A group of Malaysian Muslim women is to launch a new platform called The Obedient Wife Club that aims to curb social ills like divorce, domestic violence and prostitution.

Wives who sign up will be given instruction in how to “obey, serve and entertain” their husbands to promote marital harmony and cut the risk their spouses will stray or misbehave.

Malaysia — In this Muslim-majority country, it’s OK to be Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. But not Shiite.

Malaysians are increasingly seeking spiritual aid from an assortment of gods and faith healers to solve personal problems in this mostly-Muslim but multi-religious Southeast Asia nation.

More than 200 Muslim Shiites—including Iranians, Indonesians and Pakistanis—were detained in one of the biggest swoops on outlawed Muslim sects in Malaysia and may be charged with breaching Islamic laws, an official said Monday.

Government authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia consider only the Sunni denomination to be legal. Sunni Islam is the world’s largest branch of the religion, followed by Shia Islam.

“Malaysia is trying to become a country a la Taliban that only allows one school of thought,” said prominent Muslim scholar Asri Zainul Abidin.

While Malaysia has a secular legal system, the country is ruled by a ‘moderate’ Muslim majority

Muslims in Malaysia come under the purview of religious courts that are not part of the secular federal legal system. Any attempt to deviate from Islamic teachings, or to leave the religion, can bring harsh penalties from the religious courts.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that Muslim-majority Malaysia can be a global “thought leader”, praising the multicultural nation’s efforts to avoid religious rifts.

On a visit to cultivate ties with the moderate country, Clinton told an Islamic university forum in Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia can be influential among both the world’s Muslims and the broader international community.

“Malaysia, both by geography, (its) dynamism, the role that Islam plays, which is a role that is not divisive as it is in some parts of the world, has a real opportunity to be a thought leader in a number of significant areas,” she said.

She lauded Malaysia’s “creative approach” to Islamic finance and noted the presence of civil society group “Sisters in Islam“, which she said promotes the role of women within Islamic traditions.

Traditional boxers in a Malaysian state ruled by a conservative Islamic party have been ordered to ditch their skimpy shorts and good-luck talismans, in accordance with religious rules.

Women in Kelantan have previously been targeted with various campaigns discouraging them from wearing sexy outfits, lipstick or high heels, but it is the first time that men have been told to cover up.

“We want them to cover their ‘aurat’,” Abdul Fattah said, referring to Islamic rules which in Malaysia require men to cover the area between their navel and knees. Women must cover their entire body except the face and hands.

Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, where more than 60 percent of its 28 million population are Muslim Malays, living alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian communities.

The end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan this weekend could see Islamic authorities in Malaysia carry out the country’s first caning sentence on a woman, a punishment that is fast gaining support among the country’s Muslim population.

Negative news reports regarding Islam’s growing influence has bruised Malaysia’s image as a moderate Muslim state with some commentators highlighting what they see as undesirable Islamic influences in their own countries, Reuters reports.

In our opinion, Islamic law has no place in modern, civilized society, and should not be tolerated in any form.

Police have sought help from Interpol to trace a motivational expert and his wife believed to have fled the country after a Muslim religious court accused them of setting up a sect of Islam.

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- Eighteen books published locally and overseas have been banned by the Internal Security Ministry under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 as they have been deemed to be able to disrupt peace and harmony.

JAKARTA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - A clash between police and machete-wielding members of a shadowy Islamic sect on Indonesia's eastern Sulawesi island has killed four people, three of them officers, a senior policeman said on Wednesday.

JERTEH: Having pawned their jewellery and borrowed money to post bail on Thursday, 27 followers of the Sky Kingdom sect wasted no time returning home after spending a week in prison and in the police lockup.

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia, which strictly censors foreign movies and books, has decided to ban tomes with "ghostly" tales and those touching on the supernatural, reports said on Thursday.

The Star (Malaysia), July 30, 2003