Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aum and currently as Aleph, is a cult from Japan that combines tenets from Buddhism, Hinduism, and has an obsession with the apocalypse. The cult’s founder Shoko Asahara, claims that he is the first "enlightened one" since Buddha. Despite claiming to be enlightened, he incorrectly claimed the end of the world would happen in 1996 or between 1999 and 2003 (Fletcher 2012, para.2). Asahara claimed that the United States could be lured into a war with Japan and the situation would hasten the apocalypse that only followers of the cult would survive. Aum built great wealth by operating electronic businesses as well as restaurants, additionally; members were required to sign over their estates the cult. The cult claimed
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An original plan of Aum’s was a botulin attack on civilians with the agent sprayed from building roofs and modified delivery vans. In June 1993, Aum released anthrax spores from a Tokyo building; the foul smelling spores killed some pets and birds, but no citizens. Aum even sent young scientists to Zaire in 1993 to study and collect samples of the dreaded Ebola virus. Aum even sttempted to attack American military bases with sprayed botulin. All the while, Aum scientists cultured and experimented with biological agents such as botulin, anthrax, cholera, and Q fever. These failed biological resulted in Aum to switching their methods of attack to chemical weapons. In 1994, Aum launched a sarin attack on a residential neighborhood which killed seven and injured more than one hundred people. The attack that Aum is most infamous for was the sarin attack on 20 March 1995. On this date, Aum members simultaneously released the chemical nerve agent on several Tokyo subway trains, killing 12 persons and injuring up to 6,000 (Pike 2004, para.2). Despite the high causality rate, it would have been higher if the members had been better trained in the execution of their attack. A massive manhunt ensued with Shoko Asahara and many others being
An original plan of Aum’s was a botulin attack on civilians with the agent sprayed from building roofs and modified delivery vans. In June 1993, Aum released anthrax spores from a Tokyo building; the foul smelling spores killed some pets and birds, but no citizens. Aum even sent young scientists to Zaire in 1993 to study and collect samples of the dreaded Ebola virus. Aum even sttempted to attack American military bases with sprayed botulin. All the while, Aum scientists cultured and experimented with biological agents such as botulin, anthrax, cholera, and Q fever. These failed biological resulted in Aum to switching their methods of attack to chemical weapons. In 1994, Aum launched a sarin attack on a residential neighborhood which killed seven and injured more than one hundred people. The attack that Aum is most infamous for was the sarin attack on 20 March 1995. On this date, Aum members simultaneously released the chemical nerve agent on several Tokyo subway trains, killing 12 persons and injuring up to 6,000 (Pike 2004, para.2). Despite the high causality rate, it would have been higher if the members had been better trained in the execution of their attack. A massive manhunt ensued with Shoko Asahara and many others being