Due to lack of comprehension of the Qur’an, the modern Muslim terrorist has emerged with self-created concepts of Islam, which is like an unconditioned response produced by a conditioned stimulus (false interpretation of Qur’an attached to a false concept of Jihad).
While teaching and training the university graduates, the writer got an opportunity to do research and present seminars on this subject. It was found that the impact of induced hypnotic state in a terrorist depends on the process and procedure adapted by the mullahs/teachers of the blind follower under an organized brainwashing system, which is contrary to Islamic practices and
Teaching of Qur’an. Therefore, a detailed analysis with clinical solution on individual and national level is presented for the awareness of the public, government policyholders and especially the parents, who need to be vigilant in rearing and teaching adolescents in the repressed and economically challenged tribal areas.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE OF A TERRORIST
Prior to presentation of psychological causes of terrorism, one must be aware of the psychological profile of a terrorist. It is important to note that no one is a born terrorist or extremist. If it is a learnt behavior and personal trend, then it can be corrected through counter-conditioning for developing a normal peaceful human being. So, it is necessary to know how (a) a certain person is mentally prepared as a terrorist by (b) certain politically-oriented religious/tribal heads as a (c) training through a (d) specific psychological process for an (e) obsessive-compulsive reaction to achieve a specific target.
The presented psychological data is the result of the author’s practices, evidence of 9/11/2001 & its aftereffects as well as media’s role against Islam in the western countries. In order to analyze the terrorists’ & extremists’ motives by using certain Targets groups in the prevailing educational, cultural, religious, socio-economic & legal system, it is important to see the inputs of certain local elements, government & global reactions, and leaders’ and citizens’ roles in promoting this business.
Reason demands that we find out why a citizen violates a law and hurts other people under revenge or obsessive-compulsive life-threatening behavior. Psychologically, when one has no chance to get his rights or claim genuine sources to live as an honorable citizen in his community, then he is internally forced to get attention negatively as he is sick of society. So, he demands change with a desperate need for recognition, but due to hatred against authority, he looks for means and outlets for his repressed aggression. He seeks satisfaction after torturing the ruling class, and takes revenge for his crushed ego of early life. He becomes reactive against the injustice and maltreatment of the society. When he reaches the saturated state from social deprivation, he counter reacts due to inability to meet his deficits.
From the start of human socialization, in semi-literate areas, common man used religion as an option for getting soothing effect. Even in Indian caste system, the role of a Brahman is very important in decision making, performing rituals and interpretation in state or tribal affairs. There exists a key conditioning and blind trust in the true follower. African tribal study by the western psychologists explain the phenomenon of voodoo death which is an element of death under the spell of a religious head’s verdict, creating a deep hypnotic impact on the religious believers of the clans.
In Islam, importance is given to observe the mannerism of the great Prophet based on only the Qur’anic versions without any distinction of sex, rank, caste, group or origin. Islam gives priority to tolerance and moderation in life. The main focus is on the kindness and blessings of God with a direct link between the Lord and individuals, as stated in V-3:31 and V-16:119.
Unfortunately, the orthodox religious preacher has added perfectionism and strict control on the normal instinctive needs. This has generated various psychological ailments and personality disorders such as hysteria and compulsive-obsessive reactions in the blind followers, who have no authority to challenge the religious head in the orthodox practices. These religious heads play with the beliefs of the sincere and devoted but ill-informed and sentimental followers in various nations. Such quacks have been propagating that they have the spiritual power to issue a certificate of approval from Allah, which is contradictory to Islamic values. Their followers follow their command without questioning their power or knowledge. Qur’an describes that the fate of each individual will be decided according to his deeds in the life time. So, those who follow the right path or oppose it, he will be treated accordingly and no one will take the burden of other, as revealed in V-17:15.
MENTAL PROGRAMMING OF A TERRORIST FOR ACTION
The mastermind and leader of a terrorist organization play a key role in carrying out their aggressive attacks successfully. They have been organizing like paramilitary forces to sabotage established society. The training varies from individual to a group according to situations in the target area. Hence, they give priority to success in training their groups for a deeper impact on the targeted people and important institutions. High rewards and commitment to the group cause become the motivating forces for the participants in such criminal actions. So, as professional criminals, through funding, they set military-type training centers. They use sophisticated arms, sensitive information like thorough maps, inhabitants’ living patterns, local references, and trained resistance in combat situation etc. before conducting an attack. Using war-like techniques of merging in the people to study the time and location for the action, they prepare the terrorist in shape and uniform to dodge the civil administration. The unpatriotic stance of the public and the selfish devotees of these groups make their task easy to achieve in a well-established state.
In order to understand the process of training of a terrorist mind, one must understand the mentality of an expected terrorist. Psychologically, the selection of the terrorist is based on the handicapped mental state and personality traits that play a key role in preparing a future target. Mostly adolescents are selected for this job who are kidnapped, those inducted on the local tribal decision, those who have an urge to prove their honor in the tribe, those who are mesmerized to be martyrs among the clan adolescents, those with a mission to take revenge from foreign agencies, those captivated by economic attractions, those who were psychologically humiliated or have an acute abnormal mental state. Those who are recruited have also faced severe repression of their adolescent instinctive needs and are converted under blind religious devotion and enchantment to get paradise with virgins on completion of suicidal bombing, etc.
Unfortunately, these people follow the religion based on the hearsay of their eldest without any comprehension of the Qur’an. Their beliefs are based on rigid tribal concepts which are passed from generation to generation through the Mullahs/Imams within the clans.
The goal of the potential terrorist is: gain of money, mental relief, group/tribal recognition, great rewards from the existing socio-economic and psychological state, relief from tension of job or placement, attraction to be symbol of clan dignity, martyr hood and joining the deceased, approval as a hero, mental peace over revenge f past humiliation, a bright future for the family, and religious belief of high rewards after a sinful or guilt-ridden life. The cognition state of the participant is: blocked normal intellectual functioning skills due to repressed Id with anxiety, attached to a relief model (ego defense mechanism).
Mostly such terrorists have limited information or are subject to false information, possess undeveloped cognitive skills, have poor exposure to reasoning, and have limited access to interaction. Psychologically, they act under the spell of collective unconscious forces (recorded culture, myth and beliefs) due to geographical and environmental conditions.
The process of mental preparation is based on systematic desensitization and programmed behavior with reinforcement for achieving a target behavior, such as:
Repeated brainwashing and attaching reward to an obsessed thought; forcing action though a coded command based on the local culture and rituals.
As far as the effective state of a terrorist is concerned, their repressed aggression against authority is diverted toward a target, and they wish to get relief only from the tension and stress which is induced by compulsion. Mostly, they have discontentment with the world, cultural pressures, injustice and have self-tortured tendency due to experiences of a selfish world and cultural provocation.
The most important are the personality traits and psychic component of the terrorist which are main ingredient of this mental processing. They are mostly: “Lonesome, desperate, confused, rejected, over-ruled/ insulted, defeated, introvert, rigid, having delusions and illusions, depressed, humiliated, suppressed, helpless to pass life on one’s own authenticity and meet his dreams of life, desire/urge to get approval of his beloved and prove his worth, do something unique for recognition and have a spiritual reward of high esteem.”
As far as the brain washing of such persons is concerned, the clinical processing takes place from various perspectives of human nature. They may be as under:
1. Compulsion: (High confusion due to repressed Id impulses leading to severe anxiety of punishment) has an irresistible urge to perform it, experiencing considerable distress (guilt, sin, Lord’s punishment) if withheld from not performing it immediately.
2. Repeatedly programmed fear/anxiety is induced for dire consequences if the act is not performed as a ritual created by the Religious/Tribal Head (Conditioning).
3. Stages of Obsession/Hypnotic States:
I. Confused/doubts II. Obsessed thoughts III. Obsessed Impulses
IV. Obsessed fear with image of punishment if the induced thought is not performed V. Yielding for Compulsion VI. Blindly following till action is completed.
4. Dis-associative Reaction: Hysterical personality (loss of own memory, identity, worth or purpose of existence), flees away from his routine life, usual surrounding, --an altered state of mind—entire new goals, new life with new action, may be quite contrary to his real personality (conscious split off, massive repression, repressed Id/sexual urges and impulsive sexual satisfaction but, due to super-ego control, converted into a defense mechanism.)
5. Over-riding importance of infantile sexual conflicts, stressful events may be sexually abused or maltreated by an authority) turns into psychic state of revenge till completing through a programmed behavior.
6. Cognitive process & Philosophy of Existence: a form of existential neurosis---Superego and Ego imposed forcefully by the external world/agents and society that the person is experiencing a high level of anxiety in a stressful traumatic situation but has no social skills to handle it by himself and easily comes under suggestibility of an ‘teacher,’ has no freedom of choice, helpless and hopeless state is imposed to adopt a particular philosophy of life by authoritarian and unquestionable super power of a tribe head (Do or Die Situation, No Way Out)
7. Mortal in a material world: Immaterial individual with feelings of no selectivity or choice (Maddi) becomes a dependent personality- only following a cult is the purpose of life. “Death or life means nothing to an individual, over-charged person without a reason. There is gross disruption in the social order—no personal identity. Death becomes the goal of achievement of the life to meet dear ones.
8. Knowingly facing and running toward the end of life to achieve the purpose of life, i.e. Virgin blessed in paradise to a martyr.
9. An Acute state of mind—depressed and directed to meet the dear ones after death- otherwise, guilt feelings in survival without taking revenge from the enemy (as told and pointed out by the Religious/Tribal Head)
10. Over-charged ANS, endocrine glands, uncontrolled and regenerating psycho-neurological system, leading to impulses as well as confused normal thinking and perception along with decision-making skills, reasoning stopped, illusion and delusions prevail and control all thoughts for quick action.
11. Clinical Hypnotic State of Mind:- Blind, unconscious follower to act under a coded program (cognitive variables injected by his competent authority on repeated brainstorming, losing the skills of reasoning, merely following the plan step by step on self-reinforced values (Carved in thoughts- Piaget).
After deterring a potential terrorist for suicidal bombing, the most important job is the training process with autosuggestion strategies adapted by the terrorist recruiter. The concerned terrorist is placed in isolation under constant prescribed mental state and conditioning process. He then develops a self-reinforced program through auto-suggestion, meditation
(solitary place, closed eyes visualizing and planning as ritual by cutting down his own urges and identity, concentrating only on the target information, Reinforcements: attaches Divine approval & heavenly rewards, awaiting Hoor (gift of a virgin beautiful woman in paradise) and fulfillment of long- awaited desires and repressed Id impulses.
He practices to such an extent that his fantasies starts to appear a reality and reality just a fantasy. He imagines the recognition of his contributions as a martyr by his clan and significant others, and all his dreams of impulses ready to be fulfilled only at a distance between accomplishment of his mission (blasting the enemy target identified by his religious or tribal head) relieving himself from the worldly sufferings, stresses and aggression induced by opponents and getting God’s approval in the form of his dream of Heaven.
* The reader should study and comprehend the mental state of the terrorist in reference to various Paradigms as given in Abnormal & Clinical Psychology.
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