BATU PAHAT: Several individuals believed to be family members of 14 Millah Abraham followers camped out at the Batu Pahat Syariah Lower Court today to hear the charges against the group.
They consisted of about 50 people who were seen arriving at the court around 8.30am, before several vans carrying all the accused arrived an hour later.
The court compound was quite crowded, also filled with members of the public who wanted to witness the proceedings.
Out of the total 15 individuals charged, one was accused at the Muar Magistrate's Court yesterday, while two others were released on bail and will be prosecution witnesses.
Last Thursday, 17 individuals suspected of being followers of the deviant teachings of Millah Abraham were detained in a joint operation across four districts in Johor.
All of them were detained in simultaneous operations conducted in Batu Pahat, Pontian, Muar, and Segamat.
The special operation, named Ops Milab, was conducted jointly by the Enforcement Division of the Johor Islamic Religious Department along with the Bukit Aman Special Branch and the Johor Baru police Special Branch.
The Millah Abraham teachings were declared heretical in Johor on July 30, 2015, and officially gazetted on April 28, 2016, as a teaching and belief system that deviates from the teachings of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah.
Last month, a family of three believed to be followers of the deviant Millah Abraham teachings were reportedly detained by the Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Affairs Department in raids on two separate houses in Sungai Kelamah, Gemas, and Palong 3, Jempol.
The deviant teachings were declared 'haram' (prohibited) in 2019 by the Negri Sembilan Mufti Department. Among the erroneous beliefs of this teaching is that its members believe that slaughters performed by non-members are invalid, as well as believing in the existence of a new prophet and having a different creed.
They also allegedly attempt to combine three religions, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and interpret the teachings of the Quran according to their understanding without proper 'tafsir' or exegesis of scripture.