World IN BRIEF : THAILAND : Islamic Leader Sent Back to Malaysia

The leader of an Islamic sect outlawed by Malaysia’s government as a security threat was sent back to Malaysia by Thai authorities, police said. Officials in Thailand said Ashaari Mohamad was detained as an illegal immigrant after the Malaysian government notified them that his passport had been revoked. He was living in self-imposed exile in Thailand. In banning his Al Arqam sect last week, Malaysia accused Ashaari of deviating from Islam and said his group had become a national threat by sowing disunity among Muslim Malays, the country’s majority ethnic group.