Malaysia raids outlawed Al Arqam sect commune
Malaysia raids outlawed Al Arqam sect commune
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian authorities yesterday raided a commune of the outlawed Al Arqam Moslem sect and detained 121 people, including the daughter-in-law of sect leader Ashaari Muhammad.
It was the first government raid on one of the sect's settlements and came a day after Premier Mahathir Mohamad provided what he said was photographic evidence of plans by the banned group to become a military force.
Eighty-nine children, 22 women and 10 men were detained in the raid, a week after the arrest of six Al Arqam members, including Ashaari and his wife, under Malaysia's tough Internal Security Act (ISA).
They will be charged in the state Syariah (religious) court.
The pre-dawn raid on the commune in southwestern Negeri Sembilan state, shocked community members, an Al Arqam spokesman said.
Among those detained was Ashaari's daughter-in-law Kartini Maarof, 23, married to his son Ikramullah.
"This time, the government has gone too far. This is sheer harassment," said the spokesman, adding that the movement was prepared for "any eventuality."
The operation, mounted jointly by police and state religious officials, signaled the government's widening efforts to crush the group.
Ashaari, 57, one of his four wives and their six-month daughter are already in custody, with four of Al Arqam's senior members detained last week under the ISA, which allows indefinite detention without trial.
They were arrested after being expelled by Thailand.
Mental hospital
Mahathir, speaking late Thursday, said an unidentified French Moslem convert, who had joined the Al Arqam, was now in a mental hospital "because she could not cope with being passed from one man to another."
"She is now in a mental hospital in the country. Such cases show that they use women as a tool," said Mahathir, who last month charged that the movement had deviated from the Moslem faith and used women as sex slaves.
Al Arqam, outlawed in predominantly-Moslem Malaysia last month for preaching what the clergy considers deviationist Islamic teachings, was founded by Ashaari in 1968. It has since grown into a powerful missionary group with branches in 16 countries.
Mahathir also showed journalists a photograph of Al Arqam members marching in military formation which appeared on the front page of the Thai language Islamic Guidance Post, saying it clearly proved Al Arqam's military intentions.
The Malaysian Bar Council, in a statement late Thursday, said it viewed with concern the arrest and detention of Ashaari and his followers under the ISA, and urged the government to either charge them in court for the offenses they allegedly committed or release them.
"The council opposes the use of the ISA for purposes for which the Act was never intended. We want the government to take steps to repeal the ISA," the council's chairman Zainur Zakaria said.
The ISA was framed by Kuala Lumpur in 1960 primarily to combat communist insurgents.
Regional human rights groups, including the Thai Consumer's Group of Siam, have lambasted the Malaysian government's strongarm tactics, saying the action reflected intolerance and religious bigotry.