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. Cult members, whether 'sufi' or not, are enshrouded by their cult master. Some of them will question the Quran, the Sunnah, Muslim scholarship but they will dare not question the cult leader. This is because they have made the cult leader, whether they will admit it or not, greater than their basic belief in Islam. A person will be ignorant of algebra and the rules of algebra so he will question laws of inheritance in the Quran. This is typical of 'sufi' cult members. They will shun a fellow Muslim because he disagrees with their cult leader, but they will praise a deviant because he is good with their cult leader. Cult members do not leave their cults except in the following scenarios: 1 Personal fall out with the cult or cult leader over anything ranging from money or abuse of any type. These type of people when approached prior to their dispute with the cult will have closed minds regarding anything you present. Whether you show them contradictions in the creed or conduct of the group or the leader they will stay in denial. It is only once they have been affected personally in any way or form they will object to the group. This is the majority of people in these groups. 2 Company with people who are critical of the group. If a cult member stays consistently over a long period of time with someone who is critical of the group they will eventually 'crack' or 'snap'. This of course is only if they do not fall out with that person and associate with the group less. This is the main reason why groups order their members to shun people who are critical of their group. Shunning is a defense mechanism so the mind stays shut down and the group thinks for you. Also the person who is critical of the group would have to have patience with closed minded cult member who will sound irrational much of the time. A prolonged period away from the group is also helpful to think clearly. The group regularly rewires the mind about it doctrines and method. Even updates on a facebook page are a form of rewiring and reasserting. The cult leader will ensure that his useful controlled murids do not go abroad for long periods of time as this can unravel their minds. 3 Deprogramming. This is a controversial method of forcefully making the cult member sit down and listen to you. This method will have many legal implications. For detail on this read this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Let-Our-Children-Ted-Patrick/dp/0345283430 4 A person whose mind has not been completely rewired and he sees through the facade. These people are also not ambitious in the cult. They have no desire to move up in the cult. When they realise the cult is not giving them what they joined for they leave. These people are the least egotistical as far as the group goes and form a very small segment of the group. They are usually the most rational people of the group. 5 A person who leaves totally because of principle and no other reason. Like if a person left Nuh Keller because he has become misguided. These five categories may also be intertwined with the four personality types: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments What may also occur for many cultists is 'floating'. This is a period that they encounter when they may decide to ;eave the cult or have left the cult. The after effects on the mind and soul is the 'floating' period. During the 'floating' period a person can easily bounce back into the cult if certain triggers are stimulated by the leader or the cult members doing the handling for the leader. There are lots of floaters who are on the periphery of cults. These floaters can easily bounce back into cults or bounce out. Many times they need therapeutic help to make them recover from the psychological effects of having been mind controlled in a cult environment. This mainly happens due to a psychological upheaval in the mind that many people cannot cope with.
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. Read the questions: http://sunniport.com/index.php?threads/are-you-brainwashed.11658/ 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.
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 Family of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) 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. A personality change does occur with the cult member which family and friends who are not a part of the 'tariqah' will notice. 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 here: This goes against the very teachings of Islam and real Tasawwuf. 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: 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. 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. Before doing so lets examine a list of categories of cults and leaders.
The thread known as 'Cult Mind Control' was intended to be a general thread on cult control of the minds of people whether these cults were Muslim or non Muslim. The thread moved on to analyse 'sufi' cults. I have made this separate thread just to post everything I typed on 'sufi' mind control as a resource for people searching on this subject. Request: Please do not post on this thread. Please post on this thread instead: http://sunniport.com/index.php?threads/cult-mind-control.11128/#post-46728 'Sufi' Cult Member Psychology In the following post I want to concentrate solely on the 'sufi' cult mentality. But before doing so an important word of advice: In no way is this criticism of real Ihsan or Tasawwuf as embodied by the Ulama of the past and the saints/awliya, past and present. Being critical of claimants to Tasawwuf should not make a person a dry cynic at all things associated with Tasawwuf and spirituality. Unfortunately this happens too often.The average Muslim prays and follows the orders of the Islamic religion. When a person joins a particular group that group may add its additional practices. This could include night vigils or other religious and spiritual practices. There is nothing wrong with joining a group in itself but it becomes dangerous when a person is a) exploited or b) deceived Unfortunately all too often when the average Muslim begins to practice his religion he is told by many people that he must take 'bayah' (oath of allegiance) otherwise he will become misguided. Sometimes this maybe something the individual has been taught from childhood. Upbringing in a house where the parents hang portraits of the 'pir' or 'shaykh' on the wall, or similar acts, contribute to the formation of a mindset that is ready to be initiated in a 'sufi' cult. What the individual is not told is that if he does not have teachers he will become misguided. There is a great difference between the two. A person needs to learn his basic creed and fiqh practices. Without these two prerequisites he is not fit enough for 'suluk' (spiritual wayfaring). Instead the cultist 'sufi' will tell the potential recruit that he needs a spiritual guide but he will not ensure that the recruit is fit enough. In many cases even after the person has been in a group for years he will not have learned his basics except through a means other than the group. There are so many people who have given their oath of allegiance somewhere but they have learned their Islam from elsewhere. The scholars of Islam (like Imam Ahmad Raza and others) have laid down the conditions for a guide. But if a person has not attained the basic fundamentals of Islam how can he determine who is a valid shaykh and who is not? Even a person who has learned some aspects of Islam how much practical knowledge does he have of basics of tasawwuf? So in this day and age it is safer for a person to learn Islam from multiple Sunni scholars and stick to the way of the Ulama who have passed away. What the cultists would want is the person to do away with all the previous or current scholars and stick to one cult leader. This would be ideal if that one was Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, but where is the Pleiades from the earth? So from the onset the mindset of the people is geared toward this way. This makes fertile ground for all the cultists to recruit. This is part of the reason that some cultists will get on with others, simply because they have the same objectives and goals, which is to recruit for money, power and fame. In order to gain those followers from the Sunni masses quotes are given from Sunni Sufi texts regarding the spiritual guide. In effect those quotes are mentioned to say 'that spiritual guide in our day and age is the leader of our group'. Of course the overwhelming majority have not read those quotes and their context. So even if someone has read books on Islam with scholars, the cult leader can make that person think that he has not understood Islam or tasawwuf well enough. This is where we look at the next facet of the recruiting process: break down the self confidence of the recruit. This can be very basic, for instance making them have remorse about their shortcomings, or severe by making them doubt their own faith. The self low confidence in ones own faith or very own thinking is something which is taken advantage of by 'sufi' cult leaders. Unfortunately there are so many people who need the verification of a third person to verify their own Iman (faith). Such people will have no firmness in their own belief except if they remain loyal to a figure. There is nothing wrong with remaining loyal to a figure if he is good, but their is something wrong with the well being of a person who cannot stay firm on his belief and needs the verification of another person who is like him. This 'verification' just means staying loyal to the group mindset. The mindset will be 'I am OK because I am murid of such and such person who is the Pole Saint (Qutb) of the time', or 'Or I will not deviate because I am with such and such who will never deviate'. Of course whether anyone will deviate or not is under the Divine Authority and human beings simply do not know. A 'sufi' cult leader will perceive the inferiority complex in the seeker through the way he speaks and the body language. Once this is self evident he may reinforce it by telling the seeker his faults. Of course telling him his faults is disguised as 'suluk' and 'tasawwuf', but in reality in this case it is breaking down the individual character and the already self low confidence. The breaking down of the self confidence varies from person to person. To some it maybe mentioned that dreams and miracles are very important and if the aspirant is not seeing good things then he is lacking in his 'suluk'. Of course he waits years or pretends he has had a vision or witnessed a miracle. In some cases a person who finds it difficult to pray five times a day maybe told to perform a huge amount of 'dhikr', and this maybe overwhelm him to think low of himself. A learned person maybe told 'he does not know enough and his knowledge can never be matched to that of the leader'. Sometimes worldly people are placed as an authority over the learned people in the group. The bait that really pulls in the members is the unique doctrine revolving around the leader. This coupled with a persons self acknowledged ignorance of tasawwuf and self low confidence is perfect for the cults. If someone questions anything they can say 'Do you think you know better than the shaykh?' Unique doctrine has huge variations from group to group and this is one of the main subjects that needs to be look at when probing 'sufi' cults. At first hand hand we have the standard doctrine of Ahl al Sunna, which many of the cult members will be ignorant of and in many cases remain ignorant, simply because the cults unique dogma is emphasised more than the general doctrine of Ahl al Sunna. The unique dogma of the cult is told to an individual stage by stage. 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 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.
