A Malaysian online series about a fictional Islamic cult has topped a billion streams across local users and in Indonesia, with its disturbing depiction of a predatory cult leader igniting strong emotions and debate among Muslims in Southeast Asia.
Bidaah – meaning heresy – centres on a young woman compelled by her devout mother to join a religious sect steered by an enigmatic and authoritarian leader.
But the woman soon uncovers the group’s troubling practices, including forced marriages, unquestioning obedience, and rituals that starkly deviate from authentic Islamic teachings.
The series, which is streaming on Hong Kong’s Viu, reached 1 billion views on its digital platforms on April 3, according to the company.
The show’s lurid depiction of grooming young women, and scenes of followers drinking the leader’s bath water, have struck a nerve in Indonesia and Malaysia, where a series of scandals over recent years have been uncovered involving religious groups spinning off from mainstream Islam.
Indonesians took to TikTok to express outrage and disgust at the series.
