-rods as
―expressions of love.‖
Terrorism
Canadian Liberal Party MP Wajid Khan, a Muslim in whose constituency recently accused
terrorist plotters resided, says, ―The onus is on our community to address this problem.
We‘re talking about a cult, a small number of extremists. The majority of us are moderates.
But these are the voices that haven‘t been heard. This has to change. We can‘t let these
people get their roots down here.‖ He called for an end to certain local imams‘ preaching
hate of Canadian institutions and suggested setting standards for imam training. He also
asked parents to stop ignoring changes in their teenagers‘ behavior. ―If a child is abused or
falls victim to drugs or other crimes, we intercede and seek help. Why is this [recruiting
