4. Shoko Asahara
The event that made this man notorious and also one of the most dangerous cult leaders happened on March 20, 1995, when the members of Aum Shinrikyo, translated as “Supreme Truth,” released poisonous gas in five Tokyo subway trains. It all happened during the morning at rush hour, and 13 people were killed.
The targeted metro stations were in an area of Tokyo where many Japanese government officials and Asahara believed that this would trigger a battle with the government. This never really happened, but innocent people were harmed, and some of them even passed away.
Asahara, or Chizuo Matsumoto, since this is his real name, was born into a poor family, and while he was still young, he lost part of his vision as a result of illness. Did this make him one of the scary cult leaders? Maybe, but there is no excuse to commit such crimes.
During the 1980s, he established his cult, a religious organization that combined ideas from the Bible, Buddhist and Hindu philosophies, and even prophecies of Nostradamus. Not long after, he began to claim that he could levitate and read minds. This made his followers admit him more and also attracted more members.
At the moment of the Tokyo subway attack, the cult had around 40.000 followers. 10.000 of them were in Japan, and surprisingly, the rest of the 30.000 were in Russia. After the attack, Asahara was caught by police somewhere near Mount Fuji, and he was arrested.
In 2004, he was sentenced to death, and in 2018, he was executed on July 6. His cult still exists today and is called Aleph. The number of followers is smaller, but the fact that these people still follow his teachings is a piece of evidence that this person was one of the most influential cult leaders that ever existed.
If you want to learn more about some of the most notorious cults, this book can be a good read: Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them
You should also read: Jonestown: 7 Secrets of Jim Jones’ Shocking Cult
2 Responses
You need to add Donald Trump’s cult.
“… a few altercations with California congressman Leo Ryan …”
Altercations? His henchman murdered Mr. Ryan and his staff when the came to Guyana to investigate. Quite a detail to omit!