Recently, a mysterious internet "group" calling itself "Anonymous" came forward and declared war on Scientology. On February 10th there were international peaceful protests staged at the churches around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, parts of South America, Japan, and South Africa, as well as throughout Europe and the United States. Anonymous has also instigated a campaign of pernicious mischief, to hinder church activities and for achieving "lulz," or personal amusement.

The uncensored version of this macro can be grabbed here.

The media has been asking who "Anonymous" is, and who or what the organizing force is behind these protests. From the beginning, Anonymous has stuck to the message that they are not, strictly speaking, an organized group, but are individuals working together to protest and take action against Scientology. People are choosing to remain anonymous because many anecdotes on the internet exist about how people working for the church attempt to discredit critics of the church. Indeed, there are already claims made by Scientologists that members of Anonymous have sent envelopes of white powder to churches in Southern California, while Anonymous continues to stress the importance of peaceful protesting.

Anonymous's stated goals, released in a YouTube video (available here) got millions of views. What prompted thousands of people who are normally content observing the news and the world from behind their computer screens hit the streets in protest? Most people seem to think the impetus was the leakage of a Scientology video featuring Tom Cruise, meant for internal church use only. Here is part of their declaration:

Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of misinformation; suppression of dissent; your litigious nature, all of these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your malign influence over those who trust you, who call you leader, has been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your organization should be destroyed. For the good of your followers, for the good of mankind--for the laughs--we shall expel you from the Internet and systematically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form. We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign. You will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell.

The whole transcript can be accessed here.

However, this recent action against the Church of Scientology is nothing new in the history of the internet. For over ten years, individuals and groups such as Operation Clambake, Xenu TV, and Lermanet.com have sought to expose the secrets of the church and tell the stories of former members. Many critics of Scientology claim that Scientology meets the defining criteria of a cult, and that they should lose their tax-exempt status in countries where Scientology is classified as a religion. Other critics claim that the church, due to its' beliefs and policies, has been responsible for the deaths or injuries of members, like Lisa McPherson, who died in 1995 under the care of Scientologists. In fact, the recent worldwide protests were staged this month on February 10 because it was McPherson's birthday and was partly in remembrance of her life.

So what's next? Anonymous is planning their next "raid," or protest, on the Ides of March. It will be interesting to watch this evolve as protests and actions continue. Will Scientology be declassified as a religion in other countries, as it has been in Germany? Will others think twice before joining the church, or will membership increase?

Tory Christman, a former member of the Church of Scientology, writes about her experience with the church and her life after leaving. Fascinating read!

Irina Slutsky for GeekTV. These interviews are obviously done mostly for laughs, but the former Scientology interviewed in the middle of the segment is interesting.

CoSplay, a site listing upcoming actions.

Joanne Colan for Rocketboom on the protests.

Flickr album of the protest in Seattle, Washington.

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SJ is an SP almost daily at I, Asshole.