AUM SHINRIKYO AND THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE 1995 TOKYO SUBWAY SARIN ATTACKS
SSG JENNIFER A. BALLARD
CBRN SLC CLASS 03-13
SGL: SFC MACRI Abstract
This paper will explore research results done through the internet and through published books on the background of the cult group Aum Shinrikyo, now known as the group Aleph, and several other Sarin gas attacks, to include the terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway on 20 March 1995. There is a lot of speculation and questions surrounding this cult group, which will be discussed later, who started out as a peaceful yoga group by the founder and his wife, turn into a radical doomsday cult religion capable of not one but several chemical terrorists acts towards their own countrymen. According
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The articles focus on the beginnings of the group as a peaceful yoga group and lead up to the most recent events with the chemical attacks of the Tokyo subway systems. Shoko Asahara, who was born Chizuo Matsumoto, during his stay in India in 1986, while he was on various religious retreats in the Himalayan Mountains, claimed to have found enlightenment and upon his return to Japan founded the group Aum Shinrikyo in 1987. The group started out with a small following from the yoga studio, Aum Shinsen-no kai, he and his wife, Kazuko, owned and operated. Eventually word starting spreading about his so-called “teachings of the supreme truth” (World Religions and Spirituality Project VCU, Jackie Fowler, 2001). Asahara claimed that he had the power to read minds and because of his enlightenment, claimed to have visions or prophesies, as he would call them, about future events.
Asahara started preaching sermons about how his “visions” showed him that the world would end by the turn of the 21st century and that the only survivors would be Aum Shinrikyo members themselves. The group was so obsessed with Armageddon that it went so far as to try to make it happen themselves.
In March 1993, Asahara gave orders to start production of Sarin gas
During an interview with a Buddhist minister assistant at the Orange County Buddhist Church, he briefly described the history of Shin Buddhism as an enlightening discovery made by Siddhartha Gautmama. According to the minister, Gautmama’s goal was to surpass duhkha, a human condition where they experienced, difficulty, frustration, or suffering. He became the first awakened person who is also referred to as Amida, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life and Light, after he accepted the truth of oneness and the interconnection all aspects have with one another (Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada 2015). Soon after, Shinran Shonin became a Buddhist monk and hoped to reach enlightenment as did Gautmama, but was unable to do
The spiritual beliefs of the Aum are derived from a combination of Buddhist and Hindu yoga philosophies and the apocalyptic prophecies of
First there were a doomsday cult that quickly turned into a terrorist organization followed by a Aum Shinrikyo is still on the United States Foreign Terrorist list even though it suffered a split in two thousand and now calls themselves Aleph. The group has also repented for the attacks of Aum Shinrikyo and has been able to organize compensation for those that were effected. Whether or not the group was successful at its goal is arguable because the end of the world has not happened yet, however they were successful in weaponing a biochemical agent. Scholars argue that “terrorist attack suing a specific weapon will be most likely when the industry corresponding to that weapon within the country of attack is relatively large” which brings into question the origins of the beliefs of Aum Shinrikyo. Their belief in war coupled with the availability of Sarin gas may be “evidence” to those that beielve that the end is nigh. Overall, the group has devolved out a terrorist organization but still acts a a threat to national
There are several terrorist groups throughout the world today. All the terrorist groups have one common goal and that is to rid the world of Americans and western influence from the Muslim world. There is one organization that has ties to most of all the terrorist groups in the world and is the most infamous group in the world today and that is the group called Al-Qaeda The word Al-Qaeda means “the base” in Muslim. As an international terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. The group seeks to rid Muslim countries of western influence and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Al-Qaeda grew out of the of the ashes of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1988, after it helped expel the Soviet
The religion also holds the claim that Asahara is the only person to have attained the highest level of consciousness and that he is in the state of Nirvana; Asahara even claimed to be Christ. Tibetan beliefs of extrasensory experiences are also included in the Aum Shinrikyo faith, with clairvoyance, levitation, and the ability to see through walls being some of these extrasensory abilities that Asahara promoted and claimed to have (news.bbc.co.uk; fas.org).
According to Morgenstern (n.d.) in a publication about the history of suicide terror attacks are reviewed. The article sites facts from early terrorist attacks in 1983 as well as of detailed attacks in recent years. The author provides insight to the recruitment and training methods used by terror groups based on case studies and classified information from Israeli police. Their findings conclude that religion
Walter Laqueur’s book, “The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction”, is empowering readers with the entire spectrum of terrorism. The reasons behind terrorism are not easy to understand, but Laqueur goes into great detail to try and bring the reader to an understanding of what the terrorist is thinking in order to justify the means to the end.
Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.
Shinto and Buddhism are two different traditions that have flourished in Japan for hundreds of years. Generally, followers from one of the traditions tend to follow the guidance of the other as well, which makes the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism very rare in world religions. At first, when these two traditions contacted each other in ancient Japan, there was a lot of confusion, but eventually they were able to coexist. However, even though Buddhism and Shinto share similarities regarding flexibility and independence, there are more differences between them proven by Buddhism’s spread to ancient Japan, their contrasting practices and beliefs and the different outlooks on the afterlife.
Religious terrorism is regularly portrayed as demonstrations of unreasonable, silly and indiscriminate violence, along these lines offering few, if any what really spur religious terrorism measures. This presumption about religious terrorism comes from different nations, groups and individual’s. Unbalanced regard for prophetically catastrophic terrorism, and an absence of qualification between religious terrorism and its mainstream partner. This article, in this manner, expects to do four things: characterize and separate religiously inspired terrorism, confidence, and activism along the lines of faith and violence. Furthermore, prescribe a scope of religion, confidence, and terrorism systems in view of these perceptions.
Modern terrorism, as deduced from this literature, is acts to violence strategically used by secular groups spanning international borders with the aim of achieving a desired outcome. Further, it can be seen as organized activity whose genesis can be traced back to the 1880’s. From then to now there are identifiable traits and patterns observed from different (terrorist) groups which have allowed for the conceptualization of the term modern terrorism. This concept therefore, can be best explained in the context of being a wave or having a life cycle. That means it is a cycle of activity demarked by phases from inception and expands along the way then eventually it declines. The world, thus far, has experienced four waves of modern
E. Preview Main Points: Today we will take an in-depth look at the beliefs of the Four Noble Truths and Karma and the customs of meditation and the Sacred Mandela. We will also explore its history in India and of Buddha, and how the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh have truly shaped this life changing religion.
Legalizing marijuana may seem as a good idea for the government to do as it can generate more jobs, more money, and have many health benefits, but it also leads to other problems people do not realize. They say it helps you feel good and it is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. Right now there are a few states that have legalized the use of marijuana, where the media shows the positive side effects of the plant being legalized, but disregards the negative side effects legalizing marijuana has. Throughout this essay, I will be persuading you on why marijuana should not be legalized. Marijuana should not be legalized for a few reasons. First, marijuana use has negative health side effects, second, it increases the chances of using other drugs, and finally, it endangers public safety. So instead of focusing the advantages marijuana has, it also has disadvantages on why it should still remain illegal.
At the point when a reporter or some other media outlet reports news with a perspective and not only the realities, it is called media predisposition or media bias. Media predisposition can occur in a few structures. These incorporate particular announcing of actualities, oversight of certainties and ponder contortion. Media bias in America comes essentially in two structures, conservative and liberal. Significant media outlets are in some cases known for their predisposition detailing. The Fox News Channel has a tendency to have a more conservative perspective with their announcing, though the NBC, ABC and CBS News Channels have a tendency to have more liberal perspectives. Groups of onlookers of these systems have a tendency to be determined with regards to the issues being talked about (DellaVigna and Kaplan 2006). Effects of this incorporate a partition among the American open. Because of this separation, America is ending up progressively split into two posts on either end of the political range. Americans have turned out to be all the more doubting of reporter to convey news completely, decently and precisely. As media inclination turns into a more noticeable issue in present day society, it has appeared to influence political issues and social issues and additionally preparing for a partitioned society later on.
When you close your eyes and think of solar energy, what do you see? Your response is most likely something positive such as an innovative, efficient, and renewable step forward into the future. Solar is also thought of to be the best type of energy because the sun will never go away. Well, solar energy will have to battle it out with natural gas and oil in the near future. “As the price of oil and natural gas continues to drop, solar energy looks less desirable as other sources become more affordable in the short term” (Sanburn 38). Josh Sanburn, author for Time Magazine, does have a relevant point while discussing solar energy’s competitors. The handful of solar energy’s positives makes it easy for the green thumbed consumers of today to overlook the many negatives. The negatives are very important though when on the topic of something that could possibly determine the future of the whole world’s energy productivity.