KHAULAH Ashaari (picture), director of one of the subsidiaries of Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISBH) Sdn Bhd, says the company ceased practising the forbidden Aurad Muhammadiah teachings “a long time ago.”

Khaulah, who is also the daughter of Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, explained that the group has undergone religious rehabilitation courses conducted by the government. She added that any small groups still practising it are not known to her.

“All practices from the Al-Arqam era have been consistently discarded, especially those labelled as deviant or wrong.

“We have participated in courses organised by authorities, including the Islamic religious departments,” she said during a press conference yesterday.

Previously, Utusan Malaysia reported that 108 individuals linked to GISBH were detained by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) for various Shariah offences.

The offences included collecting donations without permission, illegal marriages, practising Aurad Muhammadiah teachings and believing that its leader, Ashaari Muhammad (also known as Abuya), did not die but exists in an unseen realm. The members also claimed that his body floated because Allah raised him, and that Prophet Muhammad or Abuya appeared at certain GISBH-organised events.

Khaulah stressed that GISBH is now focused on business and strictly adheres to all fatwas issued by JAIS, as well as the religious school syllabi mandated by the authorities.

“Even Datuk Mohd Mohd Ali Nasiruddin (GISBH’s executive chairman) constantly reminds us to strictly adhere to the fatwas and not to repeat past mistakes. Our primary focus now is on business,” she said.

Khaulah further explained that GISBH-run schools, which operate under legal licences, fully comply with the JAIS syllabi, with the religious authority regularly monitoring their implementation. — TMR