The Injustice Of Malaysia’s Sharia Court Continues Targeting AROPL Members

The Malaysian persecution of believers in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light continues unabated, with a new twist now being utilised to bring additional pressure and abuse. The Divine Just State magazine highlighted the case of Security Guard Mohammad Shahirman on the 13th of February 2026. This innocent man was forced to pay a fine of RM2500, worth around a month and a half of his wages, simply for possessing materials in his home about the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.

This story takes a severe turn now, because we have just been informed by the Messenger of Malaysia that he received communication on the 11th of March from Mohammad Shahirman Akbar Ali Khan, along with another believer, Muhammad Farid Arsyad, who had both been sentenced to nine months in prison after being summoned to another court in the state of Johor. They have been taken to Kluang Prison to begin serving their sentences while awaiting further trials on other alleged civil crimes.

Muhammad Farid Arsyad bin Ismail

Mohamad Shahirman Bin Akbar Ali Khan

As detailed previously, the specifics of Mohammad Shahirman’s arrest and subsequent sentence to pay a fine in the state of Malacca were reported in this magazine last month, while the circumstances of the second detainee, Muhammad Farid Arsyad, had not been reported due to his disappearance at the time. It transpired that Arsyad had been detained under severe circumstances on the 12th of February, whereby up to 30 police officers raided his home, seizing his phone and other possessions as evidence against him; he was transported to the Sharia Kadhi Office in Muar in the state of Johor. The police confiscated Muhammad Farid Arsyad's mobile phone and instructed him to attend a trial at the Johor Syariah Court on the 11th of March, 2026.

On the 13th of February, both subjects were produced at the Melaka Civil Court, shortly after they were remanded for four days at the Jasin District Police Headquarters (IPD Jasin) lock-up in the state of Malacca. They were investigated for allegedly committing several civil offences, including those under Section 298 of the Malaysian Penal Code.

Definition of Section 298

“Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person.”

This includes:

• Saying insulting words about a religion

• Making offensive sounds or statements

• Using gestures meant to mock a religion

• Showing objects or symbols intended to insult someone’s religion

Punishment for this offence: if found guilty, the offender may face up to 1 year in prison, a fine, or both. The police submitted full reports to the federal attorney's office, and both detainees were to await being summoned to the civil court. Special Branch (SB) officers also questioned them.

On the 15th of February, statements were recorded by multiple police departments. During the inquiry, authorities said they had identified several members of AROPL as persons of interest in connection with a mass vehicle convoy incident in Kuala Lumpur. On the 17th of February, bail was granted to both individuals by Investigating Officer (IO) Mr. Idris after secondary statements were taken from them. They returned to their respective residences.

Alone and isolated due to the fear generated by their prosecutions, Muhammad Farid Arsyad

contacted the Messenger of Malaysia to notify him of the impending court attendance on the same day, the 11th of March. He told him that he would inform him once they had been sentenced. 

Later that day, Muhammad Farid Arsyad sent several audio recordings to the Messenger of Malaysia, informing him that the judge had sentenced both of them to nine months in prison for committing two Sharia offences. Both offences fall under the Johor Syariah Criminal Offences Enactment 1997.

They are:

1. Going against the fatwa decreed by the mufti. 

2. Publishing and distributing of religious materials that are contrary to Sharia Law

They are both now sentenced to three months' imprisonment for the first offence and six months for the second, bringing the total to nine months. The police transported them to Kluang Prison in Johor, where their sentence began. They join another believer in that very prison, Muhammad Hisyam Fikri Bin Mohd Sarif, who is currently serving his prison sentence since the 4th of September, 2025.

Both detainees will soon face trial for allegedly committing several civil offences, and their imprisonment will be further extended. Johor state in Malaysia is immersed in a concerted effort to show force in the name of rehabilitating “deviants, those who contradict Islamic faith.” This endeavour is now expected to become a primary weapon in the state-sanctioned fight to criminalise belief in the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light. Mohammad Shahirman Akbar Ali Khan had already been sentenced and paid the fine as required. 

All of this, of course, is a complete violation of the most basic of human rights afforded by the United Nations in the UN Declaration on Freedom of Religion or Belief, as articulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which guarantees everyone the right to hold and change their religion or beliefs, and to practice them freely, either alone or in community with others. Malaysia became a member of the United Nations on the 17th of September 1957 and has affirmed acceptance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which outlines fundamental rights and freedoms for all individuals. As such, the United Nations and the rest of the free world must take action against this unacceptable conduct.