Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 74
drug problem. The literature recommends Scientology‘s Narconon drug treatment program.
..Actor Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have founded New Village Academy, a
private school, in Calabases, near Los Angeles, which will use teaching methods developed
by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and employ some Scientologists among its
faculty. Responding to sensational press reports, the Smiths said they are not
Scientologists, and that they want to ―Create an educational environment in which children
have fun learning.‖ An experienced private school administrator hired by the Smiths says it
will be a secular school employing many methods, including Montesori, Bruner, and Gardner
as well as some Scientology modes, but that it will have no Scientology content. Scientology
critic David Touretsky, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, calls
the program religion disguised as education.
The informal coalition of individuals called ―Anonymous‖ continued in August its attacks
against Scientology on the Internet and in street demonstrations. An Anonymous lawyer
says the New York City police find the picketing ―fun,‖ but asserts that police in Los Angeles
have infringed on the protestors‘ freedom of speech.
The ten-year-old case of a 33-year-old French woman [name not given], who charges that
Scientology ruined her financially through fees she was pressured to pay for its courses,
has finally come to court. The judge agreed that Scientology‘s ―sole aim‖ was to ―claim her
fortune‖ by ―exercising a psychological hold‖ over her. France‘s professional pharmaceutical
association has also filed charges — the woman says Scientology illegally prescribed drugs it
gave her. Unlike most previous cases, the charges, which allege ―organized fraud,‖ are
against the church as well as certain individual members. Judicial sources believe that the
main Scientology establishment in France — where it is not recognized as a religion — could
be shut down if convictions are obtained.
The German Department of Interior Affairs invited TV actor Jason Beghe and several other
American former Scientologists to be part of a three-hour September seminar in Hamburg
entitled, ―That is Scientology! Reports from the USA. The session was organized by Ursula
Caberta, ―Head of Working Group, Scientology, Office for Domestic Affairs, Hamburg.‖
The Muslim Education Center of Oxford has joined other Muslim groups in Britain in
opposing plans of Tablighi Jamaat (Propagators of the Faith) to build Europe‘s largest
mosque adjacent to the 2012 London Olympic Games site. The Education Center believes
the will mosque will become ―the headquarters for radical Wahabi sectarianism in the UK.‖
The estate of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder and leader of Transcendental
Meditation, is conservatively estimated to be worth £600 million. The guru‘s anointed
successor is Lebanese former research scientist Maharaj Nader Ram (formerly Dr. Tony
Nader), who said that 48 ―towers of invincibility‖ would be built in 48 countries in order to
continue the Maharishi‘s teachings. Another report says that the guru‘s successor is
Allahabad Maharaja Adhiraj.
Hyo Jin Moon, once the heir of Unification Church leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon and
head of the church‘s Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, died of a heart
attack at age 45 in October, 2007. He fell from grace following a divorce from his wife in an
arranged marriage. She wrote a book in which she referred to Rev. Moon as a ―false
Messiah.‖ ...Harvard educated Hyung Jin Moon, youngest son of Sun Myung Moon, took
over leadership of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification
Church) in April at a ceremony in Seoul. Church membership is estimated to be 250,000 —
with a strong presence in the U.S., South Korea, and Japan — although the church claims
ten times that number. ..Sun Myung Moon spent a day in the hospital in July following the
crash of his helicopter, northeast of Seoul.
drug problem. The literature recommends Scientology‘s Narconon drug treatment program.
..Actor Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have founded New Village Academy, a
private school, in Calabases, near Los Angeles, which will use teaching methods developed
by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and employ some Scientologists among its
faculty. Responding to sensational press reports, the Smiths said they are not
Scientologists, and that they want to ―Create an educational environment in which children
have fun learning.‖ An experienced private school administrator hired by the Smiths says it
will be a secular school employing many methods, including Montesori, Bruner, and Gardner
as well as some Scientology modes, but that it will have no Scientology content. Scientology
critic David Touretsky, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, calls
the program religion disguised as education.
The informal coalition of individuals called ―Anonymous‖ continued in August its attacks
against Scientology on the Internet and in street demonstrations. An Anonymous lawyer
says the New York City police find the picketing ―fun,‖ but asserts that police in Los Angeles
have infringed on the protestors‘ freedom of speech.
The ten-year-old case of a 33-year-old French woman [name not given], who charges that
Scientology ruined her financially through fees she was pressured to pay for its courses,
has finally come to court. The judge agreed that Scientology‘s ―sole aim‖ was to ―claim her
fortune‖ by ―exercising a psychological hold‖ over her. France‘s professional pharmaceutical
association has also filed charges — the woman says Scientology illegally prescribed drugs it
gave her. Unlike most previous cases, the charges, which allege ―organized fraud,‖ are
against the church as well as certain individual members. Judicial sources believe that the
main Scientology establishment in France — where it is not recognized as a religion — could
be shut down if convictions are obtained.
The German Department of Interior Affairs invited TV actor Jason Beghe and several other
American former Scientologists to be part of a three-hour September seminar in Hamburg
entitled, ―That is Scientology! Reports from the USA. The session was organized by Ursula
Caberta, ―Head of Working Group, Scientology, Office for Domestic Affairs, Hamburg.‖
The Muslim Education Center of Oxford has joined other Muslim groups in Britain in
opposing plans of Tablighi Jamaat (Propagators of the Faith) to build Europe‘s largest
mosque adjacent to the 2012 London Olympic Games site. The Education Center believes
the will mosque will become ―the headquarters for radical Wahabi sectarianism in the UK.‖
The estate of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder and leader of Transcendental
Meditation, is conservatively estimated to be worth £600 million. The guru‘s anointed
successor is Lebanese former research scientist Maharaj Nader Ram (formerly Dr. Tony
Nader), who said that 48 ―towers of invincibility‖ would be built in 48 countries in order to
continue the Maharishi‘s teachings. Another report says that the guru‘s successor is
Allahabad Maharaja Adhiraj.
Hyo Jin Moon, once the heir of Unification Church leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon and
head of the church‘s Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, died of a heart
attack at age 45 in October, 2007. He fell from grace following a divorce from his wife in an
arranged marriage. She wrote a book in which she referred to Rev. Moon as a ―false
Messiah.‖ ...Harvard educated Hyung Jin Moon, youngest son of Sun Myung Moon, took
over leadership of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification
Church) in April at a ceremony in Seoul. Church membership is estimated to be 250,000 —
with a strong presence in the U.S., South Korea, and Japan — although the church claims
ten times that number. ..Sun Myung Moon spent a day in the hospital in July following the
crash of his helicopter, northeast of Seoul.
