KUALA LUMPUR – Authorities’ apparent delay in tackling alleged criminal wrongdoings in Islamic charity homes under Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) is a sign of weaknesses in enforcement and monitoring systems, decreed the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
The state ruler also expressed his regret and disappointment over how the supposed crimes as well as deviant Islamic teachings practiced by GISBH had been allowed to continue for an extended period of time without any effective deterrents.
“We must accept the reality that the delay in addressing this matter shows a weakness in law enforcement and monitoring aspects by religious agencies towards charity homes and Islamic religious schools linked with GISBH and its network.
“(These weaknesses) caused the issue to become very serious and uncontrollable,” Sultan Sharafuddin said in a statement today, condemning the alleged criminal misdeeds as ones which have tainted Islam’s good name and purity.
He also reminded religious authorities to seriously consider issues related to GISB Holdings’ activities, especially when such matters involve children and deviant teachings suspected to be practised by the organisation.
“I do not want us to be like an ‘empty tin’ which only knows how to talk without producing results. We must stand by the principle of ‘walk the talk’ or ‘putting your words into actions,” the sultan added.
According to the statement, the monarch has called for a meeting involving the Selangor Islamic Religious Council chairman, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department director, the Selangor police chief, as well as several representatives of the state Islamic council, to obtain further information and discuss immediate steps.
As a preventive measure to prevent the continued victimisation of children, the ruler also ordered the immediate closure of all of GISBH’s unregistered charity homes and religious schools in Selangor, which are suspected of involvement in civil and shariah crimes.
He added that the Selangor State Fatwa Committee has also been urged to study GISBH’s practices to determine whether it has strayed from or contradicted true Islamic teachings.
Yesterday, the Perlis State Fatwa Committee declared the beliefs and teachings of the group as deviant, making Parlis the first state to take such a stance against the organisation.
Perlis Mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said that the fatwa was issued based on evidence showing that GISB Holdings is a continuation of the banned Al-Arqam movement.
“GISBH members venerate their leaders and religious figures to the extent of equating them with prophets, attributing them with the power to perform miracles, and claiming they possess knowledge of the unseen, as though they were divine,” the mufti added.
Earlier today, police raided GISBH-related business premises in Rawang, including clinics, bakeries, eateries, and others.
They also confirmed that 31 people, including 17 with titles, were arrested for human trafficking. – September 21, 2024