Call radical Islam what it is...a Religious Death Cult

[B2G]

They have all of the hallmarks of a cult...recruiting, brainwashing, holding adherents in captivity (psychologically and sometimes physically) and completely breaking down their recruits' identities and essentially turning them into killing machines.

But it is a cult that uses religion as it's primary tool to indoctrinate and control, just like so many other cults do. The list goes on and one...Scientology, The Unification Church, Aum Shinrikyo, Children of God, The Branch Davidians, The People's Temple, Heaven's Gate...just to name a few.

You cannot remove the religious component from the equation. The main difference between ISIS and other religious cults are their sheer numbers and the horrible violence perpetrated on non-adherents. Most cults are content to live out their lives in their little bubbles and purposely disengage from the outside world. But they all use some form of religious ideology to manipulate the control.

I think we're having a hard time understanding the dynamics of ISIS because it's a cult like no one has ever seen before. And until we understand this, we'll continue to spin our wheels trying to figure out how they keep attracting supposedly intelligent people into their ranks.

[el_bryanto]

1. How exactly will seeing it as a cult help us combat it? nt

[B2G]

4. By studying why other people have joined cults

I'm not saying it's a simple equation. People join cults for many different reasons. But it seems to me that everyone from the President on down are offering reasons as to why their recruiting is so successful and how to combat it. And I'm guessing that your average cult member didn't join because they couldn't find a job.

I bring this up because I haven't heard anyone discuss this from a perspective that ISIS has all of the hallmarks of a cult.

I am inviting discussion into this concept.

[el_bryanto]

6. So you want to discuss what ISIS offers people that they can't get elsewhere

Why they would be attracted to it.

I would guess there are many different reasons why people would join ISIS, as you say. They might feel a sense of belonging or a sense of purpose from joining ISIS. Those are things that cults offer their members. There is also a self reinforcing belief system; we are right and everybody else is wrong - that insulates them from seeing through what is going on.

But there are clear distinctions a well - the bulk of the cults mentioned above recruit or recruited from western and reasonably affluent societies. The sort of revolutionary fervor brought on when your country is invaded wouldn't seem to be part of the mix (as it is in the case of Isis). And, particularly when you consider California Cults, there's not the grueling poverty that we see in many of the places that ISIS recruits from.

Bryant

[dissentient]

2. ^

[MrScorpio]

3. IBTL nt

[B2G]

5. Why would this thread be locked?

Seriously?

[glasshouses]

10. It shouldn't be

[el_bryanto]

7. I don't know why it would be locked - the OP make it clear that he is talking about ISIS

and other extremist Islamic ideologies.

Bryant

[glasshouses]

11. Obama called radical Islam and ISIS evil and it needs to be destroyed

[Iggo]

15. .

[shenmue]

8. O hai

Have you tried the trail mix?

[glasshouses]

9. I guess you could say every religion is a cult

but I agree that people who are joining the ranks are looking for something where
they feel they can't find anywhere else.

Gang members feel the same way , it is a family that many never had

[ND-Dem]

12. Radical capitalism = death cult: death of the planet, death of populations, death of cultures,

death of the poor, disabled

[Orsino]

21. And radical Christianity, for that matter.

OP is trying too hard.

[B2G]

22. Why?

I gave clear examples of Christianity based cults too.

[Orsino]

23. Pretending that "radical Islam" is monolithic is wrong.

It's not "a" death cult, but it is a mindset from which death cults grow.

[B2G]

24. Like ISIS?

Which I clearly and repeatedly referenced in my OP?

[Orsino]

25. ISIS =/ radical Islam. n/t

[B2G]

27. How is radical Islam different? nt

[Orsino]

29. Radical Islam is not monolithic.

ISIS can certainly be called a deTh cult, or a collection of such, but cults have cult leaders, and radical Islam is much larger than ISIS.

[CJCRANE]

13. Isis is a death cult.

One run like a billion dollar corporation.

[B2G]

14. So is Scientology

Except they are tax exempt for some incredibly insane reason.

[leftynyc]

17. Please link me

to where scientolgoists are taking over territory, massacring the populations, selling women into slavery. Thanks.

[B2G]

18. They are simply a danger to their own members

ISIS is a completely different animal, which I've already pointed out in my OP.

[leftynyc]

30. But a death cult?

Please link me to that information. I think they're definitely a cult - but a death cult?

[B2G]

32. I was referring to their finances, but

there have been numerous reports of deaths and injuries to their members.

[Cali_Democrat]

16. Yes...calling it a religious death cult will certainly make our bombs more effective

Not.

I will never understand right wingers.

How come they think calling it radical Islam or a death cult will make a bit of difference?

Will our bombs suddenly kill more jihadists?

Silly argument.

[B2G]

19. Silly?

A great deal of energy is being spent trying to figure out how they are so successfully recruiting members.

I'm proposing it's using the same tactics that other cults use and the reasons for joining may be similar.

If this proposition is so silly, feel free to ignore the thread. TIA.

[Cali_Democrat]

26. Right wingers are too focused on the words used to describe these terrorists.

Whether we call them Islamic terrorists or a death cult.

It doesn't mean shit and it will not suddenly make our bombs or hellfire missiles hit their targets at a higher rate.

Terrorists are terrorists.

It's silly nonsense.

[B2G]

28. And the left isn't?

Seriously?

[Cali_Democrat]

31. Huh? WTF are you talking about?

It's the right wing dumbfucks who are throwing a hissyfit because Obama won't call them 'Islamic' terrorists even though he's dropping loads of bombs on them.

Right wingers have shit for brains. They don't realize that those words mean shit when it comes to killing these terrorists.

It doesn't matter what you call them.

[stevenleser]

20. I don't think ISIS members believe they will lose, hence not a death cult per se.

The history of the region, and I am sure ISIS, al Qaeda and the Taliban and similar groups play this up a lot in conversations among existing members and recruits, is that western interventionists eventually all give up and leave.

The timelines may be hundreds of years, but it eventually happens. This is a tremendous advantage over western politicians whose success or failure is measured in accomplishments they can achieve before the next election cycle and who have groups waiting to criticize them for every life lost.

That said, I realize I talk about Orwell and his descriptions of nationalism a lot, but ISIS definitely qualifies as a nationalistic group as described by him, and as such they have convinced themselves that they are the strongest and most righteous group and of course that they have the backing of their diety.

[samsingh]

33. you are right