A Children of God congregation met in Los Angeles in 1971. — AP
CULTS are not just religious-oriented, and definitely not an issue only in Islam.
Nevertheless, so far in Malaysia, only Muslims have a system through which they can exact legal recourse to deal with Islamic deviancy or cults under syariah law or enforcement by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Herein lies the question: Should there be similar measures for non-Muslims and their respective religions, or religious bodies?
University Malaya’s criminologist Dr Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid affirms that the classification of “deviancy” in the country is only made by Islamic religious authorities when it involves Islamic teachings.
“I’m not quite sure, nor can I say that there is no apparent body that monitors religious deviancy in other religions. There may be other associations, Buddhist associations, and the church, they may have their own, but it is not made known to others.
“Maybe because our focus in Malaysia is too much on people who deviate from the normal understanding of Islam, which adheres to the Shafie sect, without looking so much at cults and deviancy in other religions.”
In illustrating the Islamic religious system in Malaysia, Haezreena says for Islam, deviancy is treated as an offence under Islamic state enactments.
“We have a clear provision of Article 121A in the Federal Constitution, which says that all matters related to religion are dealt with by the state. And Islamic matters will be dealt with with Islamic rules.”
Haezreena says cults and deviancy remain a concern since they do not only happen among Muslims.
“I do not see the monitoring of deviancy of faith other than Islam. I think this is something we need to address.”
And without the classification of deviant teachings in other religions, some deviant teachings appear to thrive today and those who wish to voice out against them can only do so on informal platforms. For example, several complaints have been made on a blog about an alleged non-Islamic cult since at least 2009. Former followers claim that the cult promotes isolation from society, including family members who do not participate in the same organisation.
“It is so sad and devastating to know that many people are still trapped in this cult. Many families have broken up and if the spouse walks out, he or she will be divorced, and parents will disown any of their kids who walk out. Even friends or relatives will be excommunicated,” says one of the complainants.
The person also claimed that the alleged cult leader would preach “crazy doctrines beyond comprehension and would scream and shout at the top of his voice”, and criticise those who question his “authority”.
“Whoever goes against him will be ostracised, punished, and tormented mentally and emotionally.”
Another former follower says if such a cult is left unchecked, it can lead to social decay.
“How can you let something take place for so long? Families were broken because of this cult.”
However, enacting a law to stem religious deviancy in non-Islamic religions may not be feasible, at least for the Christians in Malaysia, says Council of Churches Malaysia general secretary Reverend Philip Lok.
Rev Lok says there are religious cults based on Christianity in Malaysia but there is no need for any regulations yet.
From a Malaysian Christian perspective, it may not be possible due to one of the basic values of the Christian faith, which is the freedom to believe, Rev Lok tells Sunday Star.
“This concept of religious freedom is based on our understanding of the Bible and our theological reflections. Numerous examples in the Bible show God extending this freedom to all humanity. From our Christian viewpoint, faith in God is required but not coerced.
“In other words, we believe that a person should be free to choose his or her religious faith.
“With this conviction, we believe that this freedom extends to those who may have a different interpretation of the Bible or sections of the holy book. In Malaysia, different churches have different positions on certain theological issues. But most of us do share the same doctrinal belief.”
Rev Lok believes there are religious cults based on Christianity but he does not have any numbers.
“Some fringe groups are claiming to be Christians but choose to adopt a different understanding of the basic doctrines of Christianity.
“We can categorise them as cults or deviant groups. Although the majority of Christians may not agree with their theology and practices, and some of us may even label them as cults, we would find it difficult to launch any formal or legal actions against them.
“This is because we recognise that these groups have the same freedom to decide on their faith.”
Rev Lok says another reason against the establishment of laws and legal recourse against non-Muslim religious cults is that such laws will only pave the way for religious groups to launch legal proceedings against one another.
“This will be messy. Further-more, the Malaysian churches do not have a common creed to be used as a standard measurement for all Christian groups.”
When asked, Rev Lok says it is possible that without certain legal powers, non-Muslim religious cults will continue to thrive in society.
“That is a possible outcome if we were to hold firm to our conviction that everyone has the freedom to choose their religious path.”
However, Rev Lok believes that does not mean that non-Muslim bodies are powerless to prevent the spread of deviant teachings or practices by these groups.
“First, we can be responsible citizens by making sure that such groups are not running foul of our country’s laws.
“If there is evidence that these groups are law-breakers, we should hold them accountable.
“Second, and more importantly, mainstream churches and other religious bodies should increase our efforts to educate our members so that they will be able to distinguish and identify deviations from their religious beliefs.
“These can prevent the spread of religious cults.”
