Who are Islamic ‘morality police’?
Name: Various, usually collectively known as “religious officers”
Who they are: These are bodies run by Malaysia’s federal states – or the federal government for federal territories – to enforce Sharia, which applies to the two thirds of the population who are Muslim.
They have the power of arrest, and possible offences range from day-time eating during Ramadan to women and men being “in close proximity”.
Cases are tried by Sharia courts separate from the ordinary court system.
What people think: Religious officers have often been accused of overstepping their remit – a situation often muddied by ambiguity about which takes precedence in certain cases – normal legislation or Sharia.
In April, religious officers arrested several people during a raid on a transgender group’s fundraising event, accusing participants of hosting a beauty pageant, which Muslims were banned from attending by a 1996 fatwa, or Islamic religious decree.
The group denies the accusation.
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