Website
Hassan's website "Freedom of Mind" contains what he describes as information on "cults and controversial groups" and on which he offers his counseling and consultation services.
On his website Hassan distinguishes between what he terms as destructive cults and benign cults. A destructive cult, according to Hassan, has a "pyramid-shaped authoritarian regime with a person or group of people that have dictatorial control." and "uses deception in recruiting new members." In contrast, benign cults are, according to Hassan, "any group of people who have a set of beliefs and rituals that are non-mainstream." The website further states that "as long as people are freely able to choose to join with full disclosure of the group's doctrine and practices and can choose to disaffiliate without fear or harassment, then it doesn't fall under the behavioral/ psychological destructive cult category."
The site contains a disclaimer that not every group listed is necessarily what Hassan calls a "destructive mind control cult" Many of the groups Hassan lists are not included in the Handbook of Cults and Sects in America. There is also considerable disagreement about what precisely constitutes a cult. Some cult critics and some academics use the term "cult" despite its definitional ambiguity, but many academics who study such groups prefer the term "New Religious Movement".
Hassan dedicates his website "to respect for human rights, spirituality, and consumer awareness." A declaration of support for "religious freedom and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights" appears at the bottom of every page.
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