PETALING JAYA, 26 JANUARY, 2012: Selangor mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abd Wahid yesterday lambasted the Obedient Wives Club (OWC), saying its latest campaign, Rasulullah Tokoh Seks Suci Islam (The Prophet, Islam’s Sacred Sex Figure), was degrading, reported New Straits Times.

Such a campaign would only tarnish the image of Prophet Muhammad, he said.

Tamyes added that OWC's "highly unusual campaign" in honor of the prophet's birthday on Feb  5, or 12th Rabiul Awal in the Islamic calendar, could degrade the prophet and Islam instead of helping to tackle the growing moral decay among Muslims.

"This campaign can tarnish Prophet Muhammad's image. This is not the way to commemorate his birthday. He did not marry just for sex. He married women from different tribes to bring the Arabs together and spread Islam."

According to the report, the mufti also said OWC had been known to conduct activities that were against the norms and "this (campaign) is just one of them". He further said that the group could promote "halal sex" but it must be done tactfully and with discretion.

On Tuesday, Perak mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria had said the title of the campaign was insulting to the prophet who had bequeathed a legacy of a great leadership by example to human civilization.

He had also said the title was an insult to Islam and the prophet.

Even in the Quran, there were no references to the prophet as a sexual figure or idol, he had said.

OWC president Fauziah Ariffin, in defending the campaign, said it was not courting controversy as accused but merely wanted to urge Muslim couples to emulate the prophet's conduct, including his sex life.

"The prophet is the best example for our reference, and this includes aspects of the family as well as sex life as revealed in the hadith," she said when launching the campaign at OWC headquarters in Damansara.

In June last year, OWC made headlines when its vice-president, Dr Rohaya Mohamed, told Muslim wives to be obedient to their husbands and to serve them like a "first-class prostitute" to prevent their husbands from having extra-marital affairs.