Deviant teachings and abuse - a peek into life inside Malaysian cult

Whistle-blower says she was told group sex was religiously acceptable in Islam

- Azril Annuar

When Ms Dalila Diyana was a teenager in 2014, she was told that group sex was religiously acceptable (halal) in Islam as long as it was between a husband and his many wives.

This was among the teachings imparted at a welfare home in Selangor state where she had been residing since she was 13, one of dozens of such homes in Malaysia run by a deviant Islamic group known as Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB).

"In 2014, when I came of age, I was taught about how sex in Islam must be pure. We were taught to wear sexy clothes, to dance, and how to have wholesome sex according to Islam.

"We were told that it is all right to have orgies with our husband and his other wives," Ms Dalila told The Sunday Times on the sidelines of the Nadwah Ulamak Lil Al-Nadhah Al-Jadidah conference on extremism, radicalism and terrorism held in Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan state.

The conference on Dec 14 was organised by Parti Amanah Negara, a progressive offshoot of the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia.

"I argued against this and when I began asking questions, I was slapped by one of the ustazah (female religious teachers) for being disobedient," she said.

Ms Dalila was the whistle-blower who brought such abusive practices to light, leading to a massive police raid known as Ops Global in September on 20 welfare homes as well as GISB businesses across the country.

The raid resulted in 625 victims aged between two and 28 being rescued. The operation also saw the arrest of GISB chief executive officer Nasiruddin Mohd Ali and his wife Azura Md Yusof.

On Dec 18, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain told the media that Ops Global has resulted in 416 arrests so far. To date, he said, 63 cases have been resolved, 22 are being prosecuted and no further action will be taken for 41, while 40 cases are still under investigation.