Friday 3 December 2010

Why are the Ahmadiyya/Qadianis a Cult?

One of the foremost authorities on mind control, Robert J. Lifton, has laid out the criteria by which thought control is accomplished in new religious movements, commonly known as cults. His criteria are very broad and have often been used to determine the degree of 'cultishness' of a religious movement. One such person is Randall WattersRandall, W. (1990). Eight marks of a mind-control cult. retrieved Nov. 20, 2004, from FreeMinds Website:, who described the application of these methods by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian offshoot.



One of the foremost authorities on mind control, Robert J. Lifton, has laid out the criteria by which thought control is accomplished in new religious movements, commonly known as cults. His criteria are very broad and have often been used to determine the degree of 'cultishness' of a religious movement. One such person is Randall WattersRandall, W. (1990). Eight marks of a mind-control cult. retrieved Nov. 20, 2004, from FreeMinds Web site: http://www.freeminds.org/psych/lifton.htm, who described the application of these methods by the Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian offshoot.

The importance of this exercise, in Lifton's own words:
"These criteria consist of eight psychological themes which are predominant within the social field of the thought reform milieu. Each has a totalistic quality; each depends upon an equally absolute philosophical assumption; and each mobilises certain individual emotional tendencies, mostly of a polarising nature.

Psychological theme, philosophical rationale, and polarised individual tendencies are interdependent; they require, rather than directly cause, each other. In combination they create an atmosphere which may temporarily energise or exhilarate, but which at the same time poses the gravest of human threats." Lifton, R. (1989). Thought reform and the psychology of totalism. : University of North Carolina Press. Chapter 22

How The Ahmadiyya Leadership Uses Mind Control On It's Members:

* forbids its members to visit Muslim mosques or worship with Muslims
* forbids and/or strongly discourages intermarriage with Muslims
* forbids its members to participate in funerals and most religious and/or social events organized by Muslims
* forbids its members from publishing articles, books or magazines about the Ahmadiyya or critical of it except with written permission, and that only with editing by the leadership
* strongly discourages members to read and/or discuss current Muslim scholars, ideas, and other relevant current events
* there are no attributive (good) references to current Muslim authorities in any speech or publication
* forbids members from engaging in any discussion or conversation about their beliefs
* has not translated or made accessible the books and teachings of its founder, and there is no educational program for the lay members to learn about them
* does not permit any gatherings, groups or associations except with leadership approval
* strongly discourages critical questions during official meetings and discussions, and those who ask such questions are looked down upon
* declares the leader to be the only source of new ideas or expressions
* encourages members who have critical questions to seek forgiveness for their sins and pray
* encourages the classification of members who leave as insane or bribed but does not allow discussion of why they left.
* declares its founder as the Imam of the Age and that denying ANY of the claims of the founder results in an incomplete Muslim
* declares its founder to be the manifestation of the "Expected One" of all world religions
* holds that many of the founder's opponents died as a result of prophecies/curses
* holds the family and subsequent generations of the founder as specially blessed, and in practice, above the requirements for ordinary members
* coins religious epithets and exaggerates the service of the sons and grandsons of the founder.
* declares that its elected leaders are installed by God
* encourages the view that anyone leaving the organization should expect ill-fortune
* regards the ill fortunes (death,illness,financial distress) of its opponents as God's punishment for their opposition
* hides or camouflages any normal sickness, disease, or other misfortune that befalls its leaders
* has consistently mis-represented its membership numbers to create an aura of Divine support for its members
* holds its leaders beyond accountability, especially in financial and strategic areas.
* holds that the Indian plague of the 19th century was to punish people for not accepting the founder
* holds that earthquakes, wherever they may happen, are sent to punish people for not accepting their founder
* holds that AIDS is a form of new plague, with the exact same Divine goal.
* holds that Z.A. Bhutto (former Pakistani prime minister) was hanged because of his opposition to their sect
* holds that Zia ul Haq (former Pakistani president) died in a plane crash because of his opposition to their sect
* holds that Afghanistan is a cursed land because of the opposition of one of its kings to their founder in the early 1900s
* holds that Friday the 10th brings about Divine signs for them, which are usually natural disasters for others
* holds that wars against Muslim lands and the perceived backwardness of Muslim countries are as a result of Muslim opposition to their sect
* holds that World War I, World War II, Russian-Korean War and many others were as a result of opposition to its founder, and a interpretations of his prophecies
* holds that homeopathic medicine works in mysterious unexplained ways and can solve the medical problems of the world
* holds that any person who opposes them will be humiliated
* encourages the belief that "personal attachment" to the leader is a sign of faith
* has created a de facto perception that leadership of the family of the founder will remain
* has consistently not prosecuted any complaints or evidence against the family of the founder in a public manner
* does not attempt to explain why prophecies or predictions fail, just ignoring them

Read the full article here: http://www.qarchives.com