Papers by Masoud Banisadr
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Masoud Banisadr, a former member of Muja... more In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to Masoud Banisadr, a former member of Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.
In most people’s lives, what matter most are three Hs: health (of body and soul), honour and happ... more In most people’s lives, what matter most are three Hs: health (of body and soul), honour and happiness. Destructive and terrorist cults are masters of deception, with their black-and-white worldview; they appear to be offering a simple, strict and easily understood definition of these three Hs to their followers. A cult’s definition of the three Hs will infiltrate deep into the mind and soul of its followers and stay deep in their unconscious, even years after they leave the cult. The promise of these 3Hs can be very attractive, especially to young people; and this ability to convince and deceive is the destructive cult’s main strength, and the one that should worry us most.
This is my presentation in Buxton Festival in the United Kingdom, 16th July 2015
There are some experts who are calling cults NRM or New Religious Movement. In this paper which i... more There are some experts who are calling cults NRM or New Religious Movement. In this paper which is from page 126 of my book called 'Destructive and Terrorist cults: A new kind of Slavery' I have argued why cults are different from religion and should not be considered as such.
Why are so many well-educated young Muslims turning to terrorism, with some even becoming human b... more Why are so many well-educated young Muslims turning to terrorism, with some even becoming human bombs?
Is Islam itself the problem, a religion of 1.6 billion people, with a religious majority in 49 countries around the world?
In 1979, Masoud Banisadr was a young postgraduate maths student at Newcastle University, watching... more In 1979, Masoud Banisadr was a young postgraduate maths student at Newcastle University, watching political upheaval in his homeland of Iran on the nightly news. After the fall of the Western-backed Shah, wanting to play his part in a new society he joined Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), an Islamic Marxist revolutionary organisation.
But a couple of years after the revolution, the MEK began to clash with Ayatollah Khomeini's theocratic regime and were soon deemed an enemy of the new Iran. MEK suicide bombings and assassinations followed. In 1981, thousands of MEK members went into exile, and by 1986 had established a tight-knit paramilitary organisation in Iraq led by husband-and-wife team Masoud and Maryam Rajavi.
Children in destructive cults are absolute victims who are doubly exploited; they have no choice ... more Children in destructive cults are absolute victims who are doubly exploited; they have no choice about being in the cult and then they are enslaved and manipulated in the cult. While they are following a leader, parents are at best middle managers in supervising their children and changing them into ‘good’ followers of the cult’s leader. Therefore parents cannot be protective or supportive of their children and in some extreme cases they cannot show any kind of affection toward even their young children.
In this paper, I attempt to show that there is a difference between an act of terrorism and a ter... more In this paper, I attempt to show that there is a difference between an act of terrorism and a terrorist organization. Therefore each should be dealt with differently. I further argue that a terrorist organization is a cult or must change into a cult in order to survive. Therefore, to deal with terrorist organizations we must understand how to deal with cults. The most important action is to take cult members, including radicals and potential recruits of terrorist groups, out of isolation, psychological or physical, rather than push them even more into isolation from wider society.
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Papers by Masoud Banisadr
Is Islam itself the problem, a religion of 1.6 billion people, with a religious majority in 49 countries around the world?
But a couple of years after the revolution, the MEK began to clash with Ayatollah Khomeini's theocratic regime and were soon deemed an enemy of the new Iran. MEK suicide bombings and assassinations followed. In 1981, thousands of MEK members went into exile, and by 1986 had established a tight-knit paramilitary organisation in Iraq led by husband-and-wife team Masoud and Maryam Rajavi.
Is Islam itself the problem, a religion of 1.6 billion people, with a religious majority in 49 countries around the world?
But a couple of years after the revolution, the MEK began to clash with Ayatollah Khomeini's theocratic regime and were soon deemed an enemy of the new Iran. MEK suicide bombings and assassinations followed. In 1981, thousands of MEK members went into exile, and by 1986 had established a tight-knit paramilitary organisation in Iraq led by husband-and-wife team Masoud and Maryam Rajavi.