Cults using social media to recruit followers

Compiled by JUNAID IBRAHIM, C.ARUNO and R.ARAVINTAN

SOCIAL media platforms have become a way for religious cults to recruit followers as they would be difficult to trace, says a syariah expert, Utusan Malaysia reported.

Centre for the Study of Syariah Law and Politics at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) senior fellow Muhammad Asham Ahmad said these groups would purportedly use the Quran to attract followers.

“Deviant teachings usually do not originate in Malaysia; however, these groups find and attract followers in this country through social media,” he said.

Muhammad Asham added that the cult targeted all levels of society including students, homemakers and even professionals.

“For instance, the leader of a cult called Millah Ibrahim was believed to be from outside Malaysia. However, they have representatives from each state who operate beyond the country’s border, making it difficult for the authorities to take action against them,” Muhammad Asham said.

He called for the regulation of social media platforms to enable monitoring and curb the issue.

“At the same time, policies related to religion need to be included before a licence can be issued for platform providers so that deviant teachings can be curbed according to the law under government agencies,” Muhammad Asham added.

Last month, the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department detained three family members suspected of following the Millah Abraham sect, which was declared deviant.

> Actress and social media influencer Sharifah Rose revealed that she once received an offer amounting to RM60,000 to “accompany” a VIP for a meal, Kosmo! reported.

Sharifah Rose, 25, also known as Sharifah Rose Sabrina Syed Mohd Mazfira, expressed her doubts about the extravagant payment.

“I once got a message offering RM60,000 just to accompany a person for a meal. But I think it’s a bit silly to only have a companion for a meal and not know the person who needs to be accompanied,” she said.

She also mentioned that an unknown individual on Instagram had extended an invitation for her to go on a vacation.

“I’m an introvert, so I didn’t feel safe and refused to take the offer,” Sharifah Rose said, adding that the invitation came from a woman.

Actress Puteri Sarah Liyana was previously approached by a woman posing as “Nadia Brian”, who offered RM15,000 in exchange for the celebrity’s role as a “companion” of VIPs.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.