CultNEWS101 Articles: 5/5/2026

[Patrick Ryan]

Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, Lubavitch, Scientology

The Guardian: Crewe religious group raided by police investigating allegations of serious sexual offences

"Police have raided the headquarters of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light following an investigation into allegations of serious sexual offences, modern slavery and forced marriage.

About 500 officers drawn from across the north-west of England were on the ground on Wednesday morning. Police confirmed nine people had been arrested in relation to the investigation and were being held in custody.

The officers had warrants to enter the group’s headquarters, which is based at a former orphanage, as well as other properties in Crewe, Cheshire.

The arrests come after Cheshire police were alerted in March about a woman, now based in the Republic of Ireland, who had made a complaint of being raped and sexually abused at AROPL’s headquarters. The force said the alleged offences took place in 2023 and involved the woman, who was a member of the group at the time.

Police said six men and three women were arrested on a range of suspicions including human trafficking, sexual assault, rape, forced marriage and modern day slavery offences. The suspects are American, Mexican, Spanish, Egyptian, Italian and Swedish.

A further 13 people have been arrested on suspicion of public order offences that do not relate to the investigation."

The Jewish Independent: My path to leaving Lubavitch

"I can’t pinpoint the day when I stopped believing in God. But some time during college I realised I simply didn’t believe anymore — just as children stop fearing the dark gradually and imperceptibly. I realised there was no one above peering down at me and judging me or keeping a tally of my merits and demerits. It was just me and billions of other people trying to live our lives on this pale blue dot of a planet, to use the astronomer Carl Sagan’s phrase.  

It’s as if you’re walking with someone along a trail and eventually realise that no one is walking beside you. You are alone, and the sensation of the other presence was all in your head. You were told that it was there, so you believed it; you accepted it without question. You wanted the companionship, so you imagined the other entity into being.  

But all the wishing in the world and all the hoping couldn’t change the simple reality that you had been alone all along. There was no “Aha!” moment when I realised I no longer believed in God. I only came to realise that my belief was gone when one after noon in a Mexican restaurant I felt comfortable ordering non-kosher chicken. I no longer feared a lightning bolt tearing through the sky to strike me dead. It was anticlimactic. I just sat there listening to 

NBC: Church of Scientology blasts TikTok 'speed running' trend as viral videos circulate

Los Angeles police said they are monitoring the trend and conducting extra patrols in the Hollywood area.

"A Church of Scientology building in the heart of Hollywood removed its door handles and restricted public entry this week after a bizarre social media trend prompted young people to rush inside and race through its halls.

Videos of the trend, some of which have picked up millions of views on TikTok and Instagram, feature participants recording themselves “speed running,” as if in a video game, through Scientology’s buildings in Hollywood. They are often seen dodging screaming church members and security guards until they are ultimately escorted out.

Scientology is a fiercely private religious group that follows the teachings of founder L. Ron Hubbard and has celebrity adherent, including A-list stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

The church slammed participants in a statement Wednesday, accusing the “speed running” participants of “trespassing, harassment and disruption of religious facilities.”

“Over recent weeks, individuals have repeatedly forced their way into Church properties on Hollywood Boulevard, disrupted religious and public facilities, damaged Church property, and endangered staff, parishioners and visitors,” the Church said.

Turning its spaces into “targets for viral stunts is not journalism, protest or civic activity,” it added."

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