by Sujit Das
Normal healthy people
The malignant Narcissists
1
Religion encourages people to live by a set of rules; both spiritual and moral.
Religion encourages a Narcissist to develop his own set of rules and get divine sanction for these. He believes he has a “direct connection” to God. Morality and spirituality are not important issues.
2
Religion brings people together as a community of believers. It discourages selfishness and encourages mutual cooperation. With more religious devotion, people are more loyal to their group and the members of that group.
Religion brings the Narcissist closer to his community of believers, but the group must magnify the Narcissist, echo and amplify his life, his views, his knowledge, and his personal history. This intertwining and enmeshing of individual is what makes the Narcissist most comfortable. He considers himself above the group.
3
Religion instills a belief in “something” greater than ourselves – and not just “something”, but a being to which we are held to account.
Religion instills a belief in a Narcissist that he is this “something”. In playing God, he is convinced that he is merely being himself. Even he has no hesitation to put people’s lives or properties at risk.
4
People search for truth in religion.
Narcissists search for more narcissistic supply sources. They are interested in a tailor-made religion.
Islam was such a purpose-built religion of Muhammad. He was a cold-blooded imposter; he knew what he was supposed to do to secure his needs. The best way of enslaving people was to create a religion. By this way, Muhammad was safe and unquestioned. It was his strong dominance urge that forced him to rise above Allah. Hence Islam was Allah’s religion by name only; actually it was the religion of Muhammad. Vaknin (cited Sina, 2008, p. 66) observed, “ Narcissists use anything they can lay their hands on in the pursuit of Narcissistic supply. If God, creed, church, faith, and institutionalized religion can provide them with Narcissistic supply, they will become devout. They will abandon religion if it cannot. ” Muhammad was at the center in his clever plan of self-elevation. The Islamic theory of guidance simply means following Muhammad blindly; any question or hesitation is tantamount to blasphemy which leads to hell.
Muhammad achieved this self-elevation by watching his steps carefully. First he introduced himself as a humble spokesman of Allah, claimed that he had the authority, preached the oneness of Allah and advocated the destruction of all the idols of Ka’ba so that they should not rival Allah. When his followers accepted his advocacy, the supremacy and oneness of Allah were firmly established. Now He took the second step very judiciously. He put himself in a rank higher than Allah by becoming an object of “praise of Allah and His angels” (Q: 33.56). How nicely he used Allah’s authority to devalue Allah – the same God who had authorized him. If Allah and His angels shower praises on Muhammad, obviously, all the believers are bound to follow this pattern of human worshipping otherwise they are disobeying Allah’s instruction. After some hesitation, when the Muslims agreed to Muhammad-worshipping, Muhammad took the ultimate bold step. He forced his Allah to accept the same Muhammad-worshipping along with the common Muslims. Now, Allah salutes Muhammad and confirms His humiliating status by a revelation.
… and when they (nonbelievers) come to thee, they salute thee, not as Allah salutes thee, (but in crooked ways) . .. Enough for them is Hell: In it will they burn, and evil is that destination! (Q: 58.8)
How many Muslims have ever noticed this dirty trick of Muhammad? In the history of Gods no God is as miserable as Allah. What other proof is required to show that Muhammad was actually an imposter, and the religion he preached was a fake? Narcissists do not promote themselves directly because by this way they would be exposed shortly (Sina, 2008, p. 69). Hence, Muhammad first found a suitable God, elevated that God over other Gods and then elevated himself over the same God at His cost. Vaknin (1999, p. 147) commented, “ [The Narcissist believes that] God ‘serves’ him in certain junctions and conjunctures of his life, through divine intervention. He believes that his life is such momentous importance, that it is micro-managed by God ”.
A popular Persian saying goes like this, “BaKhuda Diwana Bashad Ba Muhammad Hoshiyar” (Faith & McCallum, 2005, p. 132), which means; “Take liberties with Allah, but be careful with Muhammad”. It proves my point. Allah is just a decorative convenience. Praising Muhammad is an integral part of the daily prayers of the Muslims – “La ilaha illa Allah wa-Muhammad rasul Allah”. This is called Shahada (Muslim declaration of faith). It means; “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God”. A Muslim utters those words several times a day. The Shahada is also recited in the muzzein’s call to prayer, included in the Salat (daily ritual prayer) and incorporated in Sufi meditative prayer. It is also recited in the moments before death. Muhammad associated himself with Allah in such a way that practically they became inseparable. By recitation of this confession of faith, the early Muslims were fulfilling the narcissistic needs of Muhammad as they are still doing it today. Muslims are actually the “slaves of Muhammad”.
The Narcissist wants to leave a legacy (Sina, 2008, p. 66). He fears death because he realizes that he would not have same type of control in the afterlife (Zayn & Dibble, 2007, p. 92). On his deathbed, Muhammad instructed his followers to continue their jihad against the infidels. Non-stop jihad is the fruit of Islam which is the means to raise Muhammad above the mark of divinity. Muhammad wanted to be eternal like God. For achieving this he left behind him a devoted, dedicated and determined band of followers. Therefore, when a Muslim sacrifices his life in jihadi terrorism thinking that he is doing a service for Islam and Allah, actually he is carrying the personal flag of Muhammad. In this sense Islam is idolatry.
Many of the early Meccans and contemporaries of Muhammad recognized him as an imposter. There was large scale apostasy amongst those early Muslims.
Those who believe, then reject faith, then believe (again) and (again) reject faith, and go on increasing in unbelief, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them nor guide them on the way. (Q: 4.137)
I heard the Apostle say, ‘I have never invited anyone to accept Islam who has not shown signs of reluctance, suspicion and hesitation .’ (Ishaq: 116).
Immediately after Muhammad’s death Islam fell apart in Arabia and most of the tribes returned to their original faith. Ninety percent of all Arabs refused to pay zakat, and thus turned renegades (Shaikh, 1995, p. 48). Muslim historians state that most Arabs considered Islam synonymous with plundering and loot. After the death of Muhammad, Arabs thought that with Muhammad out of the picture, there would be no more lucrative raids or wars to line their pockets and satisfy their lust. Hence, many of the tribes repudiated Islam and became renegades. Some of them said, if Muhammad had really been God’s messenger then he would not have died. Others mentioned that his religion would only last during his lifetime (Warraq, 2000, p. 145). In sum; those apostates completely discarded Muhammad and looked at Islam with much suspicion. The leaders of the opposition to Islam posed as Prophets and political leaders, hoping to emulate Muhammad. The opposition movements that arose took one of two forms. One group challenged both the political control of Medina and the religious claims of Islam by proposing rival ideologies. The second type of rebellion was more political in character. It was a tax rebellion against the Islamic state. Let alone the rebels; even the Muslims had hardly shown any respect to Islam.
Narrated Hamza bin `Abdullah: My father said.”During the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle, the dogs used to urinate, and pass through the mosques, nevertheless they never used to sprinkle water on it (urine of the dog)”. (Bukhari: 1.4.174)
Islam started with a purely political motive. It was a political struggle with many competitors to achieve power. Many other Prophets were at rat race with Muhammad. Most of the murders organized by Muhammad in the name of Allah were political mur
ders and his political agenda was advanced by securing and dividing plunder. As Sina (2008, p. 169) wrote, “ Islam was not created to teach humans spirituality, nor make them enlightened. The spiritual message in Islam is secondary or virtually nonexistent. Piety in Islam means emulating Muhammad, a man who was far from pious. Rituals like prayers and fasting are mere window dressing to lure unbelievers inside, to give Islam the appearance of sacredness and spirituality. False Prophets can deceive only in sheep clothing ”.
Many religious aspects of Islam were later additions. After Muhammad died, the Caliphs realized that the cult of Muhammad was an excellent tool that could be used to raise a strong and spiritually dedicated army, to gain power and to become rich. In haste, they compiled the Qur’an to keep Islam steady going. Ahmed (2006, p. 100) gave one example of the wars of apostasy (Muslim historians denote this as Hurb al-Riddah) that Caliph Abu Bakr waged against some Arab tribes; “ Abu Bakr’s wars were political wars and had nothing to do with religion. He waged his wars against those who refused to accept his claim to lead the Muslim community. In order to justify his wars, Abu Bakr clothed them with divinity. He fabricated hadith to justify the killing of the Muslim Arabs and attributed the hadith to the Prophet ”. Early history of Islam was full of forgeries, because Muslim historians often suppressed the facts.
Sina (2008, p. 67) commented, “ It is a mistake to think of Islam as a religion. The religious/spiritual aspect of Islam was created later by Muslim philosophers and mystics who gave esoteric interpretations to Muhammad’s asinine words. His followers molded the religion according to their penchant, and with the passage of time, those interpretations inherited the seal of antiquity and thus credibility ”.
Sina’s assertion is true. The early Muslims were hardly religious in the strict sense of the term. Islam has hardly anything new which were not there during pre-Islamic days. It is pagan beliefs plus the prophethood of Muhammad. Muhammad was not an original thinker; his intention was to borrow from other religious scriptures everything that seemed capable of strengthening his doctrine and attracting followers. Whatever good exists in Islam was all shamelessly plagiarized from Judaism and Christianity. This “ignorance” and “spiritual bankruptcy” of Islamic doctrine and pre-Islamic rituals continued well in the first Islamic century. Indeed Islam could not be properly said to have existed in the sense of a fixed dogma until later (Warraq, 2003, p. 42). The “indoctrination” of Islam continued taking shape when Islam had to confront Christianity, a much more advanced rival religion. Many of the early Muslims were pure hypocrites. Qur’an says,
Of the people there are some who say: “We believe in Allah and the Last Day;” but they do not (really) believe . (Q: 2.8)
They had no respect for Muhammad. When the booty captured at Hunayn was divided among the Muslims, some of the followers of Muhammad were not happy. They became violent with Muhammad.
Narrated Jubair bin Mut`im: That while Allah’s Apostle was on his way back from Hunayn, the Bedouins started begging for things so aggressively that they forced him to go under a Samura tree where his outer garment was snatched away. On that, Allah’s Apostle stood up [in his undergarments] and said, ‘Return my clothes. If I had as many camels as these trees, I would have distributed them amongst you; and you will not find me a miser, liar or coward .’ (Bukhari: 4.53.376)
[The rebels in demanded] ‘Muhammad, divide the spoil and booty of camels and cattle among us’. They [the rebels] forced the Prophet up against a tree, and his robe was torn from him. Muhammad cried, ‘Give me back my robe. If there had been more sheep I would have given you some. You have not found me to be niggardly, cowardly or false . (Tabari: IX.31; Ishaq: 594)
This is what happens if the bandit leader cannot pay his accomplices.
Narrated by Anas bin Malik; Muhammad prayed, O Allah! I seek refuge with you from distress and sorrow, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, from being heavily in debt and from being overcome by men . (Bukhari: 4.52.143).
This was how Muhammad saw himself, and in fact, it was what he had become in the hands of his greedy followers. This lazy and blood-sucking Prophet of Islam never earned a meal by any honest means. He had no idea how hard-earned money looks like. All his money and property were looted from others. He did not know how to value capital or labor. Therefore, no matter how much he robbed, he always felt that it was less for him. He was scared of running heavily in debt.
Even Muhammad’s close associate Hamza did not show him respect. Once Hamza was drinking in this house with others, and a girl singer was singing. At one moment the girl said in her song, “Hamza, get up for slaughtering the fat she-camels.” (Muslim: 23.4879). Hearing this, Hamza rushed to his sword and cut off the Ali’s camels’ humps and cut their flanks open and took out portions from their livers. Seeing this Ali started weeping and complained to Muhammad and then,
Narrated ‘Ali: The Prophet started blaming Hamza. Hamza was drunk and his eyes were red. He looked at the Prophet then raised his eyes to look at his knees and raised his eyes more to look at his face and then said, “You are not but my father’s slaves.” When the Prophet understood that Hamza was drunk, he retreated, and walking backwards went out. (Bukhari: 5.59.340)
This is the height of insult Muhammad had to take from others. He was not a very respectable figure in the eyes of many of his followers. They were hardcore bandits and rapists and they had joined Muhammad only for opportunities. They had seen Muhammad closely and they knew that Muhammad was delusional and his claims were untruthful. However, the fact cannot be denied that some of his followers truly believed in his claims and his descriptions of heaven and hell. Sina (2008, p. 67) commented, “If we think of religion as a philosophy of life to educate, to bring forth human potential, to elevate the soul, to stimulate spirituality, to unite hearts and to enlighten mankind, then Islam surely fails that litmus test completely. Therefore, by this measure, Islam should not and cannot be regarded as a religion” .
6.2: Islam: The Cult of a Malignant Narcissist
“Without deceit and sword, Islam would have been stillborn.”
Craig Winn
“No matter how you look at Islam it turns out to be a foolish religion.”
Ali Sina (Ghamidi et. al, 2007, p. 211)
The term “cult” was originally used to denote a group which follows strange or sinister ritual practices. The cult leader uses some form of coercive persuasion or mind control to recruit and maintain members by suppressing their ability to reason, to think critically, and to make choices in their own best interest. Mind control is a pure psychological manipulation. Slowly, the followers turn into totally dependent on the group and the leader. They are even ready to abandon their friends, families, and the community to show their devotion to their leader. Cults are at high risk of becoming abusive to the members – physical, financial and psychological.
Many cults are peaceful and harmless, but there are some deadly or destructive cults where the cultist twists some harmless beliefs into dangerous activities that present a serious threat, both to their members and the common people. There are many recorded incidents where these cults have physically injured or killed other individuals deliberately, or have a high probability of causing harm to others.
All these cult leaders are Narcissists in one form or another. First they tell a lie, and then they sincerely believe their own lie. By seeing their sincerity, people around them think that they have some type of special insight, or relationship with God that gives them inside knowledge (Snow, 2003, p. 109). This way, when this belief system is established, these false Prophets can have tremendous control over the lives of the people who believed in them. As Vaknin (cited Sina, 2008, p. 63) explains, “ The Narcissist is the guru at the centre of a cult. Like other gurus, he demands complete obedience from his flock: his spouse, his offspring, other family members, friends, and colleagues. He feels entitled to adulation and special treatment by his followers. He punishes the wayward and the strayi
ng lambs. He enforces discipline, adherence to his teachings, and common goals. The less accomplished he is in reality – the more stringent his mastery and the more pervasive the brainwashing .”
Can we find some similarities? Muhammad never thought of the spiritual upbringing of his followers. He tried to subvert the human will with total and complete obedience to him, the proxy God of Islam. Muhammad needed admirers. He drew an imaginary circle around himself where he was the center. The purpose of other people was to serve him.
Narrated by Anas; The Prophet said: None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind . (Bukhari: 1.2.14)
Vaknin continues, “ He alone determines the rights and obligations of his disciples and alters them at will … The Narcissist is a micro-manager. He exerts control over the minutest details and behaviors. He punishes severely and abuses withholders of information and those who fail to conform to his wishes and goals… Within his cult, he expects awe, admiration, adulation, and constant attention commensurate with his outlandish stories and assertions. He reinterprets reality to fit his fantasies ”.
For Muslims everything is “Insha’Allah” spoken through Muhammad’s tongue. In theory, Allah and Muhammad together command the Muslims, but in practice, Muhammad alone determines the rights and obligations of his followers. As Vaknin wrote, “ The Narcissist does not respect the boundaries and privacy of his reluctant adherents. He ignores their wishes and treats them as objects or instruments of gratification. He seeks to control both situations and people compulsively… His thinking is dogmatic, rigid, and doctrinaire ” (cited Sina, 2008, p. 63). Muhammad’s jihad was directed to these “reluctant adherents”. In Islam, all non-Muslims, due to their nonbelieving status, are reluctant adherents. Muhammad had a strong urge to control both the people and circumstances.