Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2009, Page 57
Service (PBS), the program seeks, through this deprogramming, to ―correct theological
misunderstanding‖ while addressing ―the psychological needs and emotional weaknesses
that have led many young men to jihad in the first place.‖ Saudi authorities say that of 85
men released following their participation in the program, 11 subsequently appeared on a
list of those ―wanted‖ for joining jihadist groups.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd‘s government has given more money ($13.9 million)
than his predecessor (who gave $9 million) to support Exclusive Brethren schools, even
though Rudd labeled the group a cult when he was in the opposition.
Falun Gong in Montreal has accused organizers of the St. Patrick‘s Day parade of
discrimination after being barred from participating, even though Falun Gong says it
promised not to hand out pamphlets, as it had in prior years. The pamphlets illustrate
torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Parade organizers said, ―We do not entertain
anyone with a cause in the parade.‖
Falun Gong, which China promoted in the 1990s alongside traditional cooking and
handicrafts in its cultural propaganda aimed at the West, has for a decade now been an ―evil
cult‖ that rivals the Dalai Lama as the party‘s number one enemy. The vice-president of the
European Parliament says, ―The persecution of the Falun Gong amounts to genocide as
defined in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention.‖ A postal worker, arrested for writing ―Falun
Dafa [Falun Gong] is good,‖ died after two days in custody, allegedly of torture, according
to Falun Gong activists.
A Falun Gong member, speaking from New York, says many in positions of power in China
think the government‘s crackdown disproportionate to the threat. ―The problem with the
Communist Party is they cannot admit mistakes. Jiang Zemin [the former president] made
the decision to crack down on the movement, and he is still powerful behind the scenes, so
nobody can criticize the persecution. These days, the party realizes they probably made a
mistake when they massacred students in Tiananmen Square, but they can never admit it,
and it is the same with Falun Gong.‖
The event that provoked the crackdown was the 10,000-strong 1999 Falun Gong rally in
front of the government leadership compound that borders Tiananmen Square and the
Forbidden City. The demonstration demanded official recognition of the group. The
government also saw in Falun Gong echoes of the 19th century Taiping and Boxer rebellions.
Moreover, Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi‘s move to New York was viewed as stemming
from malignant foreign influence in China‘s affairs.
Mexico‘s La Familia, a group of vigilantes formed in the 1980s to bring order to the state of
Michoacan, help the poor, and fight drug traffickers, has become an organized crime group
that uses both paramilitary and psychological tactics in Michoacan, Guerreo, Mexico [sic]
and Jalisco states to maintain a powerful regional ―polydrug‖ organization involved in
kidnapping for ransom, pirated CDs and DVDs, and the cooption of politicians.
Ann Hamilton-Byrne, leader of The Family, the notorious cult still operating in Victoria,
Australia, has reconciled with daughter Sarah Hamilton-Byrne, whose report to authorities
about life in the group precipitated a 1987 raid that saw a number of children taken into
custody. It was learned at the time that these and other children—who thought they were
Hamilton-Byrne‘s biological offspring—were actually children of single mothers pressured
into giving them up for adoption, or the children of other cult members. They were
reportedly raised in almost complete isolation, their hair dyed peroxide blond, dressed in
identical outfits, allegedly half-starved and beaten, forced to take large quantities of
tranquilizers to calm them, and fed LSD when they became adults. Ann Hamilton-Byrne
defends the way she raised the children and calls those who say she mistreated them ―lying
bastards.‖ She refused to discuss any specific allegations, although she said, ―Everything on
Service (PBS), the program seeks, through this deprogramming, to ―correct theological
misunderstanding‖ while addressing ―the psychological needs and emotional weaknesses
that have led many young men to jihad in the first place.‖ Saudi authorities say that of 85
men released following their participation in the program, 11 subsequently appeared on a
list of those ―wanted‖ for joining jihadist groups.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd‘s government has given more money ($13.9 million)
than his predecessor (who gave $9 million) to support Exclusive Brethren schools, even
though Rudd labeled the group a cult when he was in the opposition.
Falun Gong in Montreal has accused organizers of the St. Patrick‘s Day parade of
discrimination after being barred from participating, even though Falun Gong says it
promised not to hand out pamphlets, as it had in prior years. The pamphlets illustrate
torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Parade organizers said, ―We do not entertain
anyone with a cause in the parade.‖
Falun Gong, which China promoted in the 1990s alongside traditional cooking and
handicrafts in its cultural propaganda aimed at the West, has for a decade now been an ―evil
cult‖ that rivals the Dalai Lama as the party‘s number one enemy. The vice-president of the
European Parliament says, ―The persecution of the Falun Gong amounts to genocide as
defined in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention.‖ A postal worker, arrested for writing ―Falun
Dafa [Falun Gong] is good,‖ died after two days in custody, allegedly of torture, according
to Falun Gong activists.
A Falun Gong member, speaking from New York, says many in positions of power in China
think the government‘s crackdown disproportionate to the threat. ―The problem with the
Communist Party is they cannot admit mistakes. Jiang Zemin [the former president] made
the decision to crack down on the movement, and he is still powerful behind the scenes, so
nobody can criticize the persecution. These days, the party realizes they probably made a
mistake when they massacred students in Tiananmen Square, but they can never admit it,
and it is the same with Falun Gong.‖
The event that provoked the crackdown was the 10,000-strong 1999 Falun Gong rally in
front of the government leadership compound that borders Tiananmen Square and the
Forbidden City. The demonstration demanded official recognition of the group. The
government also saw in Falun Gong echoes of the 19th century Taiping and Boxer rebellions.
Moreover, Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi‘s move to New York was viewed as stemming
from malignant foreign influence in China‘s affairs.
Mexico‘s La Familia, a group of vigilantes formed in the 1980s to bring order to the state of
Michoacan, help the poor, and fight drug traffickers, has become an organized crime group
that uses both paramilitary and psychological tactics in Michoacan, Guerreo, Mexico [sic]
and Jalisco states to maintain a powerful regional ―polydrug‖ organization involved in
kidnapping for ransom, pirated CDs and DVDs, and the cooption of politicians.
Ann Hamilton-Byrne, leader of The Family, the notorious cult still operating in Victoria,
Australia, has reconciled with daughter Sarah Hamilton-Byrne, whose report to authorities
about life in the group precipitated a 1987 raid that saw a number of children taken into
custody. It was learned at the time that these and other children—who thought they were
Hamilton-Byrne‘s biological offspring—were actually children of single mothers pressured
into giving them up for adoption, or the children of other cult members. They were
reportedly raised in almost complete isolation, their hair dyed peroxide blond, dressed in
identical outfits, allegedly half-starved and beaten, forced to take large quantities of
tranquilizers to calm them, and fed LSD when they became adults. Ann Hamilton-Byrne
defends the way she raised the children and calls those who say she mistreated them ―lying
bastards.‖ She refused to discuss any specific allegations, although she said, ―Everything on
