Negeri Sembilan: police arrest members of Millah Abraham, 'heretical' Islamic sect

According to the prosecution, the sect, declared deviant by the Islamic religious authorities in 2019, operates clandestinely throughout the country. It believes in the existence of a new prophet, recites an alternative shahādah and seeks to merge Islam, Judaism and Christianity into a single faith. Notebooks, a laptop computer and mobile phones were also seized during the arrests.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) - A 50-year-old Muslim man, Norasid Said, was sentenced to one month in prison and a two thousand Malaysian ringgit fine (just under 400 euro) for instructing his wife in deviant religious teachings related to the cult of Millah Abraham. For the same reason, a couple and their 16-year-old son were arrested and are under investigation.

For Judge Ruzita Ramli Norasid, a street musician, allegedly confessed during interrogation to teachings contrary to sharia, the Islamic law. He was charged with committing the offence from 1 to 30 September last year under Section 52 of the Syariah Criminal Enactment (Negeri Sembilan) 1992, amended in 2019. The provision carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment or a fine of 5 thousand ringgit, or both.

During the court proceedings, brought by Abdul Wafi Ramli, Hafiz Lazim and Amil Yahya, while Norasid was not represented by a lawyer, the public prosecutor asked the court to impose the maximum sentence, because the case would offend the faith of Muslims. The defendant, who has three children, pleaded for a lighter sentence because he is HIV-positive, self-employed and has an income of less than 1,200 ringgit per month. He also asked to be tried on two other charges related to his teachings, which will be heard in October.

Meanwhile, a married couple and their 16-year-old son were arrested for following the teachings of the same 'heretical' religious sect in Negeri Sembilan, on the west coast of the Malaysian peninsula. The head of the operational unit of the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department, Ahmad Zaki Hamzah, reported that the couple was in their 40s and that their son did not attend school.

The family had stayed at the Felda Sungai Kelamah plantation in Tampin. The couple had been renting a house in the settlement for the past six months, while the son had remained in their original home in Felda Palong 3. Notebooks, a laptop computer and mobile phones were also seized during the arrests.

According to the religious authorities, the family had adhered to the family's strictest teachings and had also been propagating them to local residents for over a year. In addition to believing in the existence of a new prophet, offering a different shahādah (the testimony of faith by which a Muslim declares his belief in one and only God and in Muhammad's prophetic mission) and attempting to merge three religions - Islam, Judaism and Christianity - they did not consume meat that was not slaughtered by the sect.

Throughout this time, the group would operate discreetly, meeting in restaurants or cafes. The members, including professionals, are scattered all over the country and have an unidentified leader to whom they often refer. The couple and their son are remanded in custody under Section 52 of the 1992 Negeri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment for 'dubious teachings' and ideology of a deviant nature from the dictates of the Islamic faith.

The phenomenon of 'Islamic' inspired groups considered deviant is not new to the Malaysian archipelago. In the past, the Southeast Asian nation has had to deal with Al-Arqam, an Islamic religious cult based in the country and led by the late Ashaari Mohammad, among others. The government banned the sect on 21 October 1994. More than five members of the sect, including Ashaari Mohammad, were arrested at their hideout in Thailand and brought back to Malaysia to be detained under the Internal Security Act.

After the banning of Al-Arqam, certain activities sponsored by the group attracted media attention and criticism, including the 'Ikhwan Polygamy Club' and the 'Obedient Wives Club'. Two books written by Khadijah Aam, wife of Ashaari Mohammad, were banned on religious grounds, including the claim that Ashaari Mohammad had been endowed with supernatural powers by Allah.

• Islamic
• fundamentalism