Malaysian Police Attacked They raided 20 Islamic charity homes on Wednesday, arresting 171 people and rescuing 402 children suspected of neglect, molestation or sexual abuse.
The facilities were run by an Islamic charity known as Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB), a Malaysian company with operations in Indonesia, Singapore, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France, Australia and Thailand.
GISB is deprecated Religious sect The movement, called Al-Arqam, was founded in 1968 and banned by the Malaysian government in 1994 as a “deviant” form of Islam.
The movement's founder, Ashari Muhammad, was a messianic leader who claimed to practice a more “purer” Islam and wanted his followers to create a “self-sufficient” utopian Islamic community. He had some oddities, including claiming to be in direct communication with the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Malaysia is governed by a dual legal system that includes both secular and Islamic law. Sharia The Supreme Court of Islamic Law deemed Ash'ali Muhammad's beliefs heretical and banned his movement. Ash'ali himself was arrested as a threat to national security. He died of lung disease in 2010, leaving behind four wives and around 40 children.
At the height of its popularity, Al-Arqam had tens of thousands of members and controlled a business empire ranging from farms to publishing companies to restaurants. Business owners who remained faithful to Ash'ari's teachings Established In 2010, it acquired the GISB conglomerate (also known as GISBH). The company has grown to 415 holdings across 20 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa, with over 5,000 employees and assets of approximately $75 million. It has also partnered with Islamic companies in other countries, such as a Saudi Arabian company agreeing to sell Global Ikhwan branded beverages.
As GISB expanded its business empire, it continued to promote some of Al-Arqam's ideology, including polygamy and severe punishment for disobedient wives and children. One of the company's founding organizations was the “Obedient Wives Club,” which taught women to submit to their husbands “like whores.”
In an August 2024 interview, GISB CEO Nasiruddin Mohd Ali said: Expressed He was frustrated that some Muslim companies were reluctant to partner with his conglomerate or invest in its businesses because of its odd religious background.
“They are distrustful,” he said. “What’s wrong with contributing to the betterment of society? Umma [worldwide Islam]”As some say, this is economic jihad.”
One of the reasons for the reluctance to do business with GISB was growing suspicions that it was using its welfare homes to indoctrinate children with the religious teachings of Al-Arqam, and there were also rumors of sexual abuse taking place in these charitable homes.
Reports of poor living conditions and abusive behaviour at the shelter were filed as early as 2011, some by former GISB employees. GISB has consistently denied any association with the controversial welfare facility.
Wednesday's raids saw exactly 201 boys and 201 girls rescued from the welfare home – the oldest was 17 years old and the youngest just one year old.
Among the 171 people arrested were several Islamic religious leaders. Ustaz. One of the people Charged The victim of child abuse was a 19-year-old girl.
Malaysia's Inspector General Razaruddin Hussein said police acted after receiving reports of “negligence, abuse, sexual harassment and molestation.” He did not provide details of the allegations or the identities of the complainants, but said all the welfare homes searched were run by GISB. Two of the homes were registered with the Malaysian government as Islamic schools.
Thursday's GISB Denied The company denied the allegations of abuse and said the shelters that were searched were not under its control.
GISB accused Malaysian police and shadowy organisations with the “intent to tarnish the company's image” of conspiring to tarnish the company's reputation.
“The shelter in question is clearly not under GISBH's control and we deny all allegations. It is not our policy to plan or act against Sharia and national law,” it said.
