In the modern era, religious terrorism has increased in its frequency, scale of. In the 1990s, groups motivated by religious imperatives, such as aum shinrikyo, hizballah, and alqaida, have grown and proliferated. Aum shinrikyo aum shinrikyo, a cult founded in 1985 by shoko asahara, perpetrated the 1995 sarin gas attack on the tokyo subway that killed 12 people. Senator nunn redirected the staff to focus upon the ongoing activities of the aum shinrikyo as a case study of what can happen when a fanatical group with financial resources obtains sophisticated. Jul 06, 2018 the culprits were aum shinrikyo, an obscure religious group who believed the end of the world was coming. Background of the cult a case study on the aum shinrikyo. The tokyo subway sarin attack was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated on 20 march 1995. Jul 06, 2018 aum shinrikyo is designated as a terrorist organisation in the us and many other countries, but aleph and hikari no wa are both legal in japan, albeit designated as dangerous religions subject. Religious terrorism in japan the fatal appeal of aum shinrikyo daniel a. Arefu, formerly aum shinrikyo is a japanese doomsday cult.
Psychological aspects of the aum shinrikyo affair psychology in. It started as a cult where the founder and leader, shoko asahara, promised followers that they would have the power to hover or levitate if they joined. Nakagawa, one of the senior members of aum shinrikyo. After years on death row, the cults leader shoko asahara was put to death on 6 july. Cries out from the earth the psychology of religious terrorism read the book on paper it. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin on three lines of the tokyo metro then part of the tokyo subway during rush hour, killing people. Beginning in the early 1990s, aum, a religious cult with an apocalyptic ideology, recruited scientists and engineers to help the group acquire chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Chronology of aum shinrikyos cbw activities introduction six years ago, on march 20, 1995, five members of the japanese cult aum shinrikyo supreme truth boarded subway trains in tokyo, japan, and released the deadly chemical nerve agent sarin. The primary deity in aum is shiva, the god of destruction this deity embodies aums main focus, the creation and destruction of the universe. Aum shinrikyoaleph is a syncretic belief system that draws upon asaharas idiosyncratic interpretations of elements of early indian buddhism and tibetan buddhism, as well as hinduism, taking shiva as the main image of worship and incorporating millennialist ideas from the christian book of revelation, yoga, and the writings of nostradamus. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism. Aum shinrikyo is a japanese religious organization, better known for its terror.
Aum shinrikyo, biological terrorism, chemical terrorism, sarin terrorism, shoko asahara, tokyo subway attack, tomomasa nakagawa. Aum shinrikyo was founded in 1984 as a yoga and meditation class, initially. The longer entries of a page or two, often authored by scholars other than lewis, are for groups that are controversial or have made the news recently. In july 1993, a liquid suspension of bacillus anthracis was aerosolized from the roof of an eightstory building in kameido, tokyo, japan, by the religious group aum shinrikyo. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the the new global terrorism by lifton, robert jay, 1926.
However, recent events from japan overtook the investigation and, last june, senator nunn redirected the staff to focus upon the ongoing activities of the aum shinrikyo as a case study of what can happen when a fanatical group with financial resources obtains sophisticated technical abilities and decide to utilize weapons of mass destruction in. Since the earliest moments of recorded history, prophets and gurus have foretold the worlds end, but only in the nuclear age has it been possible for a megalomaniac guru with a worldending vision to bring his prophecy to pass. The religious beliefs of aum shinriko are a mixture of hinduism, buddhism, christianity, and new age religions. The attack was carried out by the japanese religious movement aum shinrikyo aum supreme truth as it termed itself in english, led by its charismatic leader asahara shoko. Bacillus anthracis bioterrorism incident, kameido, tokyo.
This chapter traces the movement of aum shinrikyo from a yoga and meditation center, indistinguishable from countless other new age centers in japan and north america, to a cult that released deadly nerve gas in a tokyo subway. This is the cutting edge of hightech terrorism for the year 2000 and beyond. Aum shinrikyo was not a clearcut buddhist sect, and while it borrowed some ideas from buddhism, the cults chief deity was the hindu god shiva. Aum shinrikyo currently aleph signs and symbols of cults. To say that if asahara and aum shinrikyo didnt exist robert j. It was only after the tokyo subway attack that aum shinrikyo was discovered to be behind the matsumoto sarin attack. Directory of books about japanese religious cult aum shinrikyo. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id. Religious terrorists and violent extremists share the decision to interpret religion to justify violence over the peaceful messages of their religion.
Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a tactic to achieve religious goals or which are influenced by religious identity. In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism has more often been based on anarchism, and revolutionary. Introduction the aum shinrikyo is a japanese new religious movement organisation but they are also labelled as a terrorist organisation in many countries across the world. Aum shinrikyo insights into how terrorists develop biological and chemical weapons second edition december 2012 2 about the authors richard danzig is the chairman of the board at the center for a new american security, a consultant on terrorism to u. The attack by aum shinrikyo it was march 20, 1995 and the time was 0800 hours, when the city of tokyo was subjected to a terrorist act by a radical religious group. Terrorism has become recently a subject to research in many fields of knowledge. The nuclear terrorism threat and the aum shinrikyo cult. The aum shinrikyo case the 1995 tokyo subway attack is an important event in the study of terrorism. Aum shinrikyo july 2011 insights into how terrorists develop biological and chemical weapons 2 about the authors richard danzig is the chairman of the board at the center for a new american security, a consul tant on terrorism to u. Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a tactic to achieve religious goals or which are influenced by religious identity in the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism has more often been based on anarchism, and revolutionary politics. On 20 march 1995 members of the aum shinrikyo supreme truth cult carried six packages onto tokyo subway trains and punctured the packages with umbrella tips, releasing deadly sarin gas killing 12 persons and injuring more than 5,000. Pages in category aum shinrikyo the following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. In december 1994 and january 1995, masami tsuchiya of aum shinrikyo synthesized 100 to 200 grams of vx which was used to attack three persons.
Jim gallagher august 30, 2010 the attack by aum shinrikyo it was march 20, 1995 and the time was 0800 hours, when the city of tokyo was subjected to a terrorist act by a radical religious group. A religious organization basing many of its teachings on. The cults major tenets are drawn from a wide spectrum of religions. Seven members of the aum shinrikyo doomsday cult which carried out a deadly chemical attack on the tokyo underground in 1995 have been executed, including. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence and the new global terrorism. Andrew marshall, coauthor of the cult at the end of the world. Jul 06, 2018 seven members of the aum shinrikyo doomsday cult which carried out a deadly chemical attack on the tokyo underground in 1995 have been executed, including cult leader shoko asahara. Metraux the shocking attack allegedly made by aum shinrikyol assailants on three tokyo subway lines in march 1995 that killed twelve commuters and injured nearly 6,000 raises many questions but few answers.
Nakagawa the author obtained valuable inside information about aums chemical and biological weapons programs. This group was aum shinrikyo, when translated mean supreme truth. Feb 27, 2012 aum has, indeed, been stripped of its status as a registered religious corporation. During 1999 to 2001, microbiologic tests were conducted on a liquid environmental sample originally collected during the 1993 incident. Aum shinrikyo also incorporated elements of taoism in an eclectic mix along with its own more original ideas. Aum shinrikyo currently aleph signs and symbols of. Aum shinrikyo and al qaeda, have demonstrated a commitment unmatched by other organizations. In his later sermons and books beginning from 1991. The aum shinrikyo supreme truth was founded in 1987 by shoko asahara, a fortyyear old legally blind former yoga teacher. At its peak, aum reportedly claimed 10,000 believers in japan at its peak and tens of thousands more in the united states, russia and elsewhere. Aleph, formerly 19872000 aum shinrikyo, japanese new religious movement founded in 1987 as aum shinrikyo aum supreme truth by matsumoto chizuo, known to his followers as master asahara shoko. Various avenues of explanation for this transition are explored, and aum is compared with other. As such lifton treats aums religious nature more sceptically than many other commentators. On the morning of march 20, 1995, packages were placed on five different trains in the tokyo subway system.
Based in 1984 as a small yoga club in the suburbs of tokyo, in 10 years aum shinrikyo became a. The tokyo subway sarin attack subway sarin incident, chikatetsu sarin jiken was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated on 20 march 1995, in tokyo, japan, by members of the cult movement aum shinrikyo. Aum identified russia as a potential source of nuclear weapons, and cult members made numerous overtures to senior officials and scientists. Asahara was spoken of and addressed as sonshi, meaning revered master, or exalted one, a highly worshipful term not ordinarily used in japanese buddhism. Pdf aum shinrikyos rise, fall and revival researchgate. A disciple came to understand that without the guru nothing was possible, but with him there opened up a path. Lifton would have had to invent them would probably be terribly unfair. Pdf in march 1995, the tokyo subway attack by aum shinrikyo signaled the emergence of a new global trend in chemical. But even though numbers have dwindled after the groups 1995 nerve gas attack, aum shinrikyo continues to draw followers. His family was poor, his father being a tatami mat maker. Current political and economic issues succinctly explained. Christian evangelical books in america the global jihad within islam and the japanese cult aum shinrikyo jones develops a masterful. National book award winner and renowned psychiatrist robert jay lifton reveals a world at risk from millennial cults intent on ending it all.
Aum is a sanskrit word meaning the powers of destruction and creation in the universe, and shinrikyo means supreme truth. While it is not surprising that the actions of this japanese religious cult have been the subject of much discussion, those doing the talking have come to disparate conclusions as to just what aum shinrikyo s activities prove or disprove regarding chemical and biological terrorism. In august 1989, the group was granted official religious corporation status by the. We still remember the sarin gas tragedy which was sown by the aum shinrikyo group of buddhists or shintos in tokyo in march 1995, which killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000 people kyle b. A profile of the japanese religious cult that carried out the 1995 subway sarin attack. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Aum shinrikyo is designated as a terrorist organisation in the us and many other countries, but aleph and hikari no wa are both legal in japan, albeit designated as dangerous religions subject. The following is a chronology of events related to the aum shinrikyo doomsday cult and its founder, shoko asahara, whose real name was chizuo matsumoto. The attack consisted of members of aum shinrikyo releasing poisonous gas into the crowded subway system. The primary example in the 20th and 21st century is in sri lanka, where sinhala buddhist groups have committed and encouraged violence against local christians and tamils. While all religious groups have been affected by the postaum reform of the religious corporations law, the emphasis in the media on the notion of cults has impacted widely on any group that appears in any way to challenge social norms. Dec, 2010 aum shinrikyo s next major act of violence would serve as a wakeup call to the world regarding the prospects of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.
It was one of the most famous attacks by a religious. Blood that cries out from the earth the psychology of religious terrorism free download get pdf book jan 25, 2020. Tokyo subway sarin attack by aum shinrikyo in 1995 is. Asahara was born on march 2, 1955 as chizuo matsumoto in yatsushiro, japan. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism kindle edition by lifton, robert jay.
The organization came to public attention when it was learned that several of its top leaders had perpetrated the tokyo subway attack of 1995. The encyclopedia of cults, sects, and new religions. It carried out the deadly tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been responsible for another smaller sarin attack the previous year. The radical religious group aum shinrikyo was founded in japan in the 1980s and grew rapidly in the 1990s. Psychological aspect of religious terrorism in japan. These groups have a different attitude toward violenceone that is. Ppt aum shinrikyo powerpoint presentation free to view. By analyzing the psychological aspect of the aum shinrikyo affair, we can learn more about the goals and motivation of terrorists in general. The culprits were aum shinrikyo, an obscure religious group who believed the end of the world was coming. Even in its early years, aum shinrikyo showed sigsn of extreme guruism, intense apocalypticism, and the violent potential in both. Aum shinrikyo july 2011 insights into how terrorists develop biological and chemical weapons 2 about the authors richard danzig is the chairman of the board at the center for a new american security, a consul. Reviews this dark, enthralling book not only documents the global rise of religious terrorism but seeks to understand the odd attraction of religion and violence. Aum shinrikyo insights into how terrorists develop biological.
Aum shinrikyo insights into how terrorists develop. The strengths of his work lie more in his discussions of how enclosed groups can create a reality within their environment that becomes an. At its peak membership, aum shinrikyo had perhaps 9,000 members in japan. Aum, a religious cult with an apocalyptic ideology, recruited scientists and engineers to help the group acquire. His latest book, inside terrorism, was pub lished by columbia. Gerdes grand canyon university terrorism and emergency management emm 442 prof. Arefu, formerly aum shinrikyo, oumu shinrikyo, is a japanese doomsday cult founded by shoko asahara in 1984. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading destroying the world to save it. Two persons were injured and a 28yearold man was killed. He was the fourth son of seven children five boys and two girls. The attack killed 12 people and injured over 1,000, of whom. Political violence, threats, and insurgency summer 2015 dr. Kaplan and marshall allege in their book that aum was also connected with such activities as.
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