Cult of Death

Spirit of Things: Cult of Death

As presented by Rachel Kohn, ABC Australia.

What makes an educated person from a good family join extremist groups and volunteer to become a suicide bomber? Al-Qa’ida expert, Abdel Bari Atwan, explains it as desperation and indoctrination into a culture of death, while cult expert Steve Hassan, describes the mind-control techniques methods used to turn vulnerable people into new recruits.

Cults are rapidly spreading around the globe like viruses - changing constantly, adapting easily to new cultures, destroying hundreds of thousands of lives each year, by radically altering people's identities through mind control, brainwashing, hypnosis, and less subtle mind control techniques. What compels bright, energetic and idealistic people of all ages to give up their individuality, their freedom of mind, and oftentimes their jobs, wealth, and families to become a slave to a self-proclaimed master? Why do well-educated, highly intelligent people even offer their lives in mass suicides for what appear to be "nutty" beliefs? Once enslaved, how can victims of cults regain their freedom and begin to think for themselves again?

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