Culling cults
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ABDUL Karim (not his real name) was 30 years old in 1980, living in Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Baru. Life was challenging. He was a father of five making a living selling drinks with his wife and taking on odd jobs like carpentry and tailoring to make ends meet. The daily grind left him feeling spiritually hollow, yearning for fulfilment beyond work. When he confided in a friend, he was introduced to a group of men who met weekly to talk about themselves and religion.
“I tried talking to my wife about it, but she didn’t understand. When my friend introduced me to this group, I felt I’d finally found people who understood me,” he recalls.
What Abdul Karim didn’t realise was that the group was part of a local chapter of the Hasan Anak Rimau cult, one of many in the country that deviate from mainstream Islamic teachings. Such cults often encourage religious extremism, with some even delving into criminal activities. Despite efforts by authorities to stop them, cults persist and adapt. Observers question if current laws are effective, while experts suggest tougher measures alone won’t eliminate the problem.
A recent case involving a massive holdings company that was revealed to be a revival of the now-defunct Al-Arqam cult, highlights the resilience of some of these groups. Malaysia is no stranger to cult movements, whether spin-offs from mainstream Islamic teachings or other deviations from non-Islamic faiths.
In 2021, according to the Islamic Development Department (Jakim), 155 deviant teachings have been identified nationwide since 1950, with a few still active, including the SiHulk, Millah Abraham@Ibrahim, and the Rahmatan Lil Alamin Organisation. Then deputy minister Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary cited reasons for their survival, including cult leader worship and deliberate scripture misinterpretation for personal gain.
“These deviations exist because religious teachings are easily exploited for worldly gains, whether political, economic, sexual, or all three,” says Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Osman Bakar, an expert on Islamic schools of thought and rector at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
“Some cults survive by showing two faces – one that follows mainstream religious practices and another that operates underground in contradiction to Islamic teachings.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/focus/2024/11/10/culling-cults.
