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. 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. Aum shinrikyo currently aleph signs and symbols of. Psychological aspects of the aum shinrikyo affair psychology in. Aum shinrikyos next major act of violence would serve as a wakeup call to the world regarding the prospects of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. Psychological aspect of religious terrorism in japan. His latest book, inside terrorism, was pub lished by columbia. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence and the new global terrorism.
Christian evangelical books in america the global jihad within islam and the japanese cult aum shinrikyo jones develops a masterful. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It was only after the tokyo subway attack that aum shinrikyo was discovered to be behind the matsumoto sarin attack. In the modern era, religious terrorism has increased in its frequency, scale of. 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.
The cults major tenets are drawn from a wide spectrum of religions. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism. Background of the cult a case study on the aum shinrikyo. 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.
He was the fourth son of seven children five boys and two girls. Gerdes grand canyon university terrorism and emergency management emm 442 prof. 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. This group was aum shinrikyo, when translated mean supreme truth. 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. 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. Political violence, threats, and insurgency summer 2015 dr. Aum identified russia as a potential source of nuclear weapons, and cult members made numerous overtures to senior officials and scientists. Aum shinrikyo insights into how terrorists develop.
Aum, a religious cult with an apocalyptic ideology, recruited scientists and engineers to help the group acquire. These groups have a different attitude toward violenceone that is. Andrew marshall, coauthor of the cult at the end of the world. A religious organization basing many of its teachings on. 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. At its peak membership, aum shinrikyo had perhaps 9,000 members in japan. 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. Feb 27, 2012 aum has, indeed, been stripped of its status as a registered religious corporation. Arefu, formerly aum shinrikyo, oumu shinrikyo, is a japanese doomsday cult founded by shoko asahara in 1984. The encyclopedia of cults, sects, and new religions. The religious beliefs of aum shinriko are a mixture of hinduism, buddhism, christianity, and new age religions. A free powerpoint ppt presentation displayed as a flash slide show on id. Aum shinrikyo was founded in 1984 as a yoga and meditation class, initially.
National book award winner and renowned psychiatrist robert jay lifton reveals a world at risk from millennial cults intent on ending it all. The leader of aum shinrikyo, a japanese cult that committed a lethal sarin gas attack in the mid1990s, drew on buddhist as well as hindu ideas to justify his beliefs. After years on death row, the cults leader shoko asahara was put to death on 6 july. A profile of the japanese religious cult that carried out the 1995 subway sarin attack. The aum shinrikyo supreme truth was founded in 1987 by shoko asahara, a fortyyear old legally blind former yoga teacher. Aum shinrikyo, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism kindle edition by lifton, robert jay. The strengths of his work lie more in his discussions of how enclosed groups can create a reality within their environment that becomes an.
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. 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. Ppt aum shinrikyo powerpoint presentation free to view. The organization came to public attention when it was learned that several of its top leaders had perpetrated the tokyo subway attack of 1995. To say that if asahara and aum shinrikyo didnt exist robert j. 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. Aum shinrikyo currently aleph signs and symbols of cults. The attack consisted of members of aum shinrikyo releasing poisonous gas into the crowded subway system.
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. 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. 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. Aum is a sanskrit word meaning the powers of destruction and creation in the universe, and shinrikyo means supreme truth. In his later sermons and books beginning from 1991. Aum shinrikyo, biological terrorism, chemical terrorism, sarin terrorism, shoko asahara, tokyo subway attack, tomomasa nakagawa.
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 following is a chronology of events related to the aum shinrikyo doomsday cult and its founder, shoko asahara, whose real name was chizuo matsumoto. Nakagawa the author obtained valuable inside information about aums chemical and biological weapons programs. 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. 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. Kaplan and marshall allege in their book that aum was also connected with such activities as. 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. Aum shinrikyo insights into how terrorists develop biological. Arefu, formerly aum shinrikyo is a japanese doomsday cult. In august 1989, the group was granted official religious corporation status by the.
Aum shinrikyo is a japanese religious organization, better known for its terror. Blood that cries out from the earth the psychology of religious terrorism free download get pdf book jan 25, 2020. Based in 1984 as a small yoga club in the suburbs of tokyo, in 10 years aum shinrikyo became a. The primary deity in aum is shiva, the god of destruction this deity embodies aums main focus, the creation and destruction of the universe. By analyzing the psychological aspect of the aum shinrikyo affair, we can learn more about the goals and motivation of terrorists in general. 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. Asahara was born on march 2, 1955 as chizuo matsumoto in yatsushiro, japan.
Terrorism has become recently a subject to research in many fields of knowledge. The tokyo subway sarin attack was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated on 20 march 1995. Religious terrorism in japan the fatal appeal of aum shinrikyo daniel a. Religious terrorists and violent extremists share the decision to interpret religion to justify violence over the peaceful messages of their religion. Bacillus anthracis bioterrorism incident, kameido, tokyo. 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. A disciple came to understand that without the guru nothing was possible, but with him there opened up a path. 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.
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. The nuclear terrorism threat and the aum shinrikyo cult. 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. 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. 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. Pdf aum shinrikyos rise, fall and revival researchgate. Pages in category aum shinrikyo the following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total.
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. Oct 06, 2014 pages in category aum shinrikyo the following 8 pages are in this category, out of 8 total. But even though numbers have dwindled after the groups 1995 nerve gas attack, aum shinrikyo continues to draw followers. The aum shinrikyo case the 1995 tokyo subway attack is an important event in the study of terrorism. Pdf in march 1995, the tokyo subway attack by aum shinrikyo signaled the emergence of a new global trend in chemical. Aum shinrikyo also incorporated elements of taoism in an eclectic mix along with its own more original ideas. 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. As such lifton treats aums religious nature more sceptically than many other commentators. The culprits were aum shinrikyo, an obscure religious group who believed the end of the world was coming.
In the 1990s, groups motivated by religious imperatives, such as aum shinrikyo, hizballah, and alqaida, have grown and proliferated. The incredible story of aum, says they were arguably not helped by a the cult at the end of the world. On the morning of march 20, 1995, packages were placed on five different trains in the tokyo subway system. 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. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading destroying the world to save it.
Aum shinrikyo and al qaeda, have demonstrated a commitment unmatched by other organizations. 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. Even in its early years, aum shinrikyo showed sigsn of extreme guruism, intense apocalypticism, and the violent potential in both. Jul 06, 2018 the culprits were aum shinrikyo, an obscure religious group who believed the end of the world was coming. The radical religious group aum shinrikyo was founded in japan in the 1980s and grew rapidly in the 1990s. Directory of books about japanese religious cult aum shinrikyo. Lifton would have had to invent them would probably be terribly unfair. Asahara was spoken of and addressed as sonshi, meaning revered master, or exalted one, a highly worshipful term not ordinarily used in japanese buddhism. 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. Various avenues of explanation for this transition are explored, and aum is compared with other.
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. Current political and economic issues succinctly explained. Nakagawa, one of the senior members of aum shinrikyo. 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. 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. 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. Two persons were injured and a 28yearold man was killed. 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. Tokyo subway sarin attack by aum shinrikyo in 1995 is.
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