In public, they ran a successful global business. In private, police allege they abused hundreds of children
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia CNN —
Millions dined in their restaurants worldwide, getting a taste of Malaysia supplied by a sprawling conglomerate that claimed to embrace Islamic values by caring for thousands of disadvantaged children they said were orphans in homes across the country.
But the leaders of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH) are now fighting allegations they ran a cult-like organization that forced followers to work and have many children, some allegedly conceived through rape, to populate orphanages and raise donations that funded their lavish lifestyles.
When Malaysian police raided two dozen homes run by the company in mid-September, they rescued over 600 children and have since detained hundreds of people, charging some with crimes including child trafficking, sexual abuse and organized crime. GISBH lawyer Rosli Kamaruddin says the group’s leaders plan to fight the charges.
In a monthslong investigation CNN spoke to more than a dozen people including former members, their lawyers, and religious scholars to understand how for decades Global Ikhwan, and the alleged abuse they perpetrated, remained Malaysia’s best-kept secret.
Former followers told CNN they had no contact with the outside world or access to cellphones and received their only news via an in-house television channel that promoted the teachings of Al Arqam, an Islamic cult that was banned by the Malaysian government in the mid-90s for “deviant” beliefs that strayed far from orthodox teachings.
This is the story of the cult’s apparent revival – complete with its own prison islands and “holy water” infused with the leaders’ hair and bathwater that former members say was sprayed on goods produced in their factories and on meals