Asia-Pacific News
Self-proclaimed Malaysian prophet detained
Sep 17, 2009, 10:17 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - A self-proclaimed Malaysian prophet who has been on the run from the law for three years has been caught for allegedly leading a deviationist Muslim sect with a small group of followers, news reports said Thursday.
The sharia High Court in the central state of Selangor denied bail to Abdul Kahar Ahmad, 59, and ordered him to be imprisoned pending the hearing of his case next month.
Abdul Kahar, who claims to be a Malay prophet, had been evading authorities since 2006 but was finally detained early Wednesday, the official Bernama news agency said.
He faces charges of proclaiming himself as a prophet, conducting deviationist teachings, violating the state's religious leader's order of religion, blasphemy and spreading false belief.
Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country, with a large minority of followers of various other religions.
The government often clamps down on what it views as deviationist teachings of Islam.
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