Obedient Wives Club

[Geechee Girl]

Is this a new brand of fundie Muslim or Islamic cult? I've never heard of this group. This short expose is fascinating from an anthropological perspective.  

 

 

 

[47of74]

Yes it sounds rather fundie to me.  This whole idea of the man's desires being the only ones that count, that the women need to be obedient to the man in the marriage while he has no obligation in return, and so on sounds a lot like the same stuff our own fundies spew on a consistent basis. 

[Koala]

Obedient wives club huh? I bet Lori is kicking herself for not thinking of it first!

[defraudingjezebel]

Its so interesting to hear their reasons for polygamy and submission. It sounds SO much like the stuff that the Sisterwives folks spout. I really liked the documentary because it shows both sides of the coin, those who espouse being obedient and practicing polygamy and those who believe those views are unislamic. I just wish that they had questioned what obedience means to these women. I feel like the definitions could vary greatly!

[apandaaries]

Obedient wives club huh? I bet Lori is kicking herself for not thinking of it first!

This is exactly who I thought of, too.  The "Obedient Wives Club" topic in QFoS, and it's NOT Lori?  Truly thought she'd made a new sooper sekrit forum for the True Believers^TM. 

[Cleopatra7]

I think I've heard about the Obedient Wives Club before. Weren't they ruled to be a cult or something like that? I'll have to do some more research to find out.

[IrishCarrie]

The bit where I gave up on the clip was when he walked across the road five metres ahead of his wives. Any man who thinks I'll meekly trot along behind him, ignored and dismissed, is going to get a rude awakening when he looks for me as he enters the shop !! 

Plus all the other obedience stuff obviously lol, but it really does piss me off that anyone could be so dismissive and disrespectful to another human being 

[imokit]

So in conclusion,  Its all the woman's fault.  Men have no responsibility and the belief is that they in capable of self-control.

Do they realise that this implies men are useless pigs?  The implication is that men can't do anything, and women are amazing beings who have the intelligence and self control to manage the human race?

[salex]

Every time I see this title, I think of something like this.

[Geechee Girl]

I think I've heard about the Obedient Wives Club before. Weren't they ruled to be a cult or something like that? I'll have to do some more research to find out.

Please share your findings. I'm leaning on the side that this is cult. They hit all the red flags: complete submission, complete sexual access, polygyny, and the frightening ideology which includes anti-Semitic themes.

I do find interesting that the dead founder has multiple business which permeate the culture in Malaysia.  

[Cleopatra7]

Please share your findings. I'm leaning on the side that this is cult. They hit all the red flags: complete submission, complete sexual access, polygyny, and the frightening ideology which includes anti-Semitic themes.

I do find interesting that the dead founder has multiple business which permeate the culture in Malaysia.  

The Obedient Wives Club seems to be a front group for the Al-Arquam group, which is banned in Malaysia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Arqam

This article is really good and recent, describing how the group is trying to make polygamy into a glossy lifestyle:

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1840091/polygamy-inc-how-global-ikhwan-becoming-lifestyle-choice

This one is older, but describes the problematic aspects of the Obedient Wives Club, like how it blames women for domestic abuse:

http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1841423/obedient-wives-club-better-or-worse

Malaysia is generally seen as one of the more tolerant Islamic countries and there are many Muslim women in prominent positions in Malaysian society, which is why the spread of these sorts of neo-Salafi movements are so troubling. However, Al-Arqam was teaching that the founder had magical powers and other un-Islamic ideas, which is why it ran into trouble with the Malaysian government.

[Geechee Girl]

Thanks for all the great info! This will make for a perfect topic in one of my anthro or sociology classes. Also, I wonder if appeal lies in a perceived status among its members. The fact that this group attracts well-off and educated people makes it even more eerie.