Thought Control, Psychology of Totalism- A case of Wahhabi-inspired Terrorism-Part 1
By Aiman Reyaz, New Age Islam
Consider for a moment in our recent lifetime how in communist China during, for example, Mao Tse Tung’s Cultural Revolution from 1965-75, Communist leaders used psychological techniques of indoctrination to bend people’s mind in the most uncanny ways.
Robert Jay Lifton analyses this in his splendid book ‘Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism’. He says that millions of people were brought into the Communist movement and under the State’s control through powerful means of thought control. These methods of “thought control” were referred to as‘re-education’. To achieve this compliance, the State did not rely primarily on terror to recruit its followers. The Red Guards, for example were so important in promoting Cultural Revolution were now persuaded to follow Mao. They fanatically pursued a particular goal where they believed in that goal passionately. They believed in it whole-heartedly. These young Chinese, very much like the Hitler’s youths were subjects of the psychological power of the state.
Allow me to analyse the rise in the numbers of Wahhabi-inspired terrorism from the same perspective.
Seriously, why would anyone want to blow oneself up? And why would anyone kill innocent human beings just because they do not follow your way of thinking. The answers to all this, from the psychological perspective: are mind control and obedience.
In this book, ‘Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism’ Lifton gives us a list of ways in which people’s minds are‘re-educated’: First and foremost is ‘Milieu Control’. It is the most important feature of the thought reform environment. Through this, the controller(s) gives selective environment that suits his purpose. Both the external as well as the internal environment are being shaped. The one who is being shaped, is given only those information which would further the controller’s purpose. For example, in the most extreme direction, conspiracy theories are being spread like ‘9/11- Israelis did it’, ‘US and Israel are scheming for the destruction of Islam’ etc and in less extreme direction, we see news in the Urdu media, giving only one side of the picture. The Urdu media would continuously write that the Indian Government is planning on destroying Urdu, Persian and Arabic languages because they are not being taught properly in schools and colleges, but they would shy away from writing that the condition of Sanskrit is no better.
Secondly it is ‘Mystical Manipulation’. The examples given in the New Age Islam article:
is sufficient to prove the point. Conditions are created in which miracles and mysteries happen so as to submit the person under the domination of the mystery and miracle. This mystery, it is being claimed, comes from God because God has chosen him and his mission to supersede over all others. It is being said that the fanatics are rising, in spite of thousands of drone attacks, because Allah has blessed them (the Talibanis) and that Allah is with them and their mission in spreading the message of their version of Islam!
Thirdly it is ‘Demand for Purity’. In this, the world is divided into pure black and white; moral and immoral. There is no questioning the authority. What is ‘moral’, like killing infidels, spreading their version of Islam needs to be constantly done so as to increase his “purity” and what is ‘immoral’, like making friends with non-Muslims, not spreading Islam, needs to be constantly reduced.
Fourth way of thought control is the ‘Cult of Confession’. This way is closely related with the previous one. In this, whatever is ‘immoral’ or sinful is being confessed by the one who is being controlled. After this confession, all the group members exploit him and torture him psychologically until he breaks down and is willing to submit. For example the one who is being controlled is coerced to confess his guilt, like befriending non-Muslims. Then other members of the group make fun of him and embarrass him. Finally he submits to this humiliation and in order to compensate, he kills non-Muslims to feel guilt-free again.
Fifth is ‘Sacred Science’. This process is connected with ‘Mystical Manipulation’. Truth is found in that group only; rest is falsehood, because the controller is the agent of God. He is doing His work! And whatever He says becomes the Word i.e., authority. No one in the group could question, doubt or criticise Osama bin Laden or can question, doubt or criticise Ayman Al Zawahiri. The agent then becomes above criticism, above doubt, and above questioning. His (the agent’s) word is His Word.
Sixth is ‘Loading the Language’. According to ‘Sapir Whorf Hypothesis’ our language determines our thought. The same idea is being applied here, in a more destructive way. In this process, new words are created and used, so that the outside world cannot understand, similarly the old words are used with new meaning so as to confuse others. This whole process is done so as to conform to the group’s way of thinking.
Seventh is ‘Doctrine Over Person’. As Hitler said that the State is above the individual, similarly in this, the doctrine is above the person. The individual can and should be sacrificed for the well-being of the Idea. Any idea that goes against the doctrine must be either “reformed” or “removed”.
Finally, the most destructive of all: ‘Dispensing of existence’. Our whole existence depends on the decision of the group and the group’s ideology. Only the group has the power to decide who is to live and who is to die. After reaching the eighth stage, the person will, in fact, feel pleasure in getting killed because he is serving his group by dying! The outside world becomes insignificant, the family becomes meaningless. We can say that he loses his identity. The group and its ideas becomes all in all.
(This concludes part1 of the article, part 2 will deal with ideas gleaned from Eric Fromm’s ‘Escape From Freedom’ and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘The Grand Inquisitor’ from ‘The Brothers Karamazov’.)
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-terrorism-jihad/thought-control,-psychology-totalism-case/d/11251