`Allah appeal verdict likely next month, says judge

BY JO SE PH SIP AL AN SE PT EM BE R 1 0, 2 01 3

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 10 The Court of Appeal expects to reach a decision this October on whether Catholic newspaper, The Herald, may continue to use the word Allah. Justice Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali, who leads a threemember panel presiding over the case, said they need time to study the submissions and go through the various documents provided. Not to worry, it won't take too long. We take judicial notice of the crowd outside, which shows the sensitivity of the issue," he said, referring to Muslim groups gathered at the entrance to the Palace of Justice in support of the government. Whatever it is, we will probably come to a decision in October," Apandi said, adding that the court will also prepare a full written judgement.

WHAT DISORDER? Church argues back 'Allah' has been used without incident

Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church have argued at the Court of Appeal that the term Allah had been used in Sabah and Sarawak to denote God and had not created any public disorder. Porres Royan said the term had also been used by the Christians in the Middle East and also the Christians in the most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia, and as such it did not create any untoward incidents. Hence, the home minister had not shown any evidence that the use of the word would create public disorder, he said. Porres, who is leading the lawyers for the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church, had submitted on the governments appeal over the word Allah in the Herald Catholic weekly.

Allah ban was justified, Putrajaya tells court

BY JO SE PH SIP AL AN SE PT EM BE R 1 0, 2 01 3

Members of Perkasa and other Muslim NGOs outside the Court of Appeal, September 10, 2013. Picture by Choo Choy May

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 10 The decision to ban the use of "Allah" by Catholic newspaper, the Herald, was justified as it could create religious confusion and threaten public safety and order, the government submitted at the Court of Appeal today. Senior federal counsel Suzanna Atan, in submitting Putrajaya's appeal against a 2009 High Court decision in favour of allowing the newspaper to use the word, said the Home Minister had acted well within his powers to preempt any potential strife caused by the use of the word. She said the matter was at the discretion of the minister and applied via the principle of "subjective satisfaction" as provided for under the Printing Presses and Publications Act. Suzanna added that the 2009 decision had sparked a flurry of arson attacks on various houses of worship and also a host of inflammatory discussions, raising concerns that it could get worse if left unchecked.

"It was a preemptive measure based on subjective satisfaction of the minister," she told the court, adding that religion is a sensitive issue in Malaysia's multicultural society. Aside from the government and the home ministry, seven other groups who have jointly-applied to file the appeal presented their submissions. They include the state religious councils of Terengganu, Malacca, Johor, Kedah, Selangor and the Federal Territories. The other applicant is the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MACMA). Porres Royen, representing the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur who is named respondent in the appeal, is scheduled to present his submissions when the hearing resumes after the lunch break at 2.15pm.

Check on Jakims handling of Allah issue

Lisa J. Ariffin | September 9, 2013

Christian coalition urges Putrajaya to do so in fear that calls by groups to defend from supposedly being insulted and threatened could breed social unrest.

PETALING JAYA: The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) today urged Putrajaya to check on the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) and its handling of the controversial Allah issue, a day before the hearing of the appeal filed by the government against the High Courts decision to allow The Herald newspaper to use the word, Allah. Let not Jakim be the only voice purporting to speak on behalf of the government of Malaysia, which it said represents Malaysians of different faiths and ethnicities, CFM chairman Dr Eu Hong Seng said in a press statement. Eu said the federation was concerned that the calls by the various groups to defend Islam from supposedly being insulted and threatened could be a catalyst to trigger public disorder. In particular, CFM referred to a television programme in which accusations were made about so-called Christian plots to convert Muslims. Eu also noted that the official Friday sermon (khutbah) written by Jakim and delivered on Sept 6, 2013, which called for action (tindakan) in defence of Islam by Muslims over the use of the word Allah for God by Christians, and that such defence was a holy struggle (perjuangan suci). In the light of that, the CFM relentlessly called upon the Malaysian government, which represents all Malaysians to ensure, uphold and protect freedom of religion in Malaysia, he said, adding that the demand for action by some Muslims is incendiary and alarming to ordinary Malaysians. According to Eu, a cursory examination of these accusations and statements clearly showed that the groups were emotional and alleged without factual basis but worst of all, he added, there appears to be no action or statement whatsoever from the government to stop the spread of such calls. Eu pointed out that the word Allah to refer to God has been in use for hundreds of years in translations of and from the Bible in the Middle East and North Africa, and that Christians in those regions freely used the word Allah without complaints of confusion.

Only in Malaysia when Christians use of the word Allah to refer to God is a problem for the Muslims, he said. Bumiputera Christians, who only have Bahasa Malaysia as their common language for worship and prayer, have long used the Bahasa Malaysia Bible containing the word Allah for God without any uproar, resistance or objection. Why now? he asked. Judicial review Since about 60% of the 2.6 million Christians in Malaysia used the word, Allah from the time they embraced the religion, the repeated accusations that the use of the word as part of a Christian conspiracy to convert Muslims did not hold water. This has been going on for centuries without any problems and we have lived in relative peace and harmony until recently, he said. Such irresponsible accusations must stop. This is blatant scaremongering and provoking of religious tensions, he said, while inviting all Muslims to reflect, understand and appreciate the context of how, when and why Christians use the word, Allah. In dealing with the use of the word Allah as with other inter-religious issues, there is a need for the truth instead of purely emotional rhetoric or use of base insults, or talk of plots and alleged conversions. On Feb 16, 2010, the church filed for a judicial review of the Home Ministrys decision to prohibit the use of the word, Allah in The Herald publication. Available in four languages, the publication has been using the word, Allah to refer to God, in its Malay-language publication for Christians in Sabah and Sarawak. On Dec 31, 2009, the High Court declared that the Home Ministrys decision to prohibit The Herald from using the word, Allah, was illegal. However, the government was adamant that the word, Allah, was exclusively Muslims. The government then applied for the case to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

Putrajayas silence on calls to defend Islam from threats and insults is worrying, say Christians
B Y J EN NIF ER GOME Z S EP TE MBER 09 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: S EP TE MB ER 10 , 20 13 12 :5 0 AM

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is concerned over Putrajaya's inaction in cooling rising temperatures on the "Allah" issue, ahead of the case which will be heard at the Court of Appeal tomorrow. Its chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng said there had been calls by various groups to defend Islam from being insulted and threatened. "The call for 'action' by some Muslims is incendiary and alarming to ordinary Malaysians. "Worst of all, there appears to be no action or statement from any government authority calling for calm or even ordering a stop to such actions, which is clearly stoking anger," Dr Eu said in a statement. Tomorrow, the court will hear the government's appeal against a 2009 High Court ruling that allows the Catholic Church to use the word "Allah" in the Herald, a weekly Catholic newspaper. In documents sighted by The Malaysian Insider recently, it was revealed that Putrajaya aims to use cases of arson attacks on several churches and an incident of vandals tossing a pigs head into a mosque to bolster its argument that there will be tension and trouble if the Court of Appeal upholds the 2009 High Court ruling. Dr Eu said a television programme with untrue and unsubstantiated accusations were made about so-called Christian plots to convert Muslims.

He also drew attention to the Friday sermon by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM), which called for action in defence of Islam by Muslims over the use of the word by Christians. "Even a cursory examination of these accusations and statements will clearly show that they are emotional and without factual basis," he said. The undisputed facts, Dr Eu said, are that about 60% of the 2.6 million Christians in Malaysia have been using "Allah" to refer to God and that Bumiputera Christians have used the Bahasa Malaysia Bible containing the word for a long time without any objection. He also noted the the problem on the use of "Allah" was an issue unique to Malaysia and not a problem in the Middle East. As such, CFM called for a stop to the repeated accusations that the use of the word was a Christian conspiracy to convert Muslims. "This is blatant scare-mongering which provokes religious tension," Dr Eu said. He instead called on Muslims to understand and appreciate the context of how, when and why Christians use the word Allah, adding that it is carried from centuries ago through shared history without any problems. "We need to look at facts and evidence, instead of appealing to emotional rhetoric or talk of plots and alleged conversions," he advised. Dr Eu also called on the government, which represents all Malaysians, to uphold and protect freedom of religion in the country. "Let not JAKIM be the only voice purporting to speak on behalf of the government, that has said that it represents Malaysians of different faiths and ethnicities," he added. - September 9, 2013.

Let the mobs rule then, says Zaid

S EP TE MBER 8, 201 3

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 Malaysia may as well return to mob rule instead of settling disputes through the courts, a former de facto law minister suggested today as Islamic authorities here flex muscle before Tuesday's appeal hearing on the "Allah" word. Datuk Zaid Ibrahim noted that powerful government religious agencies have been making "provocative and threatening statements" over the "Allah" row, placing immense pressure on judges that could affect their ability to try the case independently. "Dont pressure our judges. Of late provocative and threatening statements are issued by those in authority with regard to the Allah issue," the one time minister in the Abdullah administration said on his Twitter handle, @zaidibrahim. "If we dont want the court to decide on any matter pass a law in Parliament to that effect. Do it properly; not by intimidation," he said. Islamic authorities here have been targeting non-Muslims in the run-up to the Home Ministry's legal push to ban the Catholic Church from publishing the Arabic word for god in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its local paper, the Herald.

Just days before the "Allah" row returns to court, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) hit out at non-Muslims for deigning to challenge the government for use of the term, and called upon Muslims to unite in a "holy struggle" against enemies of the faith. In a nationwide sermon last Friday, JAKIM also laid claim to a list of words asides from "Allah" that it purports to be exclusive to Muslims and prohibited to non-Muslims. The federal Islamic authority stressed that the ultimate goal of its opponents, which it failed to name, is to confuse Muslims and put every religion on equal terms, which will then lead to a "sea of apostasy". Last week, an international Muslim organisation had alleged that the Catholic Church's fight to use "Allah" is part of a failed colonialera strategy by Christians here to proselytise Muslims. Last month, Muslim activists had alleged a global Christian evangelical conspiracy behind the Allah row, as they described a clandestine agenda to colonise Islamic souls and countries. In a feature run in Malay daily Utusan Malaysias weekend edition, Mingguan Malaysia, they claimed the Christian insistence on using the Arabic word Allah was out of a desire to proselytise to Muslims, even challenge the Federal Constitution and the Malay rulers. But Zaid, a lawyer-turned-politician, reminded the government that it too was subject to the rule of law. "If government dont respect the judges then we will have 1988 all over again," he said in a series of tweets earlier today, referring to the 1988 judicial crisis when the courts were stripped of their independence as a separate arm of government.

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He added: "its the job of Police to maintain order, to defend decision." The man who had once held high posts in both the ruling party and the opposition also referred to a news report today by The Malaysian Insider claiming government lawyers would be centring their argument to ban the Church from using "Allah" on the potential public disorder it may cause. "The argument that a decision not approved by the people will lead to chaos is stupid and contemptuous. This is mob rule," Zaid said. Religious tensions have been long been simmering in Malaysia in recent years, with the latest controversy surrounding a proposed law on child conversions to Islam deepening divisions between the Muslim majority and religious minorities. The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Heralds newspaper permit for its reference to God as Allah, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. Christians subsequently argued that the word predates Islam and that their right to use Allah in a non-Muslim context was affirmed by the governments own 10-point solution issued in 2011. The 2009 High Court decision upholding the Catholic Churchs constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked many Muslims that consider the word to only refer to the Islamic God. It also led to Malaysias worst religious strife, with houses of worship throughout the country coming under attack. Muslims are Malaysia's largest religious group, followed by Buddhists. Christians are the third-largest at 2.6 million, according to statistics from the 2010 consensus.

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Putrajaya to argue non-Muslims using Allah will lead to public disorder

B Y V . ANB AL AG AN, AS SI ST AN T N EWS ED IT OR S EP TE MBER 08 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: S EP TE MB ER 08 , 20 13 02 :4 5 PM

When the long-drawn battle on the right to use the word "Allah" returns to the courtroom on Tuesday, the Malaysian government will argue that there will be public disorder and unrest if the Court of Appeal allows non-Muslims to use the word. Government affidavits sighted by The Malaysian Insider indicate that Putrajaya aims to rely on several arson attempts on churches and a sole incident when vandals tossed a pig's head into a mosque to bolster their argument that there will be tension and trouble if the appeal court upholds a 2009 High Court ruling allowing the Catholic Church to use the word "Allah". This legal strategy of relying on sporadic incidents is likely to invite some cynicism because the government was criticised in 2009 for its lackadaisical approach to incendiary comments by groups that raised the temperature on the ground after the High Court decision. On Tuesday, lawyers appearing for the government will also scrutinise High Court judge Lau Bee Lan's judgment, arguing that she erred in her ruling which allowed the Herald, the Catholic weekly, to use the word "Allah" in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the publication. The Catholic Church is expected to rely on the 10-point solution offered by the government in 2011 to resolve a knot of outstanding issues involving Christians to counter Putrajaya's case before the appeal court. As part of the 10-point solution by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the government conceded that the Bible in the Indonesian and Malay languages, which contains the word "Allah", can be used, imported and printed in the country. Lawyers representing the church will also stress that the 10-point solution was to resolve the on-going dispute about the use of the word. They will also argue that the word "Allah" predates Islam and Bahasa Malaysia speaking-Christians, especially those in Sabah and Sarawak, have been using the word for generations.

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Lawyers for the Catholic Church are likely to provide evidence going back to the 16th century that the translated word for God is Allah. The "Allah" row erupted in 2008 when the home ministry threatened to revoke the Herald's newspaper permit for using the word "Allah" when referring to God. This action prompted the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. On December 31, 2009, in a landmark ruling, the High Court allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban on the use of the word in the Herald. Among other things, the judge said that the church had a constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in its newspaper on grounds that religions other than Islam can be practised in peace and harmony. The judge also found that although Islam is the religion of the federation, it did not authorise the government to stop the church from using the word in its publication. Lau said Article 10 of the Federal Constitution allowed the church to use the word "Allah" as it was exercising its freedom of speech and expression. She added that the word could be used because it was also a right under Article 11, where Christians had the right to manage their own religious affairs. The Terengganu, the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Johor, Kedah and Selangor religious councils, and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association have been included as parties in the appeal. Their counsel will support Putrajaya's stand. They will also put forward that the dispute over the use of the word should not be decided by the civil court as it was a religious matter. Last month, the Catholic Church failed to strike out Putrajaya's appeal against the High Court ruling. - September 8, 2013.

Church leaders RUBBISH claims of Christian conspiracy to convert Muslims

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KUALA LUMPUR, Church leaders here were forced again to deny claims that the fight by Christians to use the word Allah is part of a covert strategy to convert Muslims here, an accusation that has intensified ahead of next Tuesdays Court of Appeal hearing. Catholic priest Father Lawrence Andrew rejected the idea of a Christian conspiracy to convert non-Christians, even reminding that many prominent leaders in the country had gone through the Catholic schools system without switching their religion. I would only comment on this idea of conspiring to convert people. Its not true, many of the luminaries of the country, like Najib, Gani Patail, Rafidah, DPM have studied in Catholic schools, and they have not become Catholics and Christians, the editor of the Catholic Churchs weekly Herald said when contacted today. Lawrence was referring to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, former minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. He said that claims that Muslims would be easily confused amounted to an insult, saying that the Muslim community is intelligent. Dont insult them by saying that they get easily confused. They are intelligent, they are not so easily confused, he said. Im happy that the judge can say that in the same manner. Thats why she was able to lift the ban of Irshad Manjis book in BM, he said, referring to Justice Datuk Zaleha Yusof. He was referring to High Courts decision yesterday to overturn the governments ban on the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the Canadian authors book Allah, Liberty and Love, where Zaleha had reportedly questioned if the ban meant that only Malay-speaking Muslims would be confused by the book. Yesterday, the International Muslim Consumer Association (IMCA) claimed that Malaysian Christians are insisting on using the word Allah to make Christianity more palatable to Malay Muslims and thus convert them. But Rev Hermen Shastri, the secretary-general of the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM), disagreed with the claim, pointing out that the word had been used by Malay-speaking Christians in east Malaysia in the practice of their religion. It is not true. The word has been used from the early times when the Bible was translated into Malay. And Christians in Sabah and Sarawak have been using the word for a long, long time, he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted today. We have been using it all the time, why is it suddenly an issue?

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We are using it for our own community, its not used to convert Muslims, he said, referring to the Christians in east Malaysia. According to a 2010 census, Muslims are Malaysias largest religious group, followed by Buddhists. Christians are the third-largest at 2.6 million, which comes up to about 10 per cent of the entire Malaysian population. Bumiputera Christians, who form about 64 per cent or close to two-third of the Christian community in Malaysia, have prayed and spoken in the national language and their native tongues for centuries. The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), an umbrella body of all the Protestant and Catholic churches in the country, had this May came out with a fact-sheet, stating that the word Allah has been used by the Malay-speaking Christians for centuries, citing Malay translations of the bible that existed even before the founding of Malaysia. Lawrence said that different groups will interpret a word like Allah differently, pointing out that the Bahasa Malaysia language is the countrys official language to be shared by all citizens. First of all, we have a language that is common to all, the language is not exclusive to somebody. It is our national language, he said. Even the word God in English, a Muslim will understand it differently, a Christian will understand it differently, a Hindu will understand it differently ... The concept you put to the word, it varies from people to people, he added. Lawrence observed that the dispute over the word Allah was a problem unique to Malaysia, pointing out that other countries like Muslim-dominant neighbour Indonesia did not face the same problem. We have to be aware that in Indonesia, this is not a problem. In other parts of the world, in the Middle East, its not a problem. Its only a problem in Malaysia. Some Muslims have been insisting that the Christians use the word Tuhan (Lord) to replace the word Allah (God), but the Christian community had explained that the two words carry different meanings and would make their religious texts incoherent. The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Heralds newspaper permit for its reference to God as Allah, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. Christians subsequently argued that the word predates Islam and that their right to use Allah in a non-Muslim context was affirmed by the governments own 10-point solution issued in 2011. The 2009 High Court decision upholding the Catholic Churchs constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked many Muslims that consider the word to only refer to the Islamic God. The local Catholic Church however failed in August to strike out Putrajayas appeal against the 2009 landmark High Court ruling that upheld Christians right to refer to God as Allah. With the decision last month, the church will have to duke it out in the courtroom with Putrajaya next Tuesday, prolonging the over four-year-long legal tussle over the Arabic word.

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-themalaymailonline.com

The Allah case at a glance: Part 2 - Bob Teoh

S EP TE MBER 07 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: S EP TE MB ER 07 , 20 13 08 :0 2 PM

Allah is just a word in the Semitic languages to refer to the English word God. Languages like Malay borrow this word from Arabic. Thus, whether it is in the Malay language Qur'an or the Malay language Bible, or Alkitab as it is known, the word for God is Allah. But it is more than just a word. The government and the religious establishment are perceived by non-Muslims, especially Christians, as taking all available means to stop them from using this word. This makes Malaysia the only Muslimmajority country to make it an offence for non-Muslims to use the Allah word as well as a slew of other common Arabic words like doa (pray), iman (faith), and nabi (prophet). Allah is a shared word among People of the Book, a centuries-old common heritage. Only in Malaysia do we refuse to understand this. But, as the Kuala Lumpur High Court judgment on the Herald case pointed out, the battle over the Allah word is not about Islam as the religion of the Federation or the Sultans' authority over it but whether the government can lawfully prohibit non-Muslims from using the Allah word. Writing on his blog following the Herald judgment and subsequent fire-bombing of churches, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, This controversy actually began when I was prime minister. The Cabinet at the time held the opinion that its use in the Bible is a sensitive matter. Sensitive matters such as this cannot be resolved by simply referring to the law. According to the Herald judgment, A mere statement by the Home Minister that the exercise of power was necessary on the ground of national security without adequate supporting evidence is not sufficient in law. Mahathir also sees a hidden Christian agenda for wanting to use the Allah word. Perhaps the word Allah is to equate Christianity with Islam so it is the worship of the same God. With this, acceptance of Christianity by Muslims can be so much easier. This translation is incorrect. In fact, the word Tuhan should be used for God.

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Like Mahathir, others have also suggested that Christians should use Tuhan to refer to God. However, this is flawed advice. The Bible often refers to God, especially in the Old Testament as the LORD God. In other words, this would have to be translated as Tuhan Tuhan. Not only will this sound silly, it is also bad grammar. In Malay, a repetition of a noun renders in from a singular to a plural. In other words, Christians worship many gods; making it into a polytheistic religion; God forbid, nothing can be further from the truth. Let there be no confusion over this. The Bible is explicitly clear on the one-ness of God. This is clear in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy 6:4 and in the New Testament Gospel of Mark 12:29. The fear of conversion out of Islam, especially to Christianity, is understandable. But the hysteria whipped up by the religious establishment and the ultra rightwing is wholly unsubstantiated. The fact remains that the opposite appears to be true. In Sabah alone there were 117,579 conversions to Islam from 1970 to 2009, according to official statistics. Yet lies are repeatedly spread about massive conversions of Muslims to Christianity. Take for instance, the Mufti of Perak. His allegations have even riled some Muslims to the extent that the Sisters in Islam was prompted to issue a press statement on 6 November 2006 to refute his allegations. It would not be right to put all the blame on Dr Mahathir. He was not the only Prime Minister to ban an indigenous language Bible. His successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, banned the Bup Kudus, the Iban Bible, while in his capacity as acting Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister. According to a research paper by Tsunashima-Miyake, Ikuko in early 2003, the ban was imposed on the Iban Bible by the Ministry of Home Affairs but was withdrawn within two months. Indeed, the problem will continue to persist. But the government knows and has the answer. It only needs the political will and goodwill to put matters to rest. All 14 component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition except one have distanced themselves from this highly divisive and irregular policy. There is no reason for one party to hold the whole nation to ransom any longer. Thirty-three years is long enough for people of other faiths to carry this cross. The present generation of believers don't even know the genesis of this plague but they inherit the pain all the same. It is time to bury past mistakes. It is time to bring forth reconciliation. Therein lies the redemption of our nation. mysinchew.com, September 7, 2013

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* This is an extract from Allah More Than A Word (2010 Zomiky Media) used with permission.

The Allah case at a glance: Part 1 - Bob Teoh

S EP TE MBER 06 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: S EP TE MB ER 07 , 20 13 12 :1 5 AM

Following a High Court decision on 31 Dec, 2009 to allow Herald, the Catholic weekly, to refer to God as Allah in its Malay language edition, 10 churches and a Catholic school were attacked. So too were a few suraus, a Sikh temple and a Catholic girls' school. Only one of the churches firebomb-ed or attacked was extensively damaged and rendered unusable. The rest had minor damages. But the fact remains they were attacked mindlessly. The attacks sent shock waves through the nation and set race relations back by a few generations. All because of one word Allah. In 1980, the Umno-led Terengganu government became the first state to enact laws to control or restrict the propagation of other religions among Muslims. It decreed a list of 25 Arabic words and 10 phrases that are deemed exclusive only to Islam. One of it was Allah. Other states followed suit. The following year, the Alkitab or the Malay language Bible which uses the word Allah was banned under the old Internal Security Act 1960 (now known as SOSMA 2012) on the basis that it is a threat to national security. This ban came five months after Dr Mahathir Mohamad became Prime Minister on 16 July, 1981. Subsequently, the Alkitab was allowed restricted use in churches only, but otherwise, the ban remains in force even till today. But the Customs and Home Ministry continued to confiscate not only the Alkitab but also other Malay language Christian publications at entry points at ports and airports as well as from general bookshops. This had caused considerable losses to importers as well as an acute shortage of the Alkitab and other Christian publications in the Malay language. The confiscations were not made under the ISA or the respective state Islamic enactments but under the Publications and Printing Presses Act 1984. One gazette or Cabinet decree after another continued to be issued to prohibit use of the word Allah by non-Muslims. All of them serve only to reinforce the prohibition on usage of the word for the past three decades.

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Such gazettes actually contradict the Cabinet decision of 1982 where the Alkitab, or the Malay language Bible, containing the word Allah itself is not banned but restricted to Christians. Things became heated a few years ago, when the Home Ministry imposed a condition on the annual printing permit for Herald in its Malay edition where it is now prohibited from using the word Allah. After prolonged disputes over its printing permit, the Titular Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur as publisher of the Herald took the matter to court for a ruling on the constitutionality of the prohibition. As soon as the High Court allowed the Herald to proceed with its case, seven state Islamic authorities decided to intervene on the basis that the matter involved Islam and the Malay rulers, therefore, the civil court has no authority over it. The court rejected this intervention on the basis that the hearing had nothing to do with Islam or the Malay rulers. It was all about whether the government made a bad decision in law or was acting unreasonably when it imposed a condition on the printing permit of the Herald to prohibit it from using Allah in its Malay edition. The case involved federal law and not state legislations. When the court ruled against the government on 31 Dec, 2009, it sent shock waves through the nation. The attack on churches followed but died down as quickly as it had started, leading some to observe that the outrage was either staged or not as threatening to public order as initially presumed. In any case, there was no unanimity among Malays and Muslims. PAS as well as Keadilan supported the right of Christians to use Allah. Even Umno Youth favoured allowing Christians to use the word. Meanwhile, the government immediately filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court judgement. Two similar cases are also in the courts over the use of Allah. One is brought by Sidang Injil Borneo (Borneo Evangelical Church) Sabah over confiscation of its Malay language Christian education publications from Indonesia while it was on transit to Sabah in 2007. The other is brought by Sarawakian Melanau Bumiputera Christian, Jill Ireland, for confiscation of her audio CDs containing the word Allah, also in 2007 at the Sepang LCCT airport. Both cases are part-heard. Out of the two million Christians in Malaysia, the majority are Malay-speaking pribumis or indigenous peoples from Sabah and Sarawak who use the Alkitab as

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their Holy Bible. They would continue to refer to God as Allah no doubt. They know of no other word for God than Allah. In addition, history, liturgy, etymology and theology favour the use of the word Allah as there are no substitutes available. - mysinchew.com, September 6, 2013. * This is an extract from 'Allah' more than a word (2010 Zomiky Media) and used with permission.

Jakim uses Friday sermons to attack non-Muslims over use of Allah

B Y R IT A JONG S EP TE MBER 06 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: S EP TE MB ER 06 , 20 13 05 :5 5 PM

Four days before the Allah issue returns to court, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) today hit out at non-Muslims for challenging the Muslim faith by insisting on using the word. The Islamic authority, in its Friday sermon today, claimed that apart from Allah, the words solat (prayer), tauhid (belief in God), Rasul (prophet), Kaabah and Haji (holy pilgrimage) were exclusive to Muslims. "The position of Islam is being threatened from every corner. We must be aware of our responsibility in this issue. These are the rights of Muslims that cannot be intruded by anyone as it will affect the beliefs and thoughts of Muslims, said Jakim in the sermon.

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Are we prepared to hear non-Muslims calling their churches Rumah Allah and calling their Gods Allah? This will threaten the faith of young Muslims. The non-Muslims are out to confuse Muslims by claiming that all religions are equal." Jakim then urged Muslims to unite in protecting the purity and identity of its religion. Last month, the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church failed in its bid to strike out the governments appeal against the High Courts landmark ruling in 2009 which held that Catholics who use Bahasa Malaysia in their worship and the Al-Kitab (the Bible in Bahasa Malaysia, pic) have the right to use the word Allah to refer as their God. The controversy began when former Home Minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar signed an order prohibiting the Herald from using the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia pages of its weekly publication. This led to KL Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam filing a judicial review application in 2009 to allow Herald to use the word Allah. The High Court subsequently allowed the churchs application and lifted the Home Ministers ban. The Herald is published in four languages, and has been using the word Allah as a translation for Almighty God in its Bahasa Malaysia-language section, which caters to the Sabahan and Sarawakian Catholics studying and working in the peninsula, since September 1995, but the government argued that Allah should be used exclusively by Muslims. Though the Catholic Church brought the suit against the government, other Christians and even the Sikh community have made it clear that the word Allah should not be exclusive to Muslims, pointing out its centuries-long usage in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as in the Middle-east for more than 2,000 years. September 6, 2013.

As Allah appeal nears, JAKIM calls for holy struggle among Muslims
B Y Z UR AI RI A R S EP TE MBER 6, 201 3

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JAKIM stressed today that the ultimate goal of the group, which it failed to name, is to confuse Muslims and put every religion on equal terms, which will then lead to a 'sea of apostasy'. - AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 Just days before the "Allah" row returns to court, Islamic authorities today slammed their opponents for deigning to challenge for the use of the term, and called upon Muslims to unite in a "holy struggle" against enemies of the faith. In today's Friday sermon read out at mosques nationwide, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) also laid claim to a list of words asides from "Allah" that it purports to be exclusive to Muslims and prohibited to non-Muslims. "It is only natural in life, something which is renowned and staunch will always suffer from threats and attempts to shake its superiority," said the sermon uploaded online.

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"Such as the position of Islam and its adherents today, threatened from every corner whether in social, jurisprudence or faith, including the use of the word Allah." Last month, the local Catholic Church failed to strike out Putrajayas appeal against the 2009 landmark High Court ruling that upheld Christians right to refer to God as Allah. The appeal will be heard on Tuesday next week. JAKIM stressed today that the ultimate goal of the group, which it failed to name, is to confuse Muslims and put every religion on equal terms, which will then lead to a "sea of apostasy". "The words Allah, solat (prayer), tauhid (oneness of God), Rasul (messenger), Kaabah, Haji (holy pilgrimage) are the rights of Muslims which cannot be invaded by any quarters as it will affect the thoughts and belief of Muslims," it added. Non-Muslims are barred from using up to 35 other Arabic terms, besides "Allah", in every state except for Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory. Malacca has reportedly banned the most number of Arabic words and phrases compared to the other states. In Selangor, the Non-Islamic Religion Enactment 1988 (Control of Propagations Among Muslims) listed 25 words that cannot be uttered by non-Muslims either orally or in writing, including "Allah", "firman Allah" (Gods decree), "solat" (daily prayers), "Rasul", "mubaligh" (missionary), "mufti" (cleric), "iman" (faith), "Kaabah", "Qiblat" (the direction in which Muslims pray), and "Haji". Non-Muslims are also banned in Selangor from using 10 other phrases such as "subhan-Allah" (Glory be to God), "insha-Allah" (God-willing), "astaghfirullah" (forgive me God), "masha-Allah" 23

(God has willed it) and "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). Non-Muslims found guilty of using the words may be fined up to RM3,000 or jailed for up to two years, or both. These phrases are commonly used by Christian Arabs, and also by Christians in the Balkan nations which were previously ruled by the Ottoman Empire. Yesterday, an international Muslim NGO had alleged that the Catholic Church's fight to use "Allah" is part of a failed colonial-era strategy by Christians here to proselytise Muslims. In an open letter addressed to "Malaysian church bodies and Christians", the International Muslim Consumer Association (IMCA) said that by using "Allah", the church was attempting to package Christianity into "more palatable terms and concepts" for nonChristians in the country. It then asked Malaysian Christians to "walk the path of Christian righteousness" and retract their request to use the word "Allah" to prevent any conflicts. Last month, Muslim activists had alleged a global Christian evangelical conspiracy behind the Allah row, as they described a clandestine agenda to colonise Islamic souls and countries. In a feature run in Malay daily Utusan Malaysias weekend edition, Mingguan Malaysia, they claimed the Christian insistence on using the Arabic word Allah was out of a desire to proselytise to Muslims, even challenge the Federal Constitution and the Malay rulers. Religious tensions have been long been simmering in Malaysia in recent years, with the latest controversy surrounding a proposed law on child conversions to Islam deepening divisions between the 24

Muslim majority and religious minorities. The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Heralds newspaper permit for its reference to God as Allah, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. Christians subsequently argued that the word predates Islam and that their right to use Allah in a non-Muslim context was affirmed by the governments own 10-point solution issued in 2011. The 2009 High Court decision upholding the Catholic Churchs constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked many Muslims that consider the word to only refer to the Islamic God. It also led to Malaysias worst religious strife, with houses of worship throughout the country coming under attack. Muslims are Malaysia's largest religious group, followed by Buddhists. Christians are the third-largest at 2.6 million, according to statistics from the 2010 consensus
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/as-allahappeal-nears-jakim-calls-for-holy-struggle-amongmuslims#sthash.NFWI8puq.dpuf

Amid Allah row, churches call for courage to reject extremism

B Y C LA RA C HOOI A SS IS TA NT NEW S ED IT OR AU GU ST 26, 2013

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File photo of St Francis Xavier Church in Petaling Jaya. Inter-racial and interreligious relations have become more uneasy in recent years, especially the row between Muslims and Christians over the word Allah. Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 Church leaders here today pleaded for more daring Malaysians to speak out against extremism and those abusing race and religion to sow discord, in a message ahead of National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations and amid an ongoing dispute over the use of the word Allah. The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), an umbrella body representing 90 per cent of churches nationwide, stressed the importance of equality among Malaysias many races and faith followers, and said those bent on gaining power by using religion to create fear should be resisted at all costs.

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We call on all peaceful and peace-loving Malaysians to reject those who are racists and religious chauvinists in both their speech and actions. We ask all Malaysians to continue to show mutual respect, compassion and care for the human rights and dignity of each other and to demonstrate that with the courage to speak up against injustice and extremism of all kinds, CFM said in a statement signed by key members of the clergy, including chairman Rev D. Eu Hong Seng. Racial and religious divisions have shaped the Malaysian political landscape over the decades. Pro-Bumiputera affirmative action policies were implemented since the 1970s, but opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has argued that such measures benefit the well-connected Malay elite at the expense of ordinary citizens. The social impact of race-based economic policies and politics where the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties Umno, the MCA and MIC represent the Malays, Chinese and Indians respectively is even more complex. Inter-racial and inter-religious relations have also become more uneasy in recent years, with the row between Muslims and Christians over the word Allah exploding in 2010 when the High Court ruled that the Arabic word did not belong exclusively to the former. A church was firebombed and other places of worship were desecrated. Last week, right-wing Muslim groups threatened to stage a protest at the gates of the Court of Appeal where the Catholic Church was appealing against the governments decision to challenge the High Courts decision. The protest fizzled out and the Court of Appeal struck out the churchs bid, effectively prolonging the protracted legal dispute over one word Allah.

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In other incidents, Malay rights lobby Perkasa had once even suggested that Malay-language bibles which contain the word Allah be burned. The right-wing group also recently demanded that Putrajaya expel the Vaticans first ambassador to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, for his views on the Allah issue that it deemed provocative. Racial hostilities here deepened when a pair of Chinese bloggers uploaded a photograph of themselves eating bak kut teh (a soupy pork dish), together with a Ramadan greeting, on Facebook several weeks ago. They were swiftly charged with sedition and even denied bail. In another recent case, a Muslim dog trainer was arrested for a video she made three years ago where she is featured celebrating Aidilfitri with her four-legged friends. But CFM told Malaysians to look past these adversities, and called for fair treatment of all those living under the Malaysian sun. Let us heighten our consciousness of and consideration for those others living around us and treat all peoples with love, honour and respect as we are all children of the living God, it said. As Christians in Malaysia we continue to pray for the well-being and good of our beloved nation Malaysia. We pray that Almighty God will assist us in our nation-building endeavours as we continue to build and to prosper a nation on the basis of truth and justice so that we may live together in unity, peace and harmony, CFM added. The Christian body also offered prayers for the police and the Malaysian armed forces to keep vigilance over all Malaysians in their struggle to keep the nation safe and secure. It also prayed for blessings on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the state Rulers, prime minister and his Cabinet ministers, all state mentris

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besar and chief ministers and their executive council members, as well as all parliamentarians and state assemblymen. As with our founding fathers of Malaysia we pray and seek the help of Almighty God to assist us as we envision and foster a nation uniting all peoples together; an inclusive nation rather than a divisive one. A nation for all, it said.

Show mutual respect

August 27, 2013

The Christian Federation of Malaysia has also called on those who love peace to reject individuals who are racist and extreme in their words and actions.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM)) is calling on all Malaysians to show mutual respect in order to maintain racial and religious harmony. CFM said in the nations 56-year journey, it went through various challenges which its multiracial populace managed to face with success. We can be proud that despite the various challenges, we have been able to face them together as a people comprising different races who are united amid peace and harmony due to the mutual respect and good relationship among us, said CFM chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng in a statement issued in conjunction with the upcoming 56th Independence Day celebrations. The statement was also signed by CFMs three vice-presidents, Rev Jerry Dusing, Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayagam and Bishop Philip Lok Oi Peng. The CFM also called on those who love peace to reject individuals who are racist and extreme in their words and actions. Let us raise our awareness and consideration for those living around us and treat all with love, kindness and respect, it said.

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This year, the theme for the Merdeka Day celebration on Aug 31 is My Sovereign Malaysia, My Native Land. -Bernama

Christian Federation calls on Malaysians to reject efforts to rouse fear and hatred
B Y J EN NIF ER GOME Z A UG UST 26 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: A UGU ST 2 6, 2 01 3 0 6: 05 PM

As Malaysia prepares to celebrate 56 years of Independence, the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is praying for an inclusive nation rather than a divisive one. In a statement, it called on Malaysians to continue to fashion a legal system that will provide equality and equal protection under the law for all. "We call on all peaceful and peace-loving Malaysians to reject those who are racists and religious chauvinists in both their speeches and actions. "We need to actively resist all who use race and religion to drum up fear and hatred against others for political mileage and advantage," said the statement in a Merdeka Day message. It was signed by CFM chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng and the three vice chairmen Bishop Emeritus Antony Selvanayagm, Rev Datuk Jerry Dusing, Bishop Philip Lok Oi Peng. CFM, an umbrella body that represents 90% of churches in the country, also called on Malaysians to show mutual respect, compassion and care for the human rights and dignity of each other as well as to speak up against injustice and extremism. "Let us heighten our consciousness and consideration for those living around us and treat all people with love, honour and respect," it added. Inter-racial and inter-religious relations in Malaysia have become uneasy in recent years, with the row between Muslims and Christians coming to a boil when the High Court ruled that the Arabic word Allah did not belong exclusively to Muslims.

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Subsequently, a church was firebombed and other places of worship desecrated. The Court of Appeal will start hearing the Putrajaya appeal on September 10 to declare that the word Allah belongs exclusively to Muslims. Last week, Malay rights groups threatened to stage a protest at the gates of the Court of Appeal where the Catholic Church had applied to strike out Putrajaya's appeal. Malay rights group Perkasa had even suggested that Malay-language bibles containing the word Allah be burned. Perkasa also added to the religious tension when it demanded that Putrajaya expel the Vaticans first ambassador to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, for his views on the Allah issue that it deemed provocative. The statement said that CFM would continue praying for wisdom and moral courage among all leaders of the nation, so that they will represent the rakyat with responsibility and integrity, and govern honestly and fairly. "We pray for our police and armed forces to be vigilant and diligent to ensure the safety and security of our beloved nation," it added. According to the statement, over the last five decades, Malaysians had faced many difficulties, but endured as a nation because of mutual respect and harmonious relationships. "However, let us not be presumptuous but work together to build a nation under God and continue to seek blessing, peace and goodwill for each other and our communities," it said. August 26, 2013.

Again, Malaysias churches release Allah fact sheet after court loss
BY BOO SU-LYNAUGUST 22, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 After taking a major blow in court today over the Catholic Church's claim to use "Allah", Malaysia's leading Christian front pressed for the dispute to be tried fairly at the next hearing on September 10. The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), which represents churches nationwide, also reminded the public that Malay-speaking Christians in

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Southeast Asia have been using the Middle Eastern word to call their god for centuries. "In the meantime, we pray that this matter will not be politicised but that the Court of Appeal be allowed to fairly adjudicate over the matter," CFM chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng said. His emailed statement included a fact sheet the group had put together and released previously, providing a chronological history on the use of the word "Allah" by indigenous Christians here. "It is our solemn hope that our factual perspective on the issue will prevail in the courts of our land," he said. The CFM fact sheet notes that the Arabic word "Allah" cannot be substituted with the Malay word "Tuhan", as both terms have different connotations. "In the Malay language, 'Allah' means 'God' and 'Tuhan' means 'Lord'," said CFM in the fact sheet. The Court of Appeal dismissed today the Catholic Church's application to strike off Putrajaya's appeal, noting that the subject matter was "not academic". "It is still a live issue. The controversy has yet to be resolved," Justice Datuk Seri Abu Samah Nordin said in his judgment today.

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allah graphicThe three-man bench - which was led by Abu Samah, and included Justices Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim and Datuk Rohana Yusuf - unanimously decided to dismiss the Catholic Church's application with costs. The Catholic Church argued earlier today that it was illogical to prohibit the Catholic weekly, Herald, from referring to God as Allah when Putrajaya had allowed shipments of Malay-language bibles containing the Arabic word in 2011. The Church's lead counsel, Porres Royan, noted that the Cabinet had issued a 10-point solution in April 2011 that allowed bibles in Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and in indigenous languages to be imported for the use of the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak.

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Porres also stressed that the Cabinet, in its 10-point solution, expressed its intention to resolve the blockade of Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia bible shipments, as well as "other religious issues...and Christian materials". But Haniff Khatri - lawyer for the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, an intervenor in the appeal - argued that then-Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, in an affidavit, said the "word 'Allah' was not considered at all" in the Cabinet's 10-point solution. The Catholic Church had sued the government for violating its constitutional rights after the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the publication permit of Herald in 2008 for using the Arabic word Allah to describe God. The 2009 High Court judgment, which ruled that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to Muslims, had sparked one of the worst religious attacks in the country, where a church was firebombed and other places of worship desecrated. With today's decision, the hearing of the appeal will continue on September 10.

Catholic Church fails to strike out Putrajayas appeal, Allah issue to continue
B Y V . ANB AL AG AN, AS SI ST AN T N EWS ED IT OR A UG UST 22 , 20 13 L AT ES T U PD AT E: A UGU ST 2 2, 2 01 3 0 5: 53 PM

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The lawyers representing the Federal government are all smiles after getting the judgment they wanted from the Court of Appeal today. The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, August 22, 2013.Archbishop

Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam failed in his bid to strike out an appeal by Putrajaya to reverse a High Court ruling that allowed Herald, a weekly publication by the Archdioces of Kuala Lumpur, to use the word "Allah". Court of Appeal judge Datuk Wira Abu Samah Nordin, who led a three-man bench, said the issue (the use of the word "Allah") was still alive and not academic. "The controversy is not resolved," he said in a unanimous decision. Abu Samah said the striking out application by the church was a drastic action to deny the government and the home minister the chance to have the appeal heard. Abu Samah said the 10-point solution by the Cabinet in 2011 had no reference to the Allah issue. "The government in coming out with the solution was fully conscious that their appeal on the Allah issue was pending," he said, adding that the church also did not make an application to include the 10-point solution as additional evidence to support their case. Some 200 protesters from Malay-right group Perkasa and other organisations rallied outside the courthouse and shouted "Takbir, Allahu-Akhbar" after the ruling. They had gathered outside the court house since early in the morning.

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In an immediate response to the ruling, S. Selvaraja, a member of the legal team for the church, said they would be ready for the appeal, which is scheduled for September 10. Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew said he respected the outcome although he was disappointed. He pointed out that the 10-point solution allowed for the use of Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Bible, called Al-Kitab, but the newspaper could not use the word. "So it is another form of restriction," he added. Andrew, however, said all was not over yet and called on Christians to pray for blessings. Earlier during proceedings, lawyer Porres Royen, who appeared for the church, said the Cabinet decision on the 10-point solution had implied that the Christian community could use the word "Allah". "The effect is that the word can be used in Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and native languages of Sabahans and Sarawakians," he said. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had written a letter to the Christian Federation of Malaysia, the umbrella body of the religion about the Cabinet stand. He said as such, the decision of the executive, who is a member of the Cabinet, superceded the stand of the home minister. Based on the current position of the government and the minister, Royen said it was no longer necessary for the Court of Appeal to deliberate on the appeal. Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan, however, said the appeal was not academic as there were still issues to be deliberated. "This application as rebutted by the minister (Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein) in his affidavit is frivolous and ought to be dismissed," she said. She said the home minister had exercised his discretion under the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 to prohibit Herald from using the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section of the periodical. Hishammuddin in his affidavit had said the Cabinet, in deciding on the 10-point solution, did not make a decision on the use of the word Allah. "When we made the announcement, the government was aware that there was an appeal pending against the Herald," he said in his affidavit.

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Lawyer Mubashir Mansor, who appeared for the Terengganu Islamic Religious Council said the proceedings in the High Court were based on the home minister's decision made in January 7, 2009. "It is a review on an administrative ruling whether the minister was reasonable to ban the use of the word Allah in the Herald," he said. He said the appeal must be based on facts which existed at that time and not on a Cabinet stand in 2011. Among other things, the prime minister said in the 10-point solution that Christians were free to bring in and use Bahasa Malaysia-language Bibles. These Bibles contained the word "Allah" and had previously been seized by the authorities, sparking outrage among Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, who worship in Bahasa Malaysia and had used the word "Allah" for centuries. The position taken by the Catholic Church is that given that the 10-point solution allows the import of books where the word "Allah" is used, it is illogical for the government to challenge its use in the Herald. The controversy began when Hishamuddin's predecessor, Datuk Syed Hamid Albar, signed an order prohibiting the Herald from using the word "Allah" in its publication. This led to a suit by Pakiam in March 2009 in which he named the home ministry and the government as respondents. Among other things, the church sought a declaration that Syed Hamid's decision was illegal and that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to Islam. On December 31, 2009, judge Lau Bee Lan allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban, declaring that the minister's ban was illegal, null and void. The Herald is published in four languages, and has been using the word "Allah" as a translation for God in its Bahasa Malaysia-language section, catering to East Malaysians in the peninsula, since September 1995, but the government argued that "Allah" should be used exclusively by Muslims. Though the Catholic Church brought the suit against the government, other Christians and even the Sikh community have made it clear that the word "Allah" should not be exclusively for Muslims, pointing out its long usage in Malaysia and other countries. - August 22, 2013.

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Church argues illogical to bar Allah with Cabinets 10-point solution

B Y B OO S U- LY N A UG UST 22 , 20 13 U PD AT ED : AUG US T 2 2, 20 13 0 4: 04 PM

Muslims take a group photograph while waiting for the Court of Appeal decision on the Catholic Churchs Allah appeal in Putrajaya today. Picture by Choo Choy MayPUTRAJAYA,

Aug 22 The Catholic Church argued in the Court of Appeal here today that it is illogical to prohibit its newspaper from using the word Allah when Putrajaya had allowed shipments of Malay-language bibles containing the Arabic word in 2011. Lawyer Porres Royan said the Cabinet issued a 10-point solution in April 2011 that allowed bibles in Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa 38

Indonesia and in indigenous languages to be imported for the use of the Christian community in Sabah and Sarawak. If the Cabinet allowed the use of the word by Christian communities in bibles, it must follow that the word can be used in a newspaper, Porres told the court. You cannot have the word used in a Bible, but not a publication, he added. Porres also stressed that the Cabinet, under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had stated that its 10-point solution was to resolve the blockade of Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia bibles, as well as other religious issues... and Christian materials. For that reason, theres no controversy between the parties. The appeal, therefore, we ask to be struck out, said Porres. Putrajaya is appealing the 2009 landmark High Court judgment that allowed the Catholic Churchs weekly paper, Herald, to use the word Allah in reference to God, ruling that the Arabic word was not exclusive to Muslims. The Catholic Church, however, is applying to strike out the federal governments appeal. About 200 protesters from Muslim groups, including Malay rights lobby Perkasa, rallied outside the courthouse today from as early as 8am while the courtroom inside was packed. Suzanna Atan, senior federal counsel for the government, insisted today that the appeal is not academic. The 10-point solution is on the Bible issue, she argued. The case before this court is on the exercise of the ministers discretion on the Printing and Presses Publications Act (PPPA), she said.

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Mubashir Mansor, lawyer for the Terengganu Islamic Council which is an intervenor in the appeal, argued that the Catholic Church was relying on inadmissible facts as the 10-point solution was only issued in 2011, two years after the Home Ministry subjected the Heralds publication permit to the condition that the word Allah was prohibited. Any subsequent fact to the decision of the Home Ministry on 7 January 2009 is irrelevant for the purposes of the judicial review, said Mubashir. The prime ministers letter did not say that the Herald, which was subject to the High Court judicial review, could use the sacred word Allah, he added. Haniff Khatri, lawyer for the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, another intervenor, argued that then-Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had submitted an affidavit, saying that the word Allah was not considered at all in the Cabinets 10-point solution. Its very clear that the Cabinet, for its intent of the issuance of the directive, was in regards to the movement of bibles from outside to inside of the country, and vice-versa, he said. There is nowhere in this resolution on any directives made on the contents of the bible, added Haniff. The Najib administration issued the 10-point solution in April 2011, ahead of the Sarawak state election, for east Malaysia to end a Home Ministry blockade of shipments of Christian holy scripture in the Malay language. The Cabinet, through Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jala, stated in the resolution that the large Bumiputera Christian population in Sabah and Sarawak could use their holy books in the Malay and indigenous languages.

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The three-man Court of Appeal Bench led by Justice Datuk Seri Abu Samah Nordin is set to make a decision on the Catholic Churchs bid to strike out Putrajayas appeal later this afternoon.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/churchargues-illogical-to-bar-allah-with-cabinets-10-point-solution? utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.NqDGxcKB. dpuf

Court of Appeal to rule at 3pm on Allah appeal

BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR AUGUST 22, 2013 LATEST UPDATE: AUGUST 22, 2013 02:59 PM

Fath er Lawrence Andrews, the editor of the Herald, in court this morning. The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, August 22, 2013.The decision on the Catholic Church's application to strike out Putrajaya's appeal on the Allah issue will be delivered at 3pm. The Court of Appeal's three-man bench, led by Datuk Abu Samah Nordin, said this after hearing submissions from the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, the Federal government and the Terengganu Islamic Religious Council this morning.

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Lawyer Porres Royen, who appeared for the church, said it was illogical to ban the Catholic newspaper, the Herald, from using the word "Allah" when the government had allowed shipments of Malay-language bibles containing the word in 2011. Royen said the Cabinet decision on the 10-point solution in 2011 had implied that the Christian community could use the word "Allah". "The word can be used in Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and native languages of Sabahans and Sarawakians," he said. He pointed out that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had written a letter to the Christian Federation of Malaysia, the umbrella body of the religion, about the Cabinet's stand. "As such, the decision of the executive, who is a member of the Cabinet, superseded the stand of the home minister. "Based on the current position of the government and the minister it was no longer necessary for the Court of Appeal to deliberate on the appeal. "It would be an exercise in futility with no practical benefit to the government and the minister who have taken a decision consistent with the High Court ruling," he said. Senior Federal Counsel Suzana Atan, however, said there were issues to be deliberated. "This application as rebutted by the minister (the Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein) in his affidavit is frivolous and ought to be dismissed," she said. He said the home minister had exercised his discretion under the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984 to prohibit the Herald from using the word Allah in the Malay section of the periodical. Hishammuddin in his affidavit had said the Cabinet in deciding on the 10-point solution did not make a decision on the use of the word Allah. "When we made the announcement, the government was aware that there was an appeal pending against the Herald," he said in his affidavit.

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Lawyer Mubashir Mansor, who appeared for the Terengganu Islamic Religious Council said the proceedings in the High Court were based on the home minister's decision made in Jan 7, 2009. "It is a review on an administrative ruling whether the minister was reasonable to ban the use of the word Allah in the Herald," he said. He said the appeal must be based on facts which existed at that time and not on a Cabinet stand in 2011. Among other things, the prime minister said in the 10-point solution that Christians were free to bring in and use Malay-language Bibles. These Bibles contained the word "Allah" and had previously been seized by the authorities, sparking outrage among Christians in Sabah and Sarawak who worship in Bahasa Malaysia and had used the word "Allah" for centuries. The position taken by the Catholic Church is that given that the 10-point solution allows the import of books where the word "Allah" is used, it is illogical for the government to challenge its use in the Herald. The controversy began when Hishamuddin's predecessor, Datuk Syed Hamid Albar, signed an order prohibiting the Herald from using the word "Allah" in its publication. This led to a suit by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam in March 2009 in which he named the home ministry and the government as respondents. Among other things, the church sought a declaration that Syed Hamid's decision was illegal and that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to Islam. On Dec 31, 2009, judge Lau Bee Lan allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban, declaring that the minister's ban was illegal, null and void. The weekly, published in four languages, has been using the word "Allah" as a translation for God in its Malay-language section, but the government argued that "Allah" should be used exclusively by Muslims. Though the Catholic Church brought the suit against the government, other Christians and even the Sikh community have made it clear that the word "Allah"

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should not be exclusively for Muslims, pointing out its long usage in Malaysia and other countries. - August 22, 2013.

Muslim NGOs gather outside court hearing Allah appeal

Members of various Muslim non-governmental organisations gathered in Putrajaya as the Court of Appeal began hearing the Catholic Churchs application to dismiss the governments appeal against the landmark decision to allow non-Muslims to use the word Allah.

Part of the crowd of Muslim NGO members outside the court building in Putrajaya today. The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, August 22, 2013.

Some had arrived as early as 8am to get a place in the courts public gallery but many were not allowed in. Court of Appeal judge Datuk Abu Samah Nordin is leading the three-member panel hearing the application with Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim and Datuk Rohana Yusof.

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Also spotted before proceedings began were former PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa and Perkasa vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Noordin. Archbishop Murphy Packiam is applying to set aside the governments appeal against the High Court decision in 2009, which allowed the use of Allah in Bahasa Malaysia bibles, called Al-Kitab. On Tuesday, Perkasa said it would rally outside the court to protest the churchs attempt to use the word Allah, which it has maintained should be used exclusively by Muslims. The Catholic Church called for calm, saying the matter should be left in the courts hands. The row about using the word Allah by the Catholics first emerged in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Catholic paper Heralds permit, prompting the Church to take the matter to court. The High Courts ruling in 2009 that the Catholic Church had the constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked Muslims who considered the word to only refer to the Muslim God. August 22, 2013.-By Md Izwan-TMI

Press statement from the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur Rev Fr Jestus Pereira
AUGUST 20, 2013 AUG 21 The Catholic Church is gravely concerned by the recent statements made by individuals and organisations with regard to the use of the word 'Allah', a matter which is pending at the Court of Appeal. Many of these statements are stoking racial sentiments and creating religious tension in our country. We humbly request all parties to respectfully allow the judicial process to take its course and urge the relevant authorities to take necessary steps to prevent any untoward incidence. We exhort all to pray that peace and good sense will prevail.

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* Rev Fr Jestus Pereira is the Chancellor at the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur

Make Perkasa pay if rally turns to riot, says Pakatan

AUGUST 22, 2013

Dzulkefly said Perkasa is stoking religious sensitivities. PETALING JAYA, Aug 22 (www.themalaymailonline.com) Perkasa has a right to protest the Catholic Churchs court claim to Allah but the authorities must clamp down on the hardline Malay-Muslim group for fanning religious flames, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) representatives said. PAS research centre executive director Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad accused Perkasa of being the pack leader in stoking religious sensitivities. Religious antagonism has always been a hallmark of Malaysian politics from time immemorial. Of late it has only gotten worse. Politicians from both divides [sic] are all too willing to draw swords at the slightest provocation, he said in a text message to The Malay Mail Online earlier this week.

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I dont know when and how all these [sic] bigotry will end but Perkasa, more than others, must be held responsible for heightening religious tension, the Islamist party leader said. The Allah issue returns to the legal arena today, with the Court of Appeal set to hear the Catholic Churchs application to dismiss the governments appeal against the landmark High Court ruling in 2009 that Allah is not exclusive to Muslims. Dzulkefly, who is also a PAS central working committee member, conceded that it is within Perkasas democratic right to hold a rally, but pointed out that the matter is already under the purview of the courts and should be left to the courts to come to a decision. Surely it is their democratic right to demonstrate. But it is also my democratic right to express my conviction that their presence, much less demonstration is neither necessary nor helpful in out nations endeavours to have a better Malaysia, he said.

Surendran also blamed Umno for causing religious flare ups.PKR vice-president N. Surendran echoed Dzulkeflys sentiments, but cast a wider net of blame to include Umno for allegedly causing religious flare ups. Its their democratic right to demonstrate. However, Perkasas bad intention is to create religious tension for political purposes, the Padang Serai MP said. Umno must take responsibility as they are Perkasas main backers and Mahathir is its patron, Surendran added, referring to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who still wields great influence within the three million strong Malay political party. 47

DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke accused Perkasa of purposely raising religious tension to apply pressure on the court process. Its an irresponsible act on their part. This issue is involving religious sensitivities, and I think all parties should let the court decide objectively without giving any undue pressure, he said. The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke Catholic paperHeralds newspaper permit, prompting the Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. The 2009 High Court decision that upheld the Catholic Churchs constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked Muslims who considered the word to only refer to the Muslim God. It also led to Malaysias worst religious strife, with houses of worship throughout the country coming under attack. Christians are Malaysias third-largest religious population at 2.6 million people, according to statistics from the 2010 census, behind Muslims and Buddhists.

Catholic Church calls for respect as Allah issue has its day in court Thursday
B Y J EN NIF ER GOME Z A UG UST 20 , 20 13

The Catholic Church has expressed grave concern over recent statements on the use of the word Allah, a matter which is still pending at the Court of Appeal. A statement issued today by Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur chancellor Father Jestus Pereira noted that "many of the statements are stoking racial sentiments and creating religious tension in our country. "We humbly request all parties to respectfully allow the judicial process to take its course and urge the relevant authorities to take necessary steps to prevent any untoward incidence. We pray that peace and good sense will prevail," he said.

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The church's call comes following comments from Malay rights group Perkasa yesterday that they will demonstrate on Thursday outside the Court of Appeal which is set to hear the church's application to strike out the government's appeal against a High Court decision allowing the churchs newspaper, Herald, to use the word Allah". Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali, in calling for Muslims to gather at the Court of Appeal, said they wanted to support the Home Ministry s efforts to prohibit non-Muslims from referring to God as Allah in print materials. He had also said that the court decision on the "Allah" issue was very important to Muslims and that they needed to defend the word from being misused by the followers of other religions. On Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the word Allah was exclusive to Muslims. The home minister further added, "All Muslims irrespective of their religious and political inclination must be united on the issue." In an interview with The Malaysian Insider earlier today, Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew urged Catholics to "stay where they are and pray" during the court case on Thursday morning. Andrew said he received text messages from Catholics asking if they should turn up at the Court of Appeal, but the priest told them, "Stay back, don't come." Thursdays court date is the latest one in the churchs stand that it should be allowed to use the word Allah in the Herald. On Dec 31, 2009, High Court judge Lau Bee Lan allowed the church's judicial review application and lifted the home minister's ban, declaring that the ministers ban was illegal. The government appealed the decision which led to the church's application to strike it out. August 20, 2013.

Keepcalm,letcourtdecideonAllah,CatholicChurchpleads
BY IDA LIMAU G US T 20, 2013

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The Catholic Churchs Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur issued a statement today, voicing its alarm and concern that the group s declaration may reignite sentiments that have been simmering since the landmark 2009 High Court judgment. Picture by Choo Choy MayKUALA

LUMPUR, Aug 20 Fearing another flare-up over its claim to Allah, the Catholic Church called on Putrajaya to step in and douse the religious fire that has been lit ahead of its court hearing this Thursday. Yesterday, Muslim-Malay supremacy group, Perkasa, had vowed to rally outside the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya to protest the Churchs bid to protect a High Court ruling allowing it the right to use the Middle Eastern word for god, which some believe to be exclusive to Islam. The Catholic Churchs Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur issued a statement today, voicing its alarm and concern that the groups declaration may reignite sentiments that have been simmering since the landmark 2009 High Court judgment. The Catholic Church is gravely concerned by the recent statements made by individuals and organisations with regard to 50

the use of the word Allah, a matter which is pending at the Court of Appeal. Many of these statements are stoking racial sentiments and creating religious tension in our country. We humbly request all parties to respectfully allow the judicial process to take its course and urge the relevant authorities to take necessary steps to prevent any untoward incidence, it said in the brief statement. We exhort all to pray that peace and good sense will prevail, it added in the statement signed by its Chancellor, Rev Fr Jestus Pereira. Malaysias Christian minority has been under persistent attack from conservative Muslim groups over the past four years. More than 10 houses of worship nationwide were set on fire, pelted with stones or vandalised following the High Court judgment in favour of the Catholic Church. Perkasa, a vocal Malay rights lobby, has some 407,000 members throughout Malaysia, according to the groups acting president Datuk Abd Rahman Abu Bakar. Perkasas declaration came after Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said last Saturday that the Arabic word Allah is exclusive to Muslims, and that non-Muslims must stop challenging this absolute right. Zahid also urged Muslim groups to unite and defend against what he seemed to view as an attempt by non-believers to undermine the countrys predominant religion. The Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur filed the application last month to strike out the federal governments appeal against the landmark High Court judgment that had sparked

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a string of attacks against places of worship, including the firebombing of a church. Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of Catholic newspaper Herald, told The Malay Mail Online last Thursday that Putrajayas appeal needed to be struck out because of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razaks 10-point solution to Christians in 2011. Najibs 10-point solution was an assurance to Malaysias Christian population that they were free to bring in and use their bibles in Malay, as well as in other indigenous languages that contained the word Allah, after shipments of the holy book were banned. Deep-running anger over the issue was again exposed last month when far-right Muslim groups railed against remarks by the Vaticans first envoy to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, on the controversy. In an interview with the media, Marino had described the local Catholic Churchs arguments based on the governments 10-point solution as logical and acceptable. Perkasa and Jati, another Muslim group, accused Marino of interfering in domestic affairs and demanded his censure and expulsion from the country. Marino later apologised for the remarks and denied he was meddling in the matter. The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Heralds newspaper permit for its reference to God as Allah, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights. The 2009 High Court decision upholding the Catholic Churchs constitutional right to use the word Allah had shocked many Muslims that consider the word to only refer to the Muslim God.

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Christians are Malaysias third-largest religious population at 2.6 million people, according to statistics from the 2010 census, behind Muslims and Buddhists.
- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/keepcalm-let-court-decide-on-allah-catholic-church-pleads? utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.B9ru338F.dpuf

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