Cult Mind Control

Abu Hasan is right. Brother AbdulQadir there is no point using that kind of language. We should be objective in our comments.

The posts on this thread have given a lot of insight into cult psychology. If a cult member reads a lot of whats on here it would open their mind. But when they see insult insulting or demeaning language used at every instance the natural reaction would be to reject even objective rational truths.

 

the major cultists of this forum are the mureeds of nazim, tahir and mufakkir paqs.

edit mod [aqdas]: avoid that language.

 

Exiting is not easy for the cultist as his mind has been bound by numerous concepts. These concepts he has equated to the general creed of Islam. Leaving these concepts is not easy.
Their is also the social factor to consider. What would other cult members think and will he be accepted in the way he is accepted in the cult by 'the others'?
Group pressure is something which plays a major role in these groups especially if the person is seeking status. Imam Junayd said 'The last thing to leave the heart of the gnostic is love of leadership.' Today's claimants to sainthood have leadership on their minds and infect their murids with the same love of leadership. Otherwise why would an ignoramus be made in charge of a following by the shaykh?
The person who is in a cult would have to come to terms with the fact that the cult leader is not 'ghawth alzaman' or 'qutb alaqtab' and the miracles the murids report are not factual.

For instance in the Boudtchichiya Order some of the murids have claimed seeing light (visible like a light bulb) and then have asked the other murids 'Do you not see it?' The murid will reply 'Yes I do!' Later when that murid will be asked regarding this at a later point he will say he did not see anything. He only said this out of pressure of the group.
In the same group concepts such as 'man of the time' are reinforced. If a murid expresses doubt about the group he will be asked 'Do you not think the shaykh is the man of the time?' Now rejection of this would be tantamount to heresy within the group. If the person say he does not believe the shaykh is a wali, or man of the time, in these sufi groups this is equated to spiritual heresy. Such a critical person will be shunned and boycotted even though he remains Sunni. Yet the group will associate with people who are deviated from the Sunni way.

It is known in these sufi groups that when they cannot answer anything with knowledge and reasoning they will go in to switch off mode and just shout like mad people 'that we follow whatever our shaykh does.' They will not say that what the shaykh has done wrong even if it is contrary to shariah simply because it is hard to admit that your shaykh is fallible and makes mistakes. By admitting that your shaykh is consistently doing something wrong you admit that he is not fit enough to be a spiritual guide. Therefore the murid will either switch off his mind and get emotional or make a very far fetched interpretation which make him seem mad. Or may just avoid discussion and repress the 'doubts'. Many murids are told that it is a sufi teaching to switch the mind off when it comes to the shaykh.

The murid has built his entire understanding of Islam around the group. Islam has been replaced by the group and the shaykh. This is very hard for these cultists to admit.
Also the murid over the years has built imaginary concepts around his understanding of the spiritual path. This differs from one cult to another. From concepts 'that my shaykh controls the affairs of the spiritual world', to 'my shaykh is in touch with Imam Mahdi'. This sometimes ranges to the outright ridiculous that 'my shaykh comes in the form of a cat', or 'Prince Charles is sayid.' The last one lead to some people kissing Charles' hand because they think he is a covert Muslim.

Anyone from the cultists who has been reading these posts will think that none of these points apply to them or their group. However they need to reflect on the following:
The core point in my observation is that the cultist has to come to terms with is that the wider Sunni scholarship and consensus is greater than his one cult leader and the group. Coming to terms with this will not be easy if the person is brainwashed to think otherwise and does not use his rational faculty. Disabling the rational faculty and allowing emotions to drive the mind will not allow you to reach closure on this subject.

Not being able to come to terms with this is what makes some people lose their mind in these 'sufi' orders. Not in every case but in many cases. Breaking the bonds is an important factor for anyone attempting to leave mind control cults. Deprogramming and reaching the point of snapping is not for everyone. But anyone who has rationalized and thought over these points will realise the imaginary and fake world they are living in. If not now, they will certainly realise this in many years to come.

Once having realised these facts a person would need post traumatic therapy. The worse the cult the more serious therapy they would need. Depending on the level of the tightened straps on the mind the greater for the need of therapeutic treatment.

The greatest replacement for such a person is sticking to the general body of Ulama without limiting oneself to a group or one individual. This would include attending all the Sunni mosques rather than limiting oneself and reading the literature of the past Ulama as well as the present.

As for damage done to wealth and marriages then that is something beyond the scope of an internet forum. For such damage a person needs to consult community elders, leaders and wise people who are not part of these cults.

In the following posts over the next few weeks I will be analysing a few of the cults based in the UK. I have accumulated data on numerous groups based in the UK and the entire world, Muslim and non Muslim. I will be posting useful data for people on the 'sufi' cults based in the UK..

 

it doesn't count as "abuse" per se, but there are cult leaders who are addicted to marrying and divorcing young female mureeds who are themselves brainwashed and vulnerable or their fathers/brothers/wali are and they gladly give their daughters in marriage to the false shaykh

a Syrian shaykh was once telling us about one such character in Syria (50's or 60's), who said to his mureed that the Prophet, 3alaihis salam, came to him in a dream and told him that he should marry the mureed's young daughter (19-20'ish). the mureed was elated and happily gave his daughter in marriage to the "shaykh". then an year after the marriage, he just divorced her saying that that's what the Prophet, 3alaihis salam, instructed now - again in a dream.

since the mureed was brainwashed, he was happy to give his daughter in marriage, and was probably even able to cope with the stress of his daughter's divorce - all because the shaykh claimed Prophetic sanction in dreams.

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this problem also exists in wahabism

there's wahabi shaykhs too who don't mind marrying a genuine young convert girl who is looking for a Muslim family and home and also wants to grow in deen and sees the shaykh as a teacher figure along with being slightly infatuated by his extrovertness and oratory skills (and sense of humor too in case of performers and stand ups), thinking that being married, the shaykh could teach her the deen on turbo boost. an year or so later, the shaykh divorces her.

also happens with born Muslims who are vulnerable or in insecure circumstances.

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in some of these cases, they're abusive and violent as husbands.

 

Mind Control Cult Leader Categories:

1 Sunni cult leader who does not fulfill conditions of a 'shaykh eesaal' yet claims to be one explicitly or implicitly. Apart from this he does not exploit the money of the members or abuse them in any way or form. The danger of this cult is that the followers are being duped into thinking they are doing 'suluk'. What many of them would have to come to terms with is their 'bayah' is the 'bayah of barakah' (oath of allegiance for blessing) if the guide has the conditions of a 'shaykh ittisaal' or it is nothing. See 'Fatawa Ifriqa' and 'Mawazin alQasirin' as posted in other threads for more detail. Most cult members do not know of these books or bother reading them.

2 Same as the above except the addition of miracles, stories and false spiritual ranks.

3 Same as the above two except the people are exploited for their money. This is either done in a subtle manner, with generous donations and gifts, or explicitly by asking for the leader by the leader or the close underlings. Donations can be given for talismans, or charities and projects. Majority of people do not know where the money goes for sure except what they are told.

4 Sunni cult leader, same credentials as point three, except there is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse can take many forms. This also includes exploitation of ones status, an abuse of position, like doctor and patient confidence or student and teacher confidence. There is always a scandal involved if a doctor or a teacher exploited their position.
The worst type of abuse would include rape or child abuse.

5 Non Sunni cult leader who uses mind control. He changes peoples creed but is not corrupt with money or anything else. These types will highlight categories one to four to show their own credentials and therefore convert unsuspecting people to their way.

6 Non Sunni cult leader who is also corrupt. The corruption could range from money to sexual exploitation. Deobandi cult leaders and others will fall under this category like Riyadh alHaqq of Leicster from the more well known.

7 Cult leader who is not clear on creed but has a mind controlled group. These can range from those who are morally corrupt to those who are not, but it is clear that they are not fit to be a real guide as otherwise they would not be vague on their creed.

Most of the claimants to being guides of the spiritual path will fall into one of these seven categories. Of course more multiple categories are possible but these seven are sufficient to analyse a claimant.

This list is easy to apply analytically for anyone outside a cult and not under mind control. Some people will say that is it not sufficient to judge someone on how much they follow the Quran, Sunnah and Shariah? In reply I would say: Yes it is for someone who is not under mind control, but anyone who is under intense mind control from the leader and the group will make interpretations for everything. It is only once they have left the group they will see things clearly.

At one hand you have the saying of Imam Junayd 'Our path is restricted to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah, whoever has not memorised the Quran and writes down the Sunnah is not fit for this way.'
Or the saying of the recent gnostic Abdul Rahman Shaghouri who said 'If I enter the masjid with the left foot or miss any other sunnah then my murid must leave me.'

On the other hand you have mind controlled zombies telling the mind controlled victims 'that they must interpret anything suspect' as that is the way of the true seeker.

So if someone points out a sunnah which the guide does not practice an interpretation is made. But this has extended from practices to actual creed and multiple other things. People ignore shariah when it comes to anyone who they consider 'the man of the time'. In many of these cults you will notice that they have total disregard for shariah.

Also they are told to stick within the confines of their group and stay with people only from the group. This includes trade and marriage. When in reality these things should involve the wider community and trade with the whole of humanity.

They are always told to believe that there shaykh is the greatest saint of his time otherwise they will not benefit, and they are told not to attend the gatherings of other shaykhs, groups or cults.

Two very important things will be covered in the next post (with the Will of Allah) 1 Having an alternative to the group and the leader and what they give 2 Coming to terms with the fact that the leader is not what you believed him to be. Coping with the stress, anxiety, after effects of being deprogrammed and going through exit counseling and mind therapy.

I challenge cult members to analyse the above seven categories, to read 'Mawazin alQasirin' or similar works, and to answer the questions I placed on this thread honestly to themselves:

http://sunniport.com/index.php?threads/are-you-brainwashed.11658/

 

Reading about certain psychological theories are relevant here. Certain interesting theories I'd recommend for certain fb contenders are:

1. existential humanistic psychotherapy.

Existential-humanistic psychotherapy focuses on aiding people in making decisions and creating a meaningful existence based on their own personal values. In general, existential psychology sees the person as a complete individual rather than the sum of his or her parts, and as being an active participant in his or her own life.

2. Family therapy

Family therapy is a branch of psychotherapy that views human behaviour and psychological disturbances as residing in a family system rather than stemming from just one individual. Family Therapy was first practiced in the early 1900s when marriage counseling came about in the 1920s. Family theory considers the family to be an interpersonal system with cybernetic qualities. Certain feedback mechanisms and patterns of interaction among the members of the familial system repeat themselves and any symptom or behaviour can be seen as a mechanism of maintaining or re-attaining homeostasis in the system. Therefore no one person can be evaluated and treated without looking at the context in which this person’s behaviour occurs and the function that his or her behaviours serve. Because the individual is operating within a system, he/she cannot be expected to change unless the family system itself also changes.

Family therapy has the following goals:


-exploring the interactional dynamics of the family;
-mobilizing the family’s functional resources;
-restructuring maladaptive interactional styles within the family;
-strengthening the family’s problem-solving behaviours.

Family therapy is indicated when there is a presence of open and stressful conflicts between family members with members encouraging or perpetuating the conflict.

This can be tariqa related and literally family related.

In terms of tariqa I believe it is when senior murids brainwash those inferior or less informed. As well as, of course, attire (green iamama- when deeming those who don't wear it as inferior-, morrocan thawbs- due to a general insecurity and inferiority complex that young pakistnais born in England suffer for obvious reason we all know.

3. Psychodrama-
An interesting theory, somewhat related to my initial comments on existentialism;
Psychodrama is a branch of psychotherapy in which clients use spontaneous role-playing to explore and gain insight into their personal lives. Psychodrama is “a way of practicing living without being punished for making mistakes” (1). Including elements of theater, and often conducted on a stage with props and other actors, a client who is facing a troublesome real-life situation is able to practice different ways of dealing with a problem without the risk (perceived or real) of “messing it up.”

Psychodrama was created by Jacob Levy Moreno, a psychiatrist and psycho-sociologist. In the early 1900s, Moreno developed what was known as the “theater of spontaneity,” based on the acting out of improvised impulses.

A core principle of psychodrama is spontaneous creativity. The belief is that the best way to discover new solutions to problems is by responding to them in a spontaneous and creative manner (2). The freedom to explore new behaviors without the fear of punishment allows the client to gain insight into potentially better ways of dealing with problems in the real world and hopefully the courage to implement those new insights in his or her behavior outside of therapy.

Within a psychodrama session, one client within a group takes on the role of the protagonist, and he or she chooses a specific situation mirroring a real-life situation to enact on stage. The situation can be anything from past events to future important decisions. Other members of the group support the protagonist by taking on the role of the other people who are significant to the client within the chosen situation. For example, suppose the client has been working for a particular company for seven years without a raise. He has been meaning to ask for a raise but does not want to upset his boss in any way. He is displeased with himself and his lack of “courage” and ability to speak with him boss. He thinks about it so much that it has caused daily distress in his life. In a psychodrama session, the client is able to role play a situation in which he sits down with his boss to ask for a raise. Many different scenarios can be played out, including ones in which his boss happily agrees to a raise to those in which the boss becomes upset by such a request. By exploring all potential outcomes, even ones the client has not thought of himself, he will hopefully gain insight into new ways of thinking about the situation and new ways of approaching the situation that are appealing to him.

In tariqas this is when a pir/shakh unnecessarily reprimands murids based on ghayr shar'i reasons

More theories to be looked into. And yet will be posted in abridged form (1 paragraph) outlining the theory and its relevance to mind control and cult building. Even basic concepts, as basic as conformity will be posted soon inshaAllah!

 

I know for a fact that even those who are made muqaddams in these orders have not even read the basic books by the masters.

I challenge them to read the book of Sidi Ahmad Zarruq known as 'Uddat alMurid alSadiq' and apply what he says on their cult:

https://ia802506.us.archive.org/33/items/odmrsaodmrsa/odmrsa.pdf

I have so many quotes from all the different U'lama of Tasawwuf that contradict the teachings of these cult leaders. These quotes are never mentioned by these leaders.

 

Once the member has been caught in the net of the cult, via oath of allegiance, or through group seminars, the lid is tightened around his mind and soul.
Apart from using the methods of mystical knowledge and promise of spiritual stations, as well as grandiose stories of the leader, the environment and time needs to be controlled.
Certain experiences and euphoric states are reinterpreted as spiritual and gnostic stations. For instance a person may be made to read something for hours and go hungry when all of a sudden they 'experience' something. This observation is confirmed by the real Sufi Saint known as Sharani where he states:

Like this there are numerous references in the books of the real Sufi masters which catch out the frauds. But cult members do not read these books. They only read the books that are recommended by their leader.

Once the seeker is totally convinced of the high station of his leader and his followers, his conviction is reinforced by particular teachings and statements of dogma. Like I mentioned earlier he may be told that anyone who is a seeker is guaranteed to pass away on faith. He will not be told that this not guaranteed by anyone except those stipulated in the Quran and Hadith. This fact is stated by many Sufi masters who feared for their own faith and yet these cultists are proud that they are part of a particular order and are convinced they are guaranteed salvation. This can be tested amongst any 'sufi' cultists if you query them regarding salvation and if they are guaranteed salvation. The only type of cultists who will tell you that this is not guaranteed salvation are those who accompany non cult scholars or who have been criticised on these points and then bothered checking the truth for themselves. But if they were left alone without anyone criticising they would have stayed on the same position.

So many times I have heard 'sufi' cult leaders guaranteeing their followers salvation. This is done through statements like 'I will intercede for you and save your from falling on the bridge' or 'I will answer your questions in the grave.'

Time consumption is essential for the leaders to maintain the control of the mind. This is done by keeping cult members busy many times in useless and time wasting commitments and practices. The member may spend long hours without benefiting. This will affect family. Imagine the wife and children of a person who is regularly late in returning home at night, or giving away large amounts of money away to the group collection yet he is unable to provide for his family. The wife and children will have no home of their own yet the cult leader will in luxury with a livelihood from the cult members.

The busier the member is kept the less he is able to accompany people holding another view. Of course the group is told to shun anyone who opposes them and is told to only accompany people from the group.

Ecstatic states of euphoria are maintained on a regular basis and reinterpreted as spiritual intoxication or states. Many times people do this out of group think. I have discussed this with people in the Sayfi Order and the Boutchichiya where these states are encouraged. What they have in common is that in order to fit in the group many people have admitted that they only pretended to be intoxicated. This involves the screaming and the erratic movements, as well as the 'electric' shock which are applied by the Sayfis. There is clear mind control employed when the leader gives a glance to the seeker and then he screams. Later I may post a few videos of how this is done by the Sayfis and Boutchichiya, but this is the same method used by martial arts masters who claim to beat people without touching them. The student is made to think that he was attacked by chi force of the master. I posted a video of this earlier.

Once old ties are abandoned and most time consumption is with the group the member is bound by the group. He is in psychological confinement.

Some people who cannot commit themselves to the group because of the time may eventually leave, but those who are addicted to the 'Baba Juice' make the commitment to the group and sacrifice their time and family life for the addiction. This 'Baba Juice' addiction ranges from person to person. Some of the cultists may be learning their basics of religion which they did not acquire elsewhere (this is good if the beliefs are correct, but many times they are told false things and they will never know). Others may appreciate the group for making them leave certain habits (of course certain Self Help schemes are re labelled as spiritual help). But others will remain for the mystical aspects like the spiritual 'kashf', or impending doomsday scenario, or dreams and miracles, or visions of saints and other things. Others will simply stay because of position and status, fame associated with the group and its popularity. Some may be addicted to the group because of friends and the feel good environment. In 'sufi' groups the food and drink also plays a major role. Some groups supply fantastic food.

The foundational problem is that when the faith of an individual revolves totally around the cult leader and his method, and it becomes apparent that the leader or the group is corrupt, the individual will suffer from a crisis. That crisis will be a crisis of faith solely because that certainty he placed in the leader was misplaced certainty. The psychological state that affects the individual at this point is intense and the way the cultist will react to this varies from person to person.

This last point is why all mind manipulating cults are dangerous. Sunni or non Sunni.

Sunni Islam revolves around the figure of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and every other human after the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is respected according to his merit in the religion. What cults do is make the cult leader the ultimate figure and this is dangerous because when that leader, who is normal like me and you (even though cult members do not see that), decides to deviate or exploit people then the small flock he has will follow him along. Next I would want to analyse exiting the group and the health of the mind during that time.
To be continued..

 

our Sunni brothers need revamping in many things. some may even be open sinners like drunks

3aqidah and a3maal or how we carry ourselves in duniya are two different issues

but i kinda agree with you, on a cult thread, even those otherwise Sunnis of sound 3aqidah should be open to criticism if they behave as a cult in behaviorisms, specially if it's a Sunni cult run by a money hungry charlatan who may have sound 3aqidah otherwise

 

on the edit menu, click the media button and and enter the url. you will have an embedded video.

 

I don't understand: do we criticise certain cults due to their aqidah as opposed to them actually being a cult or do we mention cults regardless?

For example we criticise kellerite cult and Sh Yaqoubis cult but when was the last time we mentioned the sqqibi, ashrafai, and so many other cults?

I started a productive thread and it's been deleted now based on the fact that I mentioned a coupe of girls. The truth is those girls posted that message I displayed here on Facebook; so they weren't really inconspicuous to begin with. It shows what a weird media age we live in.

I even messaged aqdas telling him to simply remove the mention of the girls but I don't see the aim in deleting the whole thread! Wadood you contributed an excellent footnote. It'll be appreciated if you provide that hereon.
Besides abu hassan, who's clearly far more learned than aqdas and more aware of mistakes, didnt bother mentioning that those girls names shouldn't be mentioned. In fact he showed that he liked the thread!

It's not as though we're mentioning them for the soul purpose of their sake and missing the point of why I decided to mention them to begin with: namely the manipulation of pirs of poor young girls and boys due to a more wider societal deprivation problme.
We're not living in a village where people's identities are not disclosed only till a charlatan such as myself happens to mention poor souls on a limited viewed forum. These girls and boys we existing their own identities and chatting each other up on Facebook, twitter etc......

So much to be said . I just can't be bothered if my threads and tedious posts will be deleted.

To me aqidah is the main issue, but this seems like double standards that we only criticise what we call 'sulh kullis'. No doubt they are sulh kullis. But how shall we counter their innovations?! By simply refuting them or revamping what we choose to call our Sunni brothers??

Related to this issue is the fact that naqshbandi jamaati, in the process of trying to point out the cognitive dissonance of ulama and students of knowledge, he himself ended up uttering absurd claims. It's like a continuos cycle of Sunnis remaining lame and then throwing the whole blame on naqshabandi jamaatis head- and his ilk- and thereby continuing to follow our own egos by not implementing serious change and unity of ahl al sunnah.

Naqshbandis case is microscopic compared to people I met at university and college

 

Someone posted on another forum:

 

The scholars of Islam have already advised regarding false claimants. If people bothered to read and understand the distimction between mind control zombies and real Tasawwuf would become clear. Regarding the 'shaykh iesal' it is stated in Fatawa Ifriqa:

Then the second category of the specific guide is the one who connects others (Shaykh Iesaal). This type of guide not only has the previous four conditions but also is an expert in matters of the soul and Satans tricks. He fulfills the needs and resolves the problems of the student.

Then Imam A'bdul Wahab Sha'rani places the conditions of a real shaykh in this book:

http://ia600808.us.archive.org/30/items/MawazineAl9asirine/mawazine-al9asirine.pdf

I seriously believe that the members of a mind controlled group have not read these verdicts properly. They are also selective in what they choose to read and quote regarding Tasawwuf.

They may even interpret what some have said as a rejection of Awliya and Sufis.Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm gonna post a few references from the authorities of Sufism in the next few posts.

Imam Sha'rani states:

by my life! these farmers and worksmen are in a better state and closer to Allah ta'ala than these claimants. because all their lives they are engaged in labour and hard work to benefit people.

and these claimants, all their lives strive to hurt people (khalq).

the objective of their seclusions and striving penances and their dhikr, litanies at times is to disguise (their true selves) from common folk and as an introduction to their 'path' towards which they invite (common folk) as they claim.

thus one of them suffers extreme hunger until his humour is altered and he sees suns and stars - a result of food deprivation and he imagines that it is a sign of the 'path' and that he who sees such things is a traveller on the path towards Allah ta'ala.

rather, all of it is insanity in darkness.

(Just a passage from Imam Sha'rani's work posted above)

 

it really is a very tight rope to walk when leaving wahabism and searching for answers for such a person, especially in the west, will more often than not be preyed upon by a sufi cult rather than coming across proper Ahlus Sunnah shuyukh

 

i just wanted to add to that

often such people, despite their wealth, influence or fame, will still be low on self confidence, or will be especially susceptible to criticism

the sufi cult is only concerned about people of low "spiritual" self confidence, nothing more

a man may be a wealthy executive who's a shark at the office, but he can feel spiritually hollow and lost, or maybe suffering in his personal life like loss of parents, a divorce, marital problems, having no kids etc. and looking for answers or solutions, or just woken up from his jahiliyya and genuinely looking for a guide to mentor him in deen

it's very easy for the cult to remind him of his spiritual or personal problems and them as the solution provider, and at the same time make him feel special and important as an executive, maybe eve exaggerate his praise in that field. i've seen it first hand

the same goes for women with their set of spiritual or personal problems

they're perfect prey for the cult

likewise, even without problems, people of fame, influence, wealth etc. are quite sensitive about themselves, more than average people

eg. tell a pretty girl she's gorgeous but her nose is the only thing out of whack and she'll react far more sensitively than an average or ugly female. tell a well-respected rich executive and an "intellectual" that he needs to shed a few pounds off his tummy, and you're bound to get a frown or something.

as long as such people are low on the spiritual scale or made to feel low, they too make easy preys

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another very important group of people you didn't touch on are ex or recovering wahabis

when any good intentioned or sane person is on his way out of wahabism after he can't take their ruthless and narcissistic attitudes, or is simply disillusioned by their "daleels" for their manhaj and has gaping doubts, for any reason, seeing Ahlus Sunnah's daleels for common things like Mawlid, visitng the Prophet's, 3alaihis salam, grave with that intention, the daleels for madhabs etc - things commonly found online or offline and can't find any satisfactory answers from them ...

more likely than not, he will bump into a sufi cult, he will be given answers, slowly bit by bit. just coming from wahabism, he won't be told about sultan al-awliya and sirr and other such stories for wahabism is still fresh in his mind and it will be easy for him to "refute" the cult master, they will approach him from the 3aqidah and fiqh and daleel angles, and eventually in a few years he can be made a full fledged cult member

i closely know some members of kellers cult who are ex-wahabis, and now they are cult sufis

 

If the people who are potentials for a cult are at such a level that they do not have self confidence in their own opinion or knowledge, or what they have learned, or at such a level that they are simply ignorant, then they have reached such a level that they are ripe picking for a 'sufi' cult leader. The 'sufi' cults are all recruiting at all times for such potentials, especially if they want recruits who have wealth, influence or fame.

The prime way of catching the prey is to 'beef' the CV or personal profile of the leader. This is done in numerous way. One way of doing this is by romanticising the past of the shaykh and what he attained in his spiritual wayfaring. Stories are mentioned in this regard and certain things are exaggerated.
Remeber majority of members have not lived, traded or travelled with the cult leader. If they had travelled they would know how much of a narcissist, obsessive and domineering individual he is. In some cases the person may have a 'Medusa Complex' where they do not allow the murid to look at them in the face 'out of adab'. These things vary from cult leader to another.
One point to note: when someone claims spiritual states or stations it is impossible to determine if those claims are true or not? Unlike inward knowledge, if someone claims he has outward knowledge it can be verified by checking his books and listening to his classes, as well as looking at other contributions to outward knowledge.
Spiritual stations can never be measured, so to make it appear the person has a high rank he will always talk about himself and his stories and spiritual states. This is also a form of Neuro Linguistic Programming. The stories can include miracles (like flying, mind reading, communicating from far, claims etc) or allusions to a special knowledge by way of indication. For instance telling stories of alchemy and then alluding that he has the knowledge of alchemy. Of course if the person did have knowledge of alchemy he wouldn't have the need to collect so much money. Or the guide may claim knowledge of speaking to birds and animals. If this is not stated directly it would be said via his stooges.
More recently many of the cults have claimed visions of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in dreams and even in a wakeful state. In reality there is no way of verifying this except by the outward of the person. If scholars of the holy Traditions (Hadith) applied narrator criticism to narrators then people have every right to criticise those who claim to have visions and yet their outward is pretentious, condescending and arrogant.

By continuing to mention the miracles, spiritual unveiling (kashf), special knowledge, access to the men of the unseen (rijal alghayb), and a host of other things like contact with Mahdi, predictions, doomsday scenarios etc the seeker is being tempted to tie his loyalty blindly to his new found spiritual guide. Of course in most cases the seeker will not be able to tell you of those subjects from the holy sources of Quran and the Hadith, or other Islamic sources.
Other claims maybe made that there is no one to perform suluk with except this particular guide. Some of the orders use the term 'man of the age', meaning he (the cult leader) is the pole saint and the head of spirituality. If the guide is from the AlaBayt this will be continuously highlighted, and unfortunately some cults use the lineage as a selling point. The cult will not give that level of respect to other sayyids that they give their leader so they are selective when they respect sayyids.
Others will claim 'sultan alawliya', or that their leader has the 'sirr'. Of course majority of the cult members will not be able to define any of these things but they will hold onto it like doctrine.
When the aspirant has the strong conviction of any one of the above things he closes the cap of his mind to any criticism. He also blocks the thoughts he maybe having, or doubts, as well as the anxiety and depression that he suffers from within. In some cases the anxiety is caused by hard efforts to gain closeness to the spiritual guide, and in other cases by trying to move up the ranks. In some cases, after having been in the group for years and being given a momentary position, the sincere aspirant will think to himself why has he not attained anything? These thoughts are then suppressed and an imaginary world of 'suluk' (spiritual journey) is created in the mind. Of course there is a replacement to all of this that I will be posting on later, but in the coming posts (Allah willing) I will post on the mindset of both the murid and the 'sufi' cult leader....

A personality change does occur with the cult member which family and friends who are not a part of the 'tariqah' will notice. More on these things later.

A very important note is that the 'elitist' mentality of the group is in the sub conscious and many times in the open. They have the best guide and are the best group and therefore have a superiority over others (like the Murabitoun video I posted above). This goes against the very teachings of Islam and real Tasawwuf.

 

Yasir and Kaydani you need to learn Adab with Suhba with little Yaseen

 

Well said Yasser.

 

Yasser! You right about this, and this I say from personal experience.

 

He may be right about deenport who don't let anyone disagree with their little group whatsoever, but this sites alright considering naqshbandi jamaatis and others' murtadd flavoured threads and posts and comments are still accessible.

One thing I must take my hat of to abu hassan for is the fact that he entertains criticism of himself by others. Now not many administrators would allow that; such as Umar tufayl or whoever else runs the show on deenport. On deenport they claim it's a fair democratic choice whether posts ought to be kept on their or not but I think that's a lie and shows how this Sh yaqoubi murid is right when speaking of such forums. That's because the last time I was posting on deenport I posed a reasonable question to which I was retorted with sarcasm and slating by almost all those charlatans who are cultish members. So I responded by swearing and my comment got around 15+ and 3 minuses. Not only did my abusive language show that many of the members actually disagree with the whole malarkey (by in fact voting for me and not against), but also that it's most definitely not decided as a democracy. In actual fact it's umar tufayls (or whoever else's ) dictatorship and a little online cult.

Having said that, and although this forum has its pros there are cons also. The cons are, at times, reflected by that guys facebook comment as being true. But they're only true because its his kind who can't discuss differences and still get on. There are 2 ways to reprimand a child: a) by hitting or shouting b) by nicely explaining. Both work. But the latter is lot course better. To me it seems like ego on both sides.
Both sides I mean the cultists and the normal person. Normal people (like me) want to openly negotiate and discuss over the points (as I did with Yaseen some 2 weeks ago over a meal and still remained the same with him and I guess he remains the same with me- or I at least hope so!)

All we need, and I'm always lamenting this point, is real life discussions l. I understand everyone has an internal imbalance and a disequilibrium of ego. But that's why it's mujahada in the truest sense of the word and not a pretentious "Sufi" sense. Real men ought not to hold any grudges. And if they do they must learn to bite the bullet. That means don't comment on Facebook if you haven't got the nerve to meet and discuss.

I'm waiting to discuss with many men openly. When I discusses dante with Yaseen he was la jawab for the simple fact that HYs retraction wasn't one at all. Far from it. The same goes for a certain raja who's not worth mentioning and has become an 'advanced' student of knowledge over night. A very manipulative age. Ever so easy to fool people on basic concepts. Allah will question these "maulwis" why they used people in the name of His din.

Note: maulwi is a good term. But these guys have distorted it. Similar to the term Brelwi. These business men (mosque owners) have used and abused it.

Wa abilLah tawfiq