An Investigation into Imam Baqer's (a.s.) Anti-PSYOP Strategies Case Study: Preventive Strategies

Psychological operations are a set of planned, purpose-bound measures carried out by the enemies of Islam in order to fulfill the goals of domination, transformation of cultural identity, and changing the willpower, beliefs, and behavioral patterns. The history of mankind has always been the scene of the battle between the truth and the falsehood. As regards intellectual and social assaults, the age of Imam Baqer (a.s.) is considered an important period and a milestone in the life of the Shiites. Using various psychological techniques, the Umayyads directed the public opinion toward accepting the distorted truth. Under such circumstances, Imam Baqer (a.s.) did not hesitate to enlighten the public and their minds. Using the descriptive-analytic research method and adopting a cross-disciplinary approach, the present article explores Imam Baqer's preventive strategies in the face of the enemy's psychological operations from the perspective of narrative-historical sources and presents an overview of the Islamic strategy towards this issue. The present study reveals that Imam Baqer (a.s.) made the conditions unfavorable for the psychological measures of the Umayyads within the framework of the five reinforcement, institution, advice, control, and prevention techniques and his wise leadership caused the influence of the enemy's psychological operations to be minimized in the community.