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Why did AUM Shinrikyo change its name to Aleph?
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new religious movement
As the leader of Peoples Temple, Jim Jones was notorious for instigating a shocking mass murder-suicide, the Jonestown Massacre, in 1978.
In early 2000, the leadership of the new religious movement formerly known as AUM Shinrikyo changed the organization's name to Aleph as part of a series of efforts to distance the group from its past crimes.1
Following the infamy and disarray caused by the 1995 Tokyo subway attack and other violent acts perpetrated by the group, the new leaders took several steps to reform the organization's public standing:
- They formally admitted to the role of the group's founder, Asahara Shoko, in a series of criminal acts, including the 1994 and 1995 gas attacks.1
- They distanced the organization from Asahara’s spiritual leadership.1
- They established a program to provide financial compensation to the families of the victims.1
These actions were intended to separate the group from the violent legacy of its founder and the terrorist activities that led to the group's decimation by authorities.1