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This is Zach D Roberts, I’m an investigative photojournalist and cofounder of Visu.News. This is the Visu.News Podcast – Isolated Incidents edition. Each month I interview an expert in the world of extremism on a topic in the news – this month I’m speaking with Alisa Mahjoub. They are an independent researcher of the relationship between the Unification Church cult group and United States imperialism/fascism.
This month the former prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe was assassinated – this was because of Abe’s connections with the Unification Church. I’ll post more info in the show notes on this but I figured this was a good reason to have Alisa on to discuss their leaving the church and what this somewhat mysterious organization is like.
My real introduction to the Unification Church was covering the ‘gun cult’ in Northern Pennsylvania led by Pastor Sean Moon – the son of the founder of the Unification Church, Reverend Sun Myung Moon for The Progressive Magazine. There is a much larger Unification church that is thriving around the world – especially in South Korea, Japan, and the US. Sean Moon’s Rod of Iron Ministries is just a small part of it.
About Alisa:
Alisa Mahjoub (they/them), is an independent researcher of the relationship between the Unification Church cult group and United States imperialism/fascism. Having grown up in the UC, Alisa is now part of a yet unnamed collective of ex UC members who are actively working to expose the church’s various state sanctioned human rights abuses, provide relevant information to the public, and offer support and resources on deradicalization to those who have exited or are interested in exiting the cult. You can find Alisa on twitter at
Follow Alisa on Twitter at @alisa_mahjoub
Support their work at patreon.com/AlisaMahjoub
Links:
Articles on shooting motivation: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/15/national/crime-legal/yamagami-abe-shooting-motivation/
My photo-essay on the Rod of Iron Festival https://progressive.org/latest/love-guns-god-and-donald-trump-roberts-211018/
