The powers given to Malaysia's religious police are being reviewed after Islamic authorities raided a disco and arrested about 100 Muslims for alleged indecent behavior according to a news report.
Officials from the Kuala Lumpur Religious Department entered the disco after midnight on Jan. 20, turned off the music and herded the Muslims to the department's headquarters on a truck, the New Straits Times reported last week.
The Muslim disco patrons were locked up for about 10 hours, during which time several officials humiliated the women, commenting on their attire and taking photographs of them, according to the newspaper report.
The raid was discussed last week at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, which resulted in an order to the country's attorney general to examine religious police powers, Culture Minister Rais Yatim told the newspaper.
Malaysia, where more than half of the 25 million residents are ethnic Malay Muslims, is considered more tolerant than some Muslim countries and currently heads the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest Muslim association.
Islamic laws do not apply to non-Muslims in the nation.
Raids by Islamic officials to check on Muslim morality are rare, with inspections usually confined to lovers' haunts and open public places to curb "khalwat," or "close proximity," a crime akin to adultery for unchaperoned meetings between men and women.
Those found guilty of khalwat can be jailed for up to two months under Islamic laws.