KUALA TERENGGANU — The Syariah High Court here Tuesday fixed Sept 19 to decide whether 46 followers of the Ayah Pin sect have to enter their defence to charges of ignoring a “fatwa” (edict) that the sect’s teachings were deviant.
Syarie judge Rosdi Harun fixed the date after Syarie chief prosecutor Mustafar Hamzah completed submissions Tuesday.
He also set Aug 4 for the defence, led by syarie lawyer Saadiah Din, to enter written submissions, and Aug 18 for the prosecution to submit counter-submissions before the court decided on Sept 19 whether there was a prima facie case against all the accused.
All the accused, including a former Islamic religious teacher, Kamariah Ali, 59, who declared herself to be an apostate, were present in court when the case came up for hearing Tuesday.
The sect’s founder, Ariffin Mohammed or better known as Ayah Pin, had built a commune called the Sky Kingdom in Besut near here where he propagated his teachings.
He claimed to have direct contact with the heavens and is believed to have fled to Thailand after the religious authorities launched a crackdown on the sect in 2005.- BERNAMA
