The modern definition of a mind control cult is any group which employs mind control and deceptive recruiting techniques. In other words how cults trick
people into joining and coerce them into staying. This is the definition that most people would agree with. Except the cults themselves of course!
According to howcultswork, cults use coercive manipulation techniques to keep their members in. All former members of MKO affirm the indoctrination practices in the cult of Rajavi.
Ibrahim Khodabande, a former member of the cult, writes:’’ the cult like activities and creation of gods, and the creation of a relationship of total submission and the use of mind control tactics which eventually results in insane and unbelievable actions like self immolations”
Cults include various types such as religious, commercial, political ….
Religious
Cults that use a belief system as their base are very common. Their belief system could be standard Christianity, Hinduism, Islam or any other of the world religions, or they may have invented their own belief system. What makes them a cult is the fact that they use mind control, not what they believe.
Commercial
Cults that use commercial gain as their base are called "cults of greed". They will promise you that if you join them and follow their special programme for success then you will become very rich. Often they will hold up their leader as an example and explain that if you do what he or she says then you will be successful too. Commercial cults use mind control to get you working for them for free, and to make you pay for an endless stream of motivational tapes, videos, books and seminars all of which are supposedly designed to help you succeed, but in reality are designed to enhance the cult’s mind control environment and keep you believing in their almost impossible dream of success. Of course they never mention that the primary way the leaders make money are by selling these motivation materials to their group! For more information see below under the section, "Pressure Selling".
Self Help & Counseling
Cults that use "self help" or counseling or self improvement as their base often target business people and corporations. By doing their courses and seminars they claim you and your staff will become more successful. Business people locked away in hotel rooms are subjected to quasi-religious indoctrination as they play strange games, join in group activities, and share their innermost thoughts with the group. Once you have completed one course you are told you need to do the more advanced course, which naturally costs more than the last. These cults will sometimes request that you do volunteer work and that you help recruit your friends, family and work mates. These groups specialize in creating powerful emotional experiences which are then used to validate your involvement in the cult. The religious overtones are couched in terms which don’t sound religious. They usually come to the surface as you near the end of a seminar. Many people have been bankrupted by involvement with these cults.
Political
Cults that use political ideals as their base are well known throughout history. Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Communist USSR were classic examples of mind control on a very large scale. On smaller scales white and black supremacists, terrorists, and rebel groups commonly use forms of mind control to recruit and dominate their members.
Mujahedin-e-Khalq is considered as a religious political cult for they advocate their own version of Shiite Islam mixed with Marxism ideology.
Therefore they have invented their own belief system.
Besides, they have their deceptive ways to earn money including charity foundations of which some have been outlawed in Europe, so they can be called commercial too since all the members are exploited to work for free. The terrorist cult of MKO has long been dominating its members (victims) with an illusion of a political achievement in Iran. And this is only a mirage that they have convinced the members to see for years.
Reference: HowCultsWork
By Mazdak Parsi
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