The work presents controversial issues surrounding the Darul Arqam movement in Malaysia. Despite their group being banned from active participation and propagation of the so-called Islamic teaching in Malaysia, their ideas and doctrine has brought unceasing debates that need to be clarified in our understanding of the nature of their ideology and some aspects of religious piety and pietization they exemplified, that espoused for and contributed to new trends of piety in Southeast Asia.
This book presents the heretical teaching and ideas of Darul Arqam. It shed lights into the context of its development by highlighting the early phase of the historical development of Islamic movement in Malaysia since the colonial era. This was projected from two crucial and overlapping aspects; the reform movement which brought national awareness and renewed aspiration for tajdid as well as the influence of anti-colonial movements and underlying impact of political Islam embedded in the Malay archipelago.
Towards this aim, it describes the impact of Islamic movement in Malaysia in fostering religious consciousness and reassertion of its dynamic spirit in broad socio-cultural and socio-political context, as clearly articulated by Muhammad Kamal Hassan in his article that traced their historical emergence and significance in the socio-political landscape of Malaysia. In Malaysia and Indonesia, Muslim youth organizations have been asserting their Islamic identity in different ways since the world-wide resurgence of Islamic consciousness in the 1970s, against a background of two contrasting political contexts. The context in Malaysia offers a striking contrast to that of Indonesia. The decade of the 1970s in Malaysia coincided with the rise of the da‘wa (Islamic proselytization) phenomenon, marked by the mushrooming of private Muslim organizations for the purpose of spreading the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. In the early 1970s three important nation-wide organizations arose – the Darul Arqam, the Jamiah Tabligh, and ABIM (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia).
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................ 1
The Background......................................................................................................... 4
New Religious Consciousness................................................................................... 5
Messianic Teaching and Doctrine.............................................................................. 6
The Mahdi.................................................................................................................. 7
The Sufi-Sect Based Establishment........................................................................... 7
Al-Arqam’s Activities Abroad................................................................................... 8
Followers of al-Arqam............................................................................................. 10
Rising Conflict and Arrest....................................................................................... 11
Ashaari Set Free....................................................................................................... 12
The Rufaqa and Current State of al-Arqam............................................................. 12
Power Restoration.................................................................................................... 13
The Revival of Al-Arqam........................................................................................ 14
Dakwah and Influence............................................................................................. 15
Conclusion............................................................................................................... 16
Bibliography............................................................................................................ 18
Introduction
This book presents the heretical teaching and ideas of Darul Arqam. It shed lights into the context of its development by highlighting the early phase of the historical development of Islamic movement in Malaysia since colonial era. This was projected from two crucial and overlapping aspects; the reform movement which brought national awareness and renewed aspiration for tajdid as well as the influence of anti-colonial movement and underlying impact of political Islam embedded in the Malay-archipelago. Toward this aims, it describes the impact of Islamic movement in Malaysia in fostering religious consciousness and reassertion of its dynamic spirit in broad socio-cultural and socio-political context, as clearly articulated by Muhammad Kamal Hassan in his article that traced their historical emergence and significance in the socio-political landscape of Malaysia: “In Malaysia and Indonesia, Muslim youth organizations have been asserting their Islamic identity in different ways since the world-wide resurgence of Islamic consciousness of the 1970s, against a background of two contrasting political contexts...The context in Malaysia offers a striking contrast to that of Indonesia ...The decade of the 1970s in Malaysia coincided with the rise of the da ‘wa (Islamic proselytization) phenomenon, marked by the mushrooming of private Muslim organizations for the purpose of spreading the message of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike...there arose in the early 1970s three important nation-wide organizations – the Darul Arqam, the Jamiah Tabligh and ABIM (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia, Islamic Youth Movement of Malaysia).”[1]
The pioneering work and struggle of Ashaari Muhammad who conceived and helped the establishment of Darul Arqam in the mid of 20 th century has sparked significant influence and inspired profound and lasting spiritual and religious growth and renewal and moral consciousness in the country. The intellectual and religious movement inspired by this figure demonstrated meaningful intellectual and spiritual essence that set forth significant threshold for public debates of Islamic moral and philosophical premise and the dialectic of piety in public space. His influence has brought forth progressive change that help to foster an inclusive civil society and constructed sustainable Islamic polity.
The study tries to expound their conduct of social piety and the underlying religious activities and practice they advocated in term of religious conviction and belief. One cannot discount the important of Darul Arqam simply because of the banning and condemnation they received in consequence of their belief and practice of “deviant Islam”. The revival of Islam, renewal of mystical spirit and conscious piety was part and parcel of the very doctrine and activities of Al-Arqam. They have been instrumental in demonstrating an ethical and moderate lifestyle of Islam and in championing the ideals of Islam. They had to a certain degree propounded truthful ideas of religious piety and devotion and expounding mystical experience and explicate ideas of piety and pietism and the enlightenment of heart.
The Darul Arqam have the tendency and inclination to emulate a moderate and pious sufis approach and this very idea have indeed distinguished them from other several radical Islamic movements. They try to get other people to share them and expound and promote their beliefs and ideas of Islam and would always expound the logical views of progressive Islam. This is critical in contemporary times when the very idea of Islam is challenged by the emergence of many radical movement, jihadist and revolutionist, freedom fighters calling for religious empowerment.
The religious authority and Department of Islamic Affairs in Malaysia outrightly condemned the deviant practice of Al-Arqam in gathering for the halaqah zikir of Aurad Muhammadiah, their believe in the so-called Imam al-Mahdi, and meeting with the Prophet (pbuh) in Majlis Yaqazah, which is quite new in Islam. Consequently, the Darul Arqam soon was banned and their business activities and publications were sanctioned. They were listed among the deviationist along with other deviant tariqah groups in the country.
The achievement of Darul Arqam was highly popular and dramatic; they have made a significant contribution to highlight Islamic spirituality and the essence of its holistic teaching and enlightening conduct of religiosity and business, and built a thriving multi-million-dollar business empire, and had successfully attracted hundreds of millions of followers worldwide. They have always been interested in reform and revival and established a warm call for interior piety and purification of heart. They committed to expand much energy on religious rituals and activities and devotional practice that generated by traditional Islamic religious ecstasy and devotion and attempts to sanctify public life that become a hallmark of their practice and affirmation of religious life.
The foundational work of al-Arqam has been instrumental in strengthening morality and reasserting spiritual and meta-religious dialogue and in the proliferation of effective cadre recruited at the grassroot. The unprecedented doctrine of its so-called Islamic Messiah has been largely influential in Malaysia as the leading religious body and institution which has enjoyed much reputation and attract millions of followers throughout Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia. They have established influence in Malaysia and several other countries in Asia since the last four decades and continued to actively establish connection and link with various Islamic groups worldwide.
They seek to propagate new understanding of Islam and try to convince the masses of the very unique teaching on piety and the so-called Imam al Mahdi. This very confusing and abstract ideas of teaching has resulted in their group being banned by the religious authority fearing that such thing would create chaos in the people’s mind and thinking. Nevertheless, after released from banning and undergoing intensive course of religious rehabilitation and repenting, they have now formed a new body called al-Rufaqa by which platform they seek to reclaim power and regain popularity and support from masses. This book seeks to elaborate critical aspects of piety and the political stands of Darul Arqam and their ideas on syariah. It will also highlight their thought on Islam and popular piety and some issues which relate to the institution and management and activities of Al-Arqam.
This study is based on qualitative approach in the form of library research. Data collected through documentation technique and interpretative approaches using descriptive, analytical, historical and comparative method. The study found that the genuine struggle for Islamic cause has bring unprecedented reform in reasserting tawhidic consciousness and its principal values through the conduct of social piety. It set forth to realize the objective of reform by reclaiming the moral groundwork of the rising tide of Islam by strengthening its rational, metaphysical and ideological basis, whose manifestation constitute the socio-political and socio-cultural faces of Islamic revival in Southeast Asia.
The Background
Al-Arqam founding leader Ashaari Muhammad[2], nicknamed Abuya (father) was named as the most popular leader and preacher of Islam who had successfully propounded the ideas of Islamic Messiah and Aurad Muhammadiah. Since founding Al-Arqam in 1968, Ashaari had been vigorously expounding these views for over 25 years. By 1994, Ashaari had amassed at least 10,000 followers and up to 100,000 sympathizers, including government officials. The authorities were alarmed at the growing size of the sect and the government has been keeping a close watch on its activities.
70-year-old Ashaari Muhammad has four wives and 37 children. He and his family don’t lived in the commune of Al-Arqam, preferring instead their several homes scattered across two Malaysian states. [3] He gained notoriety in Malaysia when his Islamic sect, called Al-Arqam was banned for being heretical. [4]
Al-Arqam was historically founded by Ashaari Muhammad. It was also known as [Jamaah Aurad Muhammadiah] and has a growing influence among the Muslims community throughout Malaysia. The teaching of al-Arqam was well supported by the masses and received an extraordinary number of supporters who welcome the ideas of al-Arqam acknowledging that it was an excellent body of dakwah. They have disseminating teaching through education, media, publication, business ventures, medical services and agriculture.
Ashaari Muhammad founded Al-Arqam in 1968, and by the time it was officially blacklisted in Malaysia in August 1994, it had gained an estimated 100,000 followers, most of whom live in Malaysia. It has only 10 to 12 members in early days, and soon grow to 40 in 1976, and expand later to having 5,000 to 6,000 members in 1984. [5] The group’s membership was said to number 10,000 at its peak in the 1980s. [6]
Al-Arqam, led by Ashaari Muhammad, was the biggest deviationist group to be uncovered in the region and was banned in 1994 after Ashaari claimed the group’s deceased founder would return as the Messiah. The cult itself had a following that extended into South-east Asia – in Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia.
New Religious Consciousness
Al-Arqam makes a spectacular growth and starts to produce significant dakwah activities in 1971-72. The Darul Arqam communes was set up as an innocent religious study group in the lower middle-class Dato’ Keramat suburb in Kuala Lumpur in 1968. Ashaari rapidly developed the movement by means of intense self-purification and soul-searching activities. The Darul Arqam embarks on a new powerful coalition and network following the founding of Darul Arqam’s pioneering Sungai Penchala settlement in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur in 1973.
The settlement became bases where courses on the essentials of Islam were organized, missionary activities were planned, economic enterprises were set up, schools were built, medical facilities were offered and publications were produced. Al-Arqam managed to amass 400 trading companies, including 56 manufacturing companies, 20 department stores, 52 retail shops, 18 restaurants, as well as several publishing companies. It had gathered assets worth $8,000,000,000. [7] This movement have been banned from the public for a decade since 1994 and has recently release from banning and persecution in court.
Messianic Teaching and Doctrine
Many Ulama noted that some of the religious practices of Al-Arqam followers were in violation of Islamic principles, including their believe that they can communicate with Allah through Ashaari. They also questioned Al-Arqam's policy of encouraging polygamy among its men followers. Al-Arqam, whose chief Ashaari claimed to regularly receive instructions from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in dreams. [8] Thousands of his followers believe this. Ashaari told his followers that he was receiving dreams, which came directly from the “Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)”. As such, he was casting himself as a prophet. He declared that he had the power to forgive people’s sins, another heresy in Islam.
Followers of al-Arqam also claim supernatural powers, from averting death to the ability to bring down an aircraft simply by pointing at it. Other bizarre teachings include a promise to absolve members’ sins by transferring them to Ashaari, who is believed to be able to defer death, and the belief that an Islamic Messiah from the west will appear just ahead of a prophesied doomsday. This teaching is offensive to many Muslims, who say it contradicts the Quran. [9]
The sect promised gifts of supernatural powers to those who followed the teachings of Ashaari Muhammad. A prayer taught to the neophytes runs thus: “Those who fight in this battle will receive the same power bestowed upon the Prophet by Allah. The pinnacle of this miracle is when you point a finger towards an aeroplane intending it to fall, and it will fall.” Another states: “If we become followers of Fata-Al-Tamimi, practicing this sect, the miracles of Imam Mahdi will flow within everyone, only then can we battle the Jews and Christians. Otherwise everyone will become followers of Dajjal or the beast.” [10]
The Mahdi
The Mahdi is the Muslim “Messiah” who is said to return one day. In the original teachings of Al-Arqam, the Imam Mahdi was regarded as Muhammad Al-Suhaimi, who died in Klang, Selangor, in 1925. “Fata al-Tamimi” is the “herald” who announces the advent of the Mahdi and reforms Islam to its true state to allow the Mahdi to return. In some circles he is said to come from the East and will have his path obstructed, yet he will persevere – in this case, Fata al-Tamimi is assumed to be Ashaari Muhammad. [11]
He took as his inspiration the works of the Sufi Sheikh Muhammad Bin ‘Abdullah al-Suhaimi, but placed the Sheikh on a pedestal which as Suhaimi’s late grandson would never have done. By declaring al-Suhaimi as the Imam Mahdi, Ashaari was already veering into the realms of Islamic heresy. His declaration that the Mahdi would rise from the dead was among the claims which led to the group becoming outlawed in 1994. [12]
The Sufi-Sect Based Establishment
The Darul Arqam, a flourishing Muslim sect with headquarters in Malaysia, is a sufi sect based on radical Islamic principles and founded in Malaysia in 1968. [13] It was more popularly known in Malaysia as the Al-Arqam. The Malaysian government’s tough attitude towards Al-Arqam is understandable based on the conflict between Darul Arqam’s lifestyle and that of Muslim masses and irrational fear that the group posed a threat to national security. The government felt threatened by the opposition of Islamic sect led by a charismatic preacher, Ashaari Muhammad as well as other fanatical religious movements and is deeply suspicious of them. It was suggested that Ashaari had gathered a fighting force in Thailand, and was ready to overthrow the government. The government claim to have evidence that the Al-Arqam followers were being prepared mentally to turn militant.
The then Prime Minister has called Al-Arqam a security threat and call for a wholesale ban on Darul Arqam's. The sect's founder Ashaari was expelled from Malaysia and banned from visiting Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Al-Arqam, once boasted that its business arm had 700 branches worldwide and Ashaari went on to make an embellished claims about their group’s influence. 7,000 government employees had joined the Al-Arqam and were warned and persuaded to leave the movement.
Meanwhile, in Kota Bharu, Chief Minister, Tuan Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said it was not wrong for Muslims to be involved in the Al-Arqam movement as long as they do not practice the Aurad Muhammadiah which is a deviation of true Islamic teachings. The State Government, in not restricting its employees from becoming Al-Arqam followers, would, however, see to it they did not profess the Aurad Muhammadiah (the way of Muhammadiah). The State Government stands by the fatwa (religious ruling) issued by the State Religious Council that the Aurad Muhammadiah contradicts Islamic teaching. [14]
Al-Arqam’s Activities Abroad
The group had also spread its influence in Indonesia, where it was known as Darul Arqam and had about 1,000 members. It reportedly has more than a dozen branches and around 1,000 members in Indonesia where the movement is known as Jamaah Arqam – a radically conservative Islamic group that the Indonesian Government considering banning.
A number of government departments and the armed forces intelligence agency closely scrutinising Al-Arqam deciding to outlaw the movement. The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), an influential umbrella organization of a number of Muslim groups, has issued the recommendation that the government banned the sect nationwide. Ulama Council of Indonesia (Majlis Ulama Indonesia) on 13 August 1994 proclaiming Darul Arqam's deviationism proposing a national ban on Darul Arqam. Various groups in Indonesia also campaigned in the 1990s for the group to become outlawed and has called on the Indonesian Government to ban Darul Arqam claiming the movement's teachings deviate from Islamic principles.
In contrast the Indonesian government was never able to ban the Darul Arqam movement since organizations like Nahdatul Ulama (NU) believed that Arqam was still a legitimate movement. Nahdatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Islamic organization with sixty-million members, issued an opposite fatwa which exonerated Darul Arqam from charges of deviationism and exhorted the government not to ban Darul Arqam on the basis of aqidah. [15]
The government studying the demands made by a number of Muslim organizations to ban the activities of Darul Arqam, but the decision to ban it was left to Ulama' as result of efforts by the state to allow more discussion and engaging opinion in handling religious issues. Two provinces with a history of Islamic radicalism, Aceh and Riau, have already banned Darul Arqam responding to the calls for a nationwide ban. In August 1994 the government moved to ban the radical Islamic sect, Al-Arqam. [16]
Al-Arqam's followers in Indonesia, while revering their leader Ashaari, say that the organization in Indonesia is apolitical, focusing more on promoting the welfare of the Muslim community. Some Islamic scholars in the Nahdatul Ulama (Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation) are in accord with their approach.
They claim that Al-Arqam's activities in Indonesia are open for all to see, and it is clear that they don't have any political ambitions, and it was simply an organisation to promote the teaching of Islam. Al-Arqam have good relations with all political parties including Golkar (the ruling political organisation) and never undermine national stability and they did not see any reason why Ashaari should be barred from entering Indonesia given that he has never aggravated the Indonesian government.
The sect of Darul Arqam has already been banned in West Sumatra and Aceh but it is flourishing in other parts of Sumatra and Java, particularly among educated youths. Nurcholish Madjid, the great Muslim leader also came in defense of the group, not its belief or practices, but its right to exist. He said no one, not even the government, had the right to prevent others from embracing a belief, stressing that if the government was concerned about the impact of Al-Arqam's teachings, then it should deal with the matter properly and not ban the organization outright. [17]
Followers of al-Arqam
The group attracted attention, because many Malay professionals became its members, and controversy as its teachings persuaded members to run away from home if their families would not accept its teachings. Like many unscrupulous cult leaders, Ashaari told his followers to leave their homes if their families did not believe in his teachings, and many worked for a pittance at the numerous businesses which Ashaari owned. They lived in Al-Arqam “communes”.
People continue to fall for them. 7,000 government employees were said to have been followers of Al-Arqam, and these were warned by the government that they had to leave the movement. Many members gave up secure jobs to live in Al-Arqam communes across the country, working for a pittance while running Ashaari’s businesses. These included small factories, provision shops, schools and clinics. Ashaari spent two years in prison in the 1990s when Al-Arqam was banned after having won 10,000 followers and up to 100,000 sympathisers, including some government officials. By the time of Ashaari’s arrest, he had established 48 of these across Malaysia. Each commune had its own school and health clinic. [18]
Al-Arqam followers wore Islamic regalia – long flowing robes and turbans for the men, and black robes and niqabs (face-veils) for the women. In groups of seven, followers went door to door to distribute literature from Al-Arqam. Male followers were urged to engage in polygamy, in the manner of their leader. [19]
Al-Arqam movement was instrumental in bringing a heightened sense of Islamic way of life in Malaysia. The most obvious change that al-Arqam movement brought to the lifestyle of Malaysian Muslims was the implementing of the sense of dressing according to the proper dress code enjoined in Islam. [20] The female followers dress modestly and wearing headscarf which is appropriate to cover their aurah. Muslim female wears modest dress based on Islamic beliefs that match the Islamic dress code. Muslim women wearing Islamic dress as the symbol of her devotion to God. Before the advent of Al-Arqam, Muslim ladies just walking around bareheaded and they do not properly cover the aurah - the pervasive impact that were most striking which has led many women to return stricter observance of Islamic dress code.
The Darul Arqam have been modest to call for active congregation of Muslims and the revival of mystical tendency and to advance the grasp of Islamic knowledge among the Muslim cadres through the practice of zikir and wirid. They taught a mystical brand of Islam to pave the way for an Islamic administration and making great contribution in the perpetuation and propagation of Islam. [21]
Rising Conflict and Arrest
During the 1980s, tensions between Malaysian authorities and Ashaari increased, and Al-Arqam was banned in this decade from government premises, and its publishing permit was withdrawn. As a result, Ashaari moves with his wives to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Ashaari was banned from entering Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. Living in exile in Thailand, Ashaari announced his intention to return to Malaysia and to challenge the national leadership, promising he will lead the country one day.
In August Malaysia’s highest Islamic religious body forbade the influential al-Arqam sect to hold public meetings or disseminate its literature and videos. Tapes of Ashaari’s conversations with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had circulated, in which it was suggested that Allah had chosen Ashaari to become the leader of Malaysia’s Muslim community. [22] Ashaari was convicted of inducing others to levy war against the Malaysian States, saying that he was the group’s spiritual leader and a leading Malaysian opponent of Wahhabist ideology. Al-Arqam was banned nationwide through a ruling issued by the National Fatwa Council on 5 August 1994 [23] . Ashaari was arrested in 1994 and banished from his base in Kuala Lumpur to the small Malaysian island of Labuan, off Borneo-island, until 2004. Ashaari lived in banishment on Labuan Island, under police supervision, and the group broken up. [24]
In early September, at Malaysia’s request, Thai police arrested and deported the leader of Al-Arqam, and nine of his followers. On september 2, Ashaari was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) of 1960. [25] He was subjected to interrogation by Islamic authorities, along with seven other prominent members of Al-Arqam. On October 20, 1994, Ashaari confessed to the National Fatwa Committee that he had strayed from Islamic teaching. He claimed to have repented. He also renounced his belief that Sheikh Muhammad Bin ‘Abdullah al-Suhaimi was the Imam Mahdi. A few senior Arqam leaders also helped Malaysian religious officials to reform the others, leading the deviants in Islam back to Allah’s way. [26]
Ashaari Set Free
On 25 October 2004, the Malaysian government releasing Ustaz Ashaari Muhammad, the former leader of Darul Arqam. After his release in October, Ashaari announced the disbanding of Al-Arqam. He recanted his beliefs in a discussion with religious leaders and confessed to propagating teachings and practices which deviated from true Islam. Ashaari and five of his followers were freed on October 28 and Ashaari then visited the Al-Arqam commune at Sungai Pencala to meet his followers. He remains under restricted residence, and his movements are limited to Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding state of Selangor. [27]
The Rufaqa and Current State of al-Arqam
Despite his being under close surveillance, Ashaari founded Rufaqa Corporation in 1997 in Rawang. It has now 80 businesses under its wing in Malaysia, with hundred of branches worldwide. The businesses owned by Rufaqa comprise mini markets, cafeterias, herbal products, tourism, advertising, furniture, clinics, electronic and multimedia, childcare centres, motivation and councelling and publishing groups. It is said to have 700 branches worldwide, and Ashaari is said to have a 78% stake in the company, which has investments in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Australia.
Even though the Government had banned the movement in 1994, many of its members had worked hard to keep its founder Ashaari Muhammad's doctrine alive. [28] The Al-Arqam cult may have long ceased to exist, but its ideologies have been nurtured and kept alive within the confines of the Rufaqa' movement, which are said to be deviant and more perilous than the al-Arqam teachings. [29] Most of the leaders of the revived al-Arqam group are said to be people who were leaders just before the group was banned in 1994.
The people who had been calling on Ashaari Muhammad, leader of the Rufaqa Corporation and former leader of the al-Arqam movement are trying to revive the banned Islamic sect's teachings in Malaysia and forge links with Muslim Associations worldwide. [30]
Power Restoration
Ashaari has since 1997 regrouped some of his former followers in a bustling business entity formally registered as Rufaqa' Corporation, operated under a business license, and like most devout Islamic sect has created a self-contained commune, running businesses, organise talks or lectures at their premises. [31] The businesses owned by Rufaqa focuses purely on economic activities, without indulging its members in theological controversy. [32]
However, the governments suspected Rufaqa, or “Comrades” in Arabic, could be a cover for the revival of the al-Arqam movement, since it was revealed that a multi-national business he owns, Rufaqa Corporation, has been exposed as a front for the revival of Al-Arqam, with a view to recruiting more members and trying to spread the teachings of the Al-Arqam sect, outlawed in 1994 for allegedly promoting deviant Islamic beliefs. [33]
The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) urged the Selangor Government to evaluate the teachings of Rufaqa. They called for Rufaqa to be banned and some of its members were held on suspicion of violating a fatwa (edict) that banned the teachings of the Al-Arqam movement. [34] A JAIS investigation found that members of the Rufaqa Corporation regarded Ashaari as their saint. [35] They have been monitoring their activities constantly to assure that the Rufaqa would not carry out any activity contrary to true Islamic teachings and to ensure that it did not impose any deviant teachings on the people. But Rufaqa', which has operations in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Jordan, says it has no agenda except to preach for Islam and build its multi-million-dollar businesses. [36]
The Revival of Al-Arqam
The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) infiltrated the Rufaqa group and over four months documented some of the “heresies” which the cult was preaching. They found that the new revival of Al-Arqam is more extreme than its predecessor. [37] Although banned in 1994, the group operate under the cover of legitimate businesses. And recently, leaders of the sect had embarked on a massive recruitment drive. Using Rufaqa Corporation Sdn Bhd as a front, they allegedly sent details of gatherings through text messages and email, reaching out to thousands nationwide. [38]
The group is, like most Islamic groups, virulently anti-semitic. The Rufaqa movement allegedly organized an absolution of sins and power bestowment ceremony for former members of the disbanded al-Arqam as well as potential members from within and outside the country recently. [39]
The Rufaqa had additional teachings that were more damaging to the faith of Muslims. The extreme teachings of Rufaqa include instilling the belief among followers that Ashaari Muhammad or Abuya has the power to forgive sins. The majority of followers were asked to donate their earnings to the leaders of the group “to gain a place in heaven”. Followers had to pay 30 ringgit ($8) merely to register for the courses about Al-Arqam, and surrender their valuables, including money and jewellery, if they wanted their sins to be cleansed and “transferred” to former leader of al-Arqam, Ashaari Muhammad. The condition for having their sins cleansed was that they had to surrender their valuables. They were taught how to obtain supernatural powers and asked to utter Abuya 11 times during mass prayers. [40]
Recently, an ex-cult [41] leader of al-Arqam, Mr Zabidi Mohamed[42], previously known as the fanatical senior leader of this religious cult for 18 years, made his confession and warns against blind faith to al-Arqam. He speaks of dangers posed by charismatic leaders claiming divine sanction like Ashaari and became a turncoat when he realized that Ashaari’s claims contradicted Islamic teachings, and began to write about the dangers of the cult.
Dakwah and Influence
Khadijah Aam, one of Ashaari’s wives, published a book about her husband, which is essentially an exercise in hagiography. This was launched recently in Malaysia and Thailand, and is said to have made recruitment easier. These two books were entitled ‘Abuya Ashaari Muhammad pemimpin paling ajaib di zamannya’ (My father Ashaari Muhammad Most Miraculous Leader of his time), [43] and ‘Nasihat Buatmu bekas Kawan-Kawanku dalam al-Arqam’ (Advice to my former friends in al- Arqam) written by Ashaari. [44]
Other article written by Khadijah Aam, head of Darul Arqam's Qismu Muslimah, are 'Ayatullah', in an internal Darul Arqam publication, and Siri Terkini Era Kasih Sayang ( Latest on the Era of Love and Care) (1994). [45] In April 2003, the Home Ministry banned the present author's Malaysia Daulah Pemuda Bani Tamim: Rahsia Keagungan Ummah (The Malaysian State of the Youth of Bani Tamim: Secrets of the Glorious Ummah). Thirty-five books were gazetted as 'detrimental to the public peace' including Ustaz Ashaari's Aurad Muhammadiah Pegangan Darul Arqam (Aurad Muhammadiah: The Conviction of Darul Arqam), and Berhati-hati membuat tuduhan (Be Careful in Making Allegations). [46]
Ashaari Muhammad, who went under the title “Abuya” or “father of the people”, wrote several books and his sermons were distributed on audio-cassettes. The website of Rufaqa eulogizes Ashaari. Copies of his speeches and sermons can be obtained, and photographs promote his meeting with world leaders in several location of his new base are assembled.
The pamphlet about the teachings of Al-Arqam was distributed freely for readings. In shops which are owned by Rufaqa, such as its supermarket in Grace Square, Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu, large posters of Ashaari hang from the ceiling. Suspicions can only be raised by the life-sized portrait of the turbaned and bearded Ashaari, complete with his poems, that greets visitors walking into the Rufaqa' commune in Rawang, just north of Kuala Lumpur.
Conclusion
The momentous undercurrent of piety movement stemming from the institution of Darul al-Arqam displayed great privilege of transcending the spirit of pietism and socio-ethico transformation and reconstruction. Unfortunately, the banning and restriction of their movement from the Malaysian public unequivocally shows the highhandedness display by the authority to check their active visibility and progressive interaction with the masses. It arguably suggests the repressive nature of political influence on religious movement in Malaysia to stifle the democratic ideal that principally shared across the board. This has created a climate of fear and uncertainty in considerable proportion with clear disregard to the rule of law. Controversial measures undertaken by the state contributed to such unfair treatment of political dissent, particularly their unequivocal response to the mass protest by utilizing state-controlled mechanism and repressive measure that sheds light on the nature of authoritarian rule of the power that be.
In further analysis, this condition needs to be addressed and understood in meaningful ways across the globe. A closer point of view and positive dimension of Al-Arqam should be looked at properly and the problems of militancy and religious zealot and fanaticism of Muslim followers must be equally tackled by the regime. Needless to say, Al-Arqam have brought many intrinsic developments of spiritual consciousness that manifested their highly thoughtful concerns of religiosity among Malaysian public. They portrayed a positive light toward advancing civic engagement and awareness and potentially scientific and technologically adapt Muslim community. In most conception of piety, humility, religious devotion to spirituality and strategy for dakwah we learn from the expression and practice in Al-Arqam community. This in turn make way toward keeping to the track laid down by the syariah and avoid things that run contrary to true principle of Islamic creed.
The fatwa leading to the banning of Al-Arqam society and the dissemination of their doctrine under the old regime has created immense conflict and political unrest hold by certain group inclined toward violent and revolt. Arguably this fatwa has nothing to do with meeting the demand of public interest - the need to foster and taking into account the common interest and concern for future prospects of Muslim Ummah. Nevertheless, we must engage and improve social participation and integration of Muslim communities and nurtured the efflorescent of diverse political-religious groups and culture. The people's understanding of the teachings of the Quran will prevent them from falling prey to any deviant teachings. Thus the classic tradition and history of pietism as part of the Al-Arqam “movement for piety” must be appreciated in no ambiguous terms, focusing on special condition toward creating a more inclusive and broad engagement in society that could helpfully bring more promising light in the future.
Bibliography
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[1] Muhammad Kamal Hassan, “The Response of Muslim Youth Organizations to Political Change: HMI in Indonesia and ABIM in Malaysia, in William R. Roff. (ed.), Islam and the Political Economy of Meaning: Comparative Studies of Muslim Discourse , Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press, 1987, pp. 180-2.
[2] There are several other institutions also named after Al Arqam such as the Muslim Converts Association of Singapore (Darul Arqam Singapore), MCWG Darul Arqam, an independent registered charity in West London, United Kingdom, the Dar al-Arqam mosque in Washington DC and the Dar Al Arqam school in Gaza.
[3] Retrieved from www.signs-of-the-times.org
[4] The Messianic Islamic sect Darul Arqam is regarded as part of the movement of Islamic pietism that proved to be very influential throughout Malaysia. This heretical Islamic cult is part of the dogmatic doctrine of radical Islam that fostered and produced great impression in religious issues that are now assuming renewed and increasing significance where minority Islamic populations are engaged in terror and separatist insurgency. Where more radical and extremist Muslim groups have emerged, they have been carefully monitored by the authorities and occasionally suppressed and banned from the public.
[5] The subject is dealt with at length in Ann Wan Seng, al-Arqam : di sebalik tabir (al-Arqam: behind the scene).
[6] Retrieved from Utusan Melayu, 4 July 1994.
[7] Retrieved from http://rickross.net/reference
[8] Retrieved from Utusan Malaysia 21 June 1994. Islamic Yaqazah is rather but with soul, from whom the acceptance of any command had been declared as commendable by Imam al-Suyuti.
[9] For more detail, please consult the Rick A. Ross Institute’s website which has gathered information about al-Arqam.
[10] Retrieved from http://www.rickross.com/reference/al_arqam/al-arqam 9.htmlMalaysia
[11] In the Hadith of Sunan Abu Daud (Book 36, Number 4272), Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is said to have prophesied that “The Mahdi will be of my stock, and will have a broad forehead a prominent nose. He will fill the earth with equity and justice as it was filled with oppression and tyranny, and he will rule for seven years.” Muhammad Al-Suhaimi is said to be a descendant of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
[12] Ustaz Ashaari Muhammad has made it clear that Muhammad al-Mahdi was not necessarily Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah al-Suhaimi, but rather the awaited al-Mahdi. The determination of the person of Al-Mahdi fell within issues allowing differences of opinion (khilafiah), based upon independent reasoning (ijtihad), and was beyond matters affecting one's aqidah, and his view was purportedly supported by several contemporary scholars.
[13] Malaysia, a southeast Asian nation of 26 million people, is wary of religious sects that go against mainstream Islam, fearful that they may alter its image of being a moderate Muslim nation. The Government is taking steps to address this issues based on common law principles and taking primary responsibility to continued to ensure that the peace and stability of the country are protected. This issues relating to Al-Arqam describe the phenomenon of political Islam and clashes of ideas in modern civilization and continuous practice of differences between Sunni and Wahabis Islam.
[14] The New Straits Times, July 1994.
[15] Pengurus Besar NU 1994, Kompas13 August 1994, Dunia IslamOctober 1994.
[16] Media Dakwah September 1994, Kompas14 August 1994.
[17] The Jakarta Post, July 25, 1994.
[18] Both religious and political concerns are behind the government crackdown on Ashaari's followers, and the administration can't afford to allow such movements to undermine its position: from a point of view of pure political analysis: Yahaya Ismail and Mohd Sayuti Omar, a former al-Arqam insider who has written several books detailing the group’s corruption.
[19] Reuters, Dec 28, 2006.
[20] An excerpt from a note on al-Arqam by mahaguru58.blogspot.com
[21] For further details regarding Al-Arqam’s contributions please see Muhammad Syukri Salleh, An Islamic Approach to Rural Development: An Arqam Way . London, Asoib International, 1992.
[22] Authorities generally define deviant groups as any teaching or practice which claims to be based on, or is in line with Islamic teachings, but which go against aqidah (faith) and syariah (religious law) derived from the Quran and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet pbuh). The first recorded case of deviationism in Malaysia was the Taslim, founded in the 19 th century in Seberang Prai, Penang, by Ahmad Matahari.
[23] There are now 56 groups that have been banned in the country. The Government are worrying of high profile deviant sects like Al-Arqam and the Ayah Pin group. Authorities are struggling to battle a growing number of religious deviants. The Kahfi Youth Movement, is just the latest edition to a long and growing list of cults the state Islamic authorities nationwide are battling.
[24] The Straits Times, Singapore, May 31, 2004
[25] The Government said it took these actions on the grounds that Al-Arqam posed a threat to national security, although it presented no credible evidence of this. See the US State Department report on the Malaysia Human Rights Practices,1994. Http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1994
[26] The government closely monitors Islamic sects considered in danger of deviating from orthodox tenets, and in the past on occasion it has dissolved such groups. It allows only the practice of the official Shafiite school of Islam. It has banned several other religious groups that it considers deviant, including the radical Islamic Al-Arqam movement as well as the Baha’i Faith.
[27] http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/ERC/democracy/1994
[28] According to Ahmad Salim, a former top al-Arqam leaders, many of the banned sect's former members had joined the new movement, which operated as Rufaqa Corporation Sdn Bhd. The Star, Malaysia/ Dec 1, 2006.
[29] The Selangor State Islamic Religious Department got undercover officers to 'join' the group to gather evidence about their activities. The followers wear skullcaps instead of turbans, and the prayers recited at gathering praised Al-Arqam leader Ashaari Muhammad. Associated Press/Nov 26, 2006.
[30] When Rufaqa grew, the issue of Ashaari trying to revive the movement came up. He said recently he was too “disillusioned” to revive Al-Arqam, which claimed to have assets worth 300-million ringgit ($84,4-million) at the height of its activities in the late 1980s, and well-meaning people should take note of it and must not obscure the significance of developing a legitimate enterprise with reviving the movement. The New Straits Times newspaper’s report.
[31] The sprawling four-storey complex in Rawang boasts a baker's shop, a school, a mosque, a car workshop, a maternity clinic, a printing shop, a grocery, a kindergarten and restaurants. Independent Online , South Africa/ Dec 12, 2006
[32] The Star, Malaysia/ Nov 30, 2006.
[33] The Islamic Religious Department were monitoring settlements which seemed to function along the lines of al-Arqam villages. The state government constantly kept a watch on the growth of deviant teachings and advised all state agencies and departments against getting involved in any of its activities.
[34] They would be given counseling by religious officers, and could be freed if they come to the realization that the teachings of the group was contrary to Islam. The Star, Malaysia/ Dec 2, 2006.
[35] As states in the country go on heightened alert against a possible revival of the outlawed al-Arqam, Negeri Sembilan announced it had detected attempts to bring back the movement under two or three other names, including a “nasyid” (religious choir) group. Meanwhile in Terengganu, the government said it was keeping watch on two suspected al-Arqam bases in Jalan Gong Badak and Jalan Kuala Berang. The Rufaqa also had been detected to be active in Perak and that the officials had been involved in monitoring the activities of the group suspected to be practicing al-Arqam teachings. Bernama News , Malaysia/ Nov 29, 2006
[36] Ministers in charge of Islamic Affairs in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore were monitoring the growth of deviant teachings in the region, including attempts to revive the banned al-Arqam movement. The ministers, rallying under the informal grouping, Mabims, had agreed to keep tabs on Rufaqa' , which is said to be supporting al-Arqam teachings.
[37] The officials found that its recruits were told that 76 companies registered under Rufaqa'.
[38] A former member of al-Arqam revealed that most of the businesses of Rufaqa are not profitable, and that they exist to recruit new members to the al-Arqam “revival”. Rufaqa's registration as a legitimate businesses entity under the Companies Commission of Malaysia is just a facade. Spero News/December 5, 2006.
[39] Former leading members of al-Arqam , Mohd Fakhruddin Arrazi Abdullah, who was a former al-Arqam head in Perlis between 1992 to 1997 comments: “ The name may have changed from al-Arqam to Rufaqa', but their faith and beliefs have not changed.”
[40] The followers gathered in a double-storey bungalow in Nilai Springs. The bungalow was said to belong to former Al-Arqam leader, Ashaari Muhammad, known to his followers as Abuya. Sheikh Hussein Sheikh Omar, a former personal assistant and driver of Ashaari, who claimed that Ashaari invited him for a dialogue on a book of him, said Rufaqa' was not reviving the banned teachings of al-Arqam but actually continuing the teachings all along. Sheikh Hussein is now a Deputy President of the Malaysian Entrepreneurs and Islamic Management Association.
[41] The term ‘cult’ is here used of groups that deviate from the mainline religion with which they identify themselves ( in this case Islam). A definition obtained from http://www.religionnewsblog.com
[42] Mr Zabidi was a former legal advisor to Al-Arqam, he is also an author and a former court magistrate. His first book, Tersungkur di Pintu Syurga (Sprawled at Heaven’s Gate), was published in 1998 and sold at 40,000 copies. The book exposed Ashaari as a fraud and called on former members to return to Islam.
[43] The book, written by Ashaari's wife Khadijah Aam, included Ashaari's claim that he had a dialogue with Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and commentaries on the political situation in Malaysia and the feud between Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
[44] Taken from Bernama News, dec 7, 2006
[45] Retrieved from http://www. Malaysia-today.net/guest-columnists/2006/09/
[46] Retrieved from New Straits Times 9 April 2003.