Officially, the Al Arqam sect does not exist, and Asari Mohammed, its founder, has denounced his own teachings after spending seven weeks in government detention. Yet not all it as it seems. Banned by the Malaysian authorities it stands accused of training suicide squads, keeping sex-slaves and defying true Islamic teaching which otherwise unites the country. A prominent lawyer however says the government fears the political power of Al Arqam's 100,000 supporters far more than their suspected religious deviation. Moreover, despite the sect being officially banned, The sect continues without its name as thousands of Malaysians still live in model communes. The sect continues to run successful businesses, practice polygamy and run kindergartens based on the sect's teachings. ABC reports on the contentious and contradictory issue.

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