in my opinion, the Mirpuri / Kashmiri Sunni is among the best Sunnis you can find in the world today, ma sha Allah, despite propaganda against them from all sources, and considering the major hardships they have faced in Pakistan and abroad. Allah has gifted them Sunnat, and His wisdom is infinite. He loves them. On the other hand, who Allah has decided to misled is misled. East and west you cannot find men like Shaykh Asrar Rasheed and his brother Shaykh Yasir Rasheed nor Shaykh Asrar Rasheed's students. This i proclaim from my heart.
Brother Ghulam, i am a frequent visitor to Faisal Abdur razzak's mosque in Canada. And i know who he hangs out with, and others in his group. He is a great buddy of faraz shaytani. However, what you said about Guyana is true to some degree. But i wouldn't generalize like that.
Faisal grew up in a society in Guyana were people did not know if they were Muslim, christian or hindus as kids.
that bit is true. But to experience it you have to spend time with REAL Baraylawis not the pretentious nor the semi-baraylawis. Because only the real ones ever get around to teaching you such fundamentals as:
Can someone ask little Yaseen if Faisal said this as in Ghamkol a few years ago he was saying you should find Sunni Barelwi teachers to study from and was praising Bawa Qasim (ra)
http://sunnaforum.com/index.php?/topic/4705-challenge-to-allama-nabeel-afzal/page-2#entry34408 Well that was the trick all along. The 'Mirpuri Bareilawi' is funding you and yet behind the scenes you say something else. Well that would include bragging to everyone that you love Keller, or pumping someone to debate another Sunni on issues of furu' (like moon sighting) and at the same time telling people that you do not delve into controversies.
A few more for the cult member to think of: As an individual do you have self low confidence? Do you consider your own understanding as weak and irrelevant? By default then do you think that the only person who can understand religion correctly for the context of the modern age is your shaykh and everyone falls short? In effect does that make you more susceptible and easily accepting of any opinion that the shaykh puts forward even if it does contradict your former beliefs and convictions? In that case even if does contradict great scholars of the past? Since you have joined the group have you lost former friends based on their differences with your group or shaykh even though they are Sunni? Have you and others been told to shun other Sunnis but yet your group and its leader keep links with deviants? Have you changed your body language and the way you speak putting on a different persona since you have joined the group? Does the group try its utmost best to attract the rich, famous and attractive as opposed to the simple folk? Do many of the members have insecurities about themselves, whether regarding their race (like pretending to be white or Arab) or a strong insecurity of their religion (like not wanting to be seen as 'Barelawi')?
Here Zaid Shakir ( Rickey J Mitchell ) is using a Hadith of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam in fooling 12000 rich American Muslims into donating their money to support an organization that promotes kufr ideas of hoosein nasr https://give.zaytunacollege.org/12000strong
Brother moriarty, I don't mind answering all your questions in the case of Mr Keller and Mr Hanson. If you would like answers, please contact me by pm, and in sha Allah I will answer the fullest of ability. I believe all of this might apply to the Mr yaqoubi group in England.
the first yardstick to measure a person/shaykh is to look at his adherence to the sunnah and the jama'ah of ahl al-sunnah. second is to measure the act/deed or word of that scholar in question according to the shariah. then one should look at the lives of our elders - certainly, in their stories there are lessons for people who understand. [12:111] it is therefore that one should read biographies of ulama and righteous people: the fuqaha, the noble sufis, the hadith imams, the upright qadis, the reciters and worshippers; great men who kept away from dunya and tried to mend their akhirah. and if it appears difficult to traverse the above, read imam ghazali's superlative kimiya e sa'adat - an abridged version of iHya'a originally written in farsi (translations available). i cannot recall if i read it somewhere or heard it from someone but it is said that in shah waliyullah's time, this was mandatory reading for all budding scholars. kimiya e sa'adat has numerous anecdotes of righteous people and particularly the following sections: - love of dunya - love of wealth - love of fame and glory / on `ujb: egotism (and self-aggrandisement) - riya: show off - takabbur: pride and arrogance - ikhlaS: sincerity - zuhd: being abstemious in this world - muHasabah, muraqabah: holding oneself to account, monitoring one's own actions - being true to oneself about one's level of sincerity. and certainly of death. kafaa bi'l mawti waayiza.
The questions that can be added: Your shaykh sells his cult via miracles and visions. As far as you know these are claims, but have you experienced anything for real? If you claim you have, are you sure it was not your mind playing you into thinking you are experiencing something? Does your shaykh ever contradict himself? Does your shaykh use stories of service to the guide and defense of the guide in order to encourage the aspirants to serve him? Are you really sincere in the group or do you show off to other members? Is your reason for being in the group so you maintain or attain a position? What benefit are you getting from being in the group? Be honest to yourself, is it fame and position or some other worldly benefit? Are you really sincere for Allah or are you gaining something and fooling yourself that you are sincere? Why does the shaykh place 'muqaddams' who themselves are ignorant, arrogant and self righteous? If you joined such a group why were you propelled to a 'role' before you were spiritually prepared? Is there an over emphasis on money collecting? As a group member do you really know where all the money goes? Have you ever traveled and lived with your shaykh? Have you ever dealt in money with him? How much time have you spent with him and how close have you been to him? Does he stay aloof from the cult members and when he is in their presence it is a controlled environment? How much of his background do you really know? Do you know how he lived his life prior to becoming a cult leader? Is everything you know about him from himself or have you verified from his home city from third party sources? The people he claims support him as a cult leader, have you verified everything from them and do you even know who they are? Does your leader covertly discredit other scholars and when he meets them or they pass away he praises them to attain credibility from their followers? How many times have you been to his home? How does your shaykh earn a living and where does he get his money from? The above needs to be checked if he lives in a mansion with a swimming pool and flies first class to stay in five star hotels. Does your shaykh become extremely angry when anything is questioned? Does your shaykh have a pyramid style organisation, where he gives orders from the top which then trickles down? (this is done so no one can say it is the leader who is bad but the followers, if he gave direct orders he will be exposed) Does your shaykh leave certain things vague and leaves people confused until he can trust them? This will include beliefs and fiqh rulings. Does your shaykh have no certain direction and is abrupt in his choices? (Narcissistic Personalities tend to be like that) How does your shaykh treat his family? Is he abusive to women? (This last question maybe dismissed that 'it is his private life'. But that contradicts the teachings of Islam where we are told that 'The best of you are the best to their families' etc) The list to make people think can be expanded. Of course one or two things maybe found in an individual but if most of thhese things are found then alarm bells should ring. These questions are simply there to make people think...
1) families have repeatedly claimed and cried that their sons and daughters have changed due to Mr Keller "suhba" 2) keller murids, hanson murids are epitome of patronization, condescending attitude, and self-righteousness, and this is subtle, they do not show on the outside and act contrary 3) They all believe that their groups methods are the way forward to solve the world's problems and they are quite exclusionist and arrogant about this matter. Again this is subtle and they make it look that they are inclusive of others. 4) They do think that their ideas if known to others would make the world a different place 5) mr keller and mr hanson ideas have infiltrated all aspects of the western raised muslim murids 6) They do find it boring to attend anything else besides keller monotonous remblings and hanson's screams 7) mr keller and mr hanson are certainly the final decision makers 8) Their members feel lonely all the time 9) Lots of people have left their suhbas with objections but returned anyways the next time because they believe these people are still the best despite their short comings 10) Vast majority of them suffer from frustration, because their groups techniques never worked for them. They feel stalled but still hang on. Years have passed and most of them are still on square one by their own admission. 11) They have an overwhelming sense of guilt, and this I found completely unnecessary and excessive 12) yes keller and hanson have different set of rules for the advanced murids 13) They all suffer from very strong emotions the majority of the time be it in the form of isolation/reclusion
To me the most brainwashed groups in the west are the mr keller group, who I believe practices sihr and dabbles with jinns and the zaytoona group They need constant doses of hypnotism either in the form of tranquility exercises or in the form of the annual reviving the spirit conferences in the case of zaytoona
For those who want information on the psychology of cults and cult members they can read the info in this thread: http://www.sunniport.com/masabih/showthread.php?t=11128 But many people who are in cults will be in denial and blind to the fact that they are in a manipulated and mind controlled. If cults showed their true agenda from the onset very few people will join them. It is only once you have committed yourself that you become a part of the workings of the group. When reading these questions, the reader should be honest to himself and firstly to his Lord. Whether he denies it to others he cannot deny the truthful answer to himself and especially to his Creator. The way to answer is yes or no. The result is given at the end. So here are some questions for them to ask regarding their group, themselves or their leader: AM I IN A CULT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR POTENTIAL SHEEP When you ask yourself "Am I in a cult?" you think straight away... "Of course not, I would never join a cult..." Have your friends or family commented that you have changed and that they don't really like the changes? (This includes beliefs, principles, opinions, attitudes) Have you noticed that the groups ideas have filtered into all areas of your life, work social, personal life? Do you find it boring or awkward spending time with people outside the group because they seem boring, or they don't understand the language of the group? (Sunnis that you have severed ties with solely because of the group) Do you believe that outsiders are not on the same level as you and other group members? (many 'sufi' cultists sound patronising, condescending and self righteous) Do you consider that the groups ideas and beliefs are the way forward in sorting out the problems of the world? (As opposed to the wider Sunni scholarship you believe your leader should lead the Ulama and they should go under his banner. In some cases dreams are reported that the leader was leading the Ulama of the world etc) Or have you thought that if only everyone knew this stuff the world would be a different place? (stuff that only your group leader knows as oppose to the general Ulama) Has someone close to you told you that they think you are in a cult? Do you sometimes feel like you know more than outsiders about life, about people, about the world? Have people said that you are pushy or obsessive about the group? Questions regarding the leader: Do you think the leader is always right? Do you feel very indebted to the leader and he or she is not afraid to remind you of this? Does the leader make all the decisions, is the final judge, and is answerable to no-one but himself? Does he change his mind whenever it suits him, and it usually for his benefit? Have you noticed that there is one set of rules for the leader or elite, another set for the group members? Do you ever feel bad or guilty for not behaving as the leader/group says you should? (when you know in some cases that the order is against shariah, or in other cases against your better feeling) Do you find that you have lots of very strong emotions, sometimes for no apparent reason? Do you sometimes feel alone when there seems no real need to feel lonely? Are you experiencing frustration because you can't seem to get the groups techniques to work for you? Is marriage only encouraged within the group, as well as trade? (as opposed to the wider Sunni community) Have you ever left a group meeting feeling angry and vowing never to return and you went back anyway? In some cases has the group leader held you back from things you wanted to do, like studies for instance, and instead used you for the benefit of his group or himself? (this may happen under the guise of tariqah, suluk etc) Can you write down 3 defects or faults of the group's leader? When you think of these defects are you trying to justify those faults or reason them away? If you cannot name 3 defects, or you justify any potential problems, the chances are that there is more going on in the group than you are aware of.... If you answered mostly yes, the chances are that there is mind control being used against you in the group. Some people dismiss this by saying this is only true for non Muslims. That is not the case. Brainwashing, mind control and other psychological methods have been used for centuries against Muslims by deviants. Read the history of the false prophets and how they brainwashed their followers who were formerly Muslim. Read on the false sufi guides and mahdi claimants in history and how they deluded their followers with trickery. The history books are replete with such examples. Only by understanding how cults actually trick and deceive people can you get to the point of realizing that you have been recruited into a cult. Rasputin was not only a Russian phenomenon, their have been many prior to Rasputin in the Muslim world. Subtle and obvious, but it is the more subtle ones that stay aloof from detection. Learn about psychopaths, mind control and cults and you will be able to detect a lot.
