Malaysian authorities say they have uncovered a horrifying operation run by Ihwan Global Business Holdings, a major corporation that claimed to promote Islamic values and assist impoverished families and orphaned children. The company, which operates restaurants serving Malaysian cuisine to millions across Asia and the West, was raided several days ago by Malaysian police, revealing alleged atrocities typically associated with the darkest of regimes.
The corporation's leaders now stand accused of running a cult-like organization that encouraged its dependent employees to produce as many children as possible, who were subsequently exploited, enslaved, and sexually abused. Meanwhile, the corporation's executives lived in luxury reserved for the nation's wealthiest elite. The conglomerate employs 5,000 workers across restaurants, bakeries, factories, and supermarkets in 20 countries throughout the Muslim world and the West.
A CNN investigation exposed the horrific conditions in which over 600 children were held at the company's compound. According to the report, police suspect some children were born as a result of sexual assault, which corporate officials encouraged to populate the company's orphanages and secure lucrative contracts and donations.
Former employees told the American news network that while living in corporate compounds, they were forbidden from possessing mobile phones and received news only through the corporation's television channel, which primarily broadcast propaganda and Islamic preaching from the group's founder, Ashari Mohammad, a religious preacher whose organization was outlawed in the Muslim nation in 1994.
The current corporate leader, Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, transformed the religious group and commercial corporation into a secretive organization controlling dozens of shelters and worker residences. The daughter of founder Ashaari Muhammad claims the organization became unrecognizable under the new leadership: "Women face constant abuse, and all raised funds serve only the leaders' comfort."
Nasiruddin, arrested amid the investigation, offered an unconvincing defense: "I'm not trying to blame the law. We did some things the law considers wrong. Yes, there were one or two cases of sodomy, but why group everything together?"
