CULTUREearly days, she too had doubts about where her newfound
faith had brought her. But her love for God and religion took
priority over her weariness.
“My friends and my mother told me, ‘You are going to
join this movement and your husband will marry another
woman.’ It worried me for a while. I didn’t know which way
to go. I wasn’t in the movement at full blast. But I really loved
God and I loved the movement.”
Today, Azlina cannot imagine her life without the
company, which is often referred to by the employees of
Global Ikhwan (“Global Brother” in Malay), herself included,
as a “movement”.
It is the fusion of the corporate with the religious that
has been raising many eyebrows over the years, as well as the
historical links between the business and a banned Islamic
sect called Al-Arqam – a reference that Azlina dismisses.
“We are a group learning about Islam. And in life
you need to eat and you need to live, so for that we have
a company. You can call it a movement, you can call it a
company.” However, she adds, “You cannot separate the
company from the religion.”
Founded in the 1960s by Ashaari Mohammad, who had
40 children with his four wives – the maximum number
allowed under Malaysian law – Al-Arqam owned a number
of businesses and had strict rules regarding Islamic dress
codes and behaviour.
The sect was banned by the Malaysian religious
authorities in 1994, with five members arrested and detained
under the Internal Security Act. At the time, the authorities
asserted that the teachings of Ashaari were deviant because
they alluded to supernatural powers and promoted
unorthodox views about communicating with the Prophet.
In the wake of the ban, Ashaari set up an “Islamic
business” called Rufaqa, which became Syarikat Global
Ikhwan, and was shortened to Global Ikhwan in May 2013.“I can work, I have more time for
myself and I don’t need to take care
of my children all the time, as the
other wives share the childrearing
responsibilities with me”
Azlina Jamaluddin
above Two girls
push a stroller inside
the Global Ikhwan
compound
right A young student
prays at the Sekolah
Menengah Islam Global
Ikhwan school