Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 22
The Red Mosque: A Case Study of How Religion Can Evolve
into a Terrorist Cult
Ana Ballesteros Peiró
Autonomous University of Madrid
M. Jesus Martin Lopez, Ph.D.
Autonomous University of Madrid
Jose Manuel Martinez, Ph.D.
Autonomous University of Madrid
Abstract
The case of the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) is an example of how Islam can
produce a sect within a specific context. Although it is difficult to define
what a sect in Islam might be, there are some salient features that enable
us to recognize them. Given the special conditions of Pakistan‘s history,
Islamic sects are mainly political. The use of religion for political ends has
been a tool for most governments and for sectarian groups. In the case of
the Red Mosque, children from traditional areas came to study religion
and ended up in an armed confrontation with a government that they had
been taught lacked authority for not being properly religious.
This paper is a case study that shows how Islam can produce, within a specific context, a
cult. The case in question is the Red Mosque or the Lal Masjid (in Urdu language), which hit
the front pages of international newspapers a few years ago. A school and one of the most
important places of worship in Pakistan were turned upside down in one of the most
peaceful cities in Pakistan, its capital, Islamabad.
Parents who sent their children to the Red Mosque to be religiously educated felt
comfortable because this was an historic mosque in the heart of the nation‘s capital, a
mosque where members of the Parliament and of the High Court of the country prayed. The
sons of a well-known Islamic scholar ran the religious schools for boys and for girls. Thus,
many families from around the country trusted that their children would become righteous
and pious, maybe even scholars.
In March 2007, however, members of the female high school attached to the mosque
marched through the capital, sticks in hand. Presenting themselves as a ―decency brigade,‖
they kidnapped a woman and her daughter, allegedly for running a brothel threatened
video and music shops for having un-Islamic businesses and promoting vice and
immorality and started a campaign to impose their version of Islamic Law on the whole
country.
When the State challenged the leaders and tried to get part of the school demolished,
ostensibly because it was supposedly built illegally on public land, the situation
deteriorated. With sticks in hand, pupils once again defended the school—with their own
lives.
Students threatened to launch waves of suicide bombers if Islamic Law were not to be
implemented within a month. The students were willing to die for their cause. And so they
did. Although figures are not reliable, the military attack left around 200 dead.
How did this tragedy come to be? Can we call this group a cult? Through this case, we will
examine how sects or cults are viewed within Islam. We will also come to see, through the
The Red Mosque: A Case Study of How Religion Can Evolve
into a Terrorist Cult
Ana Ballesteros Peiró
Autonomous University of Madrid
M. Jesus Martin Lopez, Ph.D.
Autonomous University of Madrid
Jose Manuel Martinez, Ph.D.
Autonomous University of Madrid
Abstract
The case of the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) is an example of how Islam can
produce a sect within a specific context. Although it is difficult to define
what a sect in Islam might be, there are some salient features that enable
us to recognize them. Given the special conditions of Pakistan‘s history,
Islamic sects are mainly political. The use of religion for political ends has
been a tool for most governments and for sectarian groups. In the case of
the Red Mosque, children from traditional areas came to study religion
and ended up in an armed confrontation with a government that they had
been taught lacked authority for not being properly religious.
This paper is a case study that shows how Islam can produce, within a specific context, a
cult. The case in question is the Red Mosque or the Lal Masjid (in Urdu language), which hit
the front pages of international newspapers a few years ago. A school and one of the most
important places of worship in Pakistan were turned upside down in one of the most
peaceful cities in Pakistan, its capital, Islamabad.
Parents who sent their children to the Red Mosque to be religiously educated felt
comfortable because this was an historic mosque in the heart of the nation‘s capital, a
mosque where members of the Parliament and of the High Court of the country prayed. The
sons of a well-known Islamic scholar ran the religious schools for boys and for girls. Thus,
many families from around the country trusted that their children would become righteous
and pious, maybe even scholars.
In March 2007, however, members of the female high school attached to the mosque
marched through the capital, sticks in hand. Presenting themselves as a ―decency brigade,‖
they kidnapped a woman and her daughter, allegedly for running a brothel threatened
video and music shops for having un-Islamic businesses and promoting vice and
immorality and started a campaign to impose their version of Islamic Law on the whole
country.
When the State challenged the leaders and tried to get part of the school demolished,
ostensibly because it was supposedly built illegally on public land, the situation
deteriorated. With sticks in hand, pupils once again defended the school—with their own
lives.
Students threatened to launch waves of suicide bombers if Islamic Law were not to be
implemented within a month. The students were willing to die for their cause. And so they
did. Although figures are not reliable, the military attack left around 200 dead.
How did this tragedy come to be? Can we call this group a cult? Through this case, we will
examine how sects or cults are viewed within Islam. We will also come to see, through the
