Sky Kingdom - History

History

Ariffin the leader and founder of Sky Kingdom, was born in 1943 in Beris, Kampung Besar Bachok, Kelantan. In 1953, Ariffin became seriously ill and he claimed that an angel had visited him. Twenty years later, the angel returned and Ariffin began his spiritual career. In 1975 a spiritual group was formed in Bagan Lebai Tahir, Butterworth, Penang. Whether Ariffin was the founder is unclear; during this phase he may have been a follower of Hassan Tuhan (also known as Anak Rimau), another claimant to divinity.

In the mid-1980s, the Sky Kingdom commune was formed on its present site in Besut. Some reports state the Office of Islamic Affairs declared the group to be deviant at this time. In 1995, Sky Kingdom's signature building projects began, in accordance with divine revelation. Two years later, the local Religious Affairs Council (Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Agama Islam dan Adat Melayu Terengganu) issued a fatwa against the group. About this time, four adherents were arrested for the crime of renouncing Islam, but they were later freed since as ex-Muslims Malaysia's sharia court no longer has jurisdiction over them.

In 2001 Ariffin himself renounced Islam. The Sharia court accused him of contravening Section 25 of the Enakmen Pentadbiran Hal Ehwal Agama Islam 1986 (Administration of Islamic Religious Affairs 1986), stating that his teachings and beliefs were "false, deviant, corrupting and threatening to the public peace" (membawa ancaman kepada ketenteraman orang awam serta merosakkan akidah). He pleaded guilty to a charge of "belittling Islam" (menghina Islam), and was jailed for 11 months and fined RM 2,900. The Religious Affairs Office hoped that Ariffin's arrest would prevent the movement's growth. However, the Sky Kingdom continued to attract new followers from university students and Orang Asli.

On July 18, 2005, a group of masked vigilantes attacked the group's headquarters, smashing windows and torching buildings. Two days later, 58 Sky Kingdom followers were arrested, and on July 31 three of Ariffin's four wives were arrested in Kelantan. Ariffin escaped capture and remains at large. Forty-five of his followers face the charge of failing to observe the government fatwa by continuing to be "members of a sect declared deviant", which carries a fine up to RM 3,000 or two years in prison. One of those arrested faced an additional charge of "humiliating Islam" for claiming no longer to be a Muslim.

Court cases will revolve around the right of religious freedom, which is theoretically guaranteed by the Malaysian constitution.

On August 1, 2005, officials of the Besut Land Office destroyed Sky Kingdom's buildings, citing Section 129 of the National Land Code, which punishes unauthorized construction with land confiscation. The titular landowner is Ariffin's first wife, who failed to appear in court for a hearing on the ownership. At a September 1, 2005, hearing, a trial date for the 45 followers accused of violating the government fatwa was set for three days beginning December 18. All of the accused are represented by Wan Haidi Wan Jusoh of Ubaidullah Aziz and Company, who unsuccessfully petitioned the court to order his name blacked out by the media. Sky Kingdom had previously had great difficulty obtaining legal representation, presumably because of attorneys' fears of reprisals or negative publicity.

As of 2007, after wide media coverage, the original Hulu Besut commune, now containing only 24 members, had reportedly chosen a new leader—a former police chief inspector in his 30s. The group is suspicious of visitors, and routinely turns out the commune's lights when a car approaches at night so as not to be found.