Darul Arqam

Darul Arqam ("House of Arqam") was an organization for the revival of Islam in Malaysia , named after al-Arqam ibn Abi 'l-Arqam , a companion of the Prophet Mohammed . The aim of the organization was to create an Islamic state based on an Islamic society.

Al-Arqam was founded in 1969 by the religious teacher Ustaaz Ashaari Muhammed to revive the Islamic view of life of personal ethics and social responsibility. To this end, he founded a number of village communities that were self-sufficient and where the sexes lived separately. In addition, factories were set up to produce halāl (religious observance) foods.

The government initially tolerated al-Arqam as an antipole to the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia . Since 1991, the movement has come into conflict with the government for ridiculing its ban on activities in government offices. The result was severe restrictions on al-Arqam's work. Al-Arqam remained active and received support from former members of the UMNO and dissatisfied young people.

In 1994, a number of Malaysian students and members of al-Arqam were arrested during a fundamentalist demonstration in Cairo . The organization was banned in August 1994 after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad described it as a threat to public safety. Its founder, Ashaari, was arrested the following month after being extradited from Thailand . In October he was released and appeared on television announcing that he would continue his activities. Al-Arqam was formally dissolved in November 1994.

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• Imtiyaz Yusuf: Art. "Dar ul Arqam" in John L. Esposito (ed.): The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. 6 Vols. Oxford 2009. Vol. II, pp. 29a-31a.
• Michael Leifer : Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia . London: Routledge 1996 (1st edition of the paperback edition), ISBN 0-415-13821-3 .
• JH Meuleman: "Reactions and Attitudes towards the Darul Arqam Movement in Southeast Asia" in Studia Islamika 3 (1996) 43-78. Digitized