Are Malaysia Catholic Christians still banned from using the word 'Allah'

Under the Control and Restriction of the Propagation of non-Islamic Religious Enactment passed into law by 10 states in 1988, it is an offence for Christians and non-Muslims to use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to any God other than the Muslim God.

The Catholic Church took the Home Minister to court to overturn the Home Ministry’s ban, contending that the word does not belong to Muslims alone.

Moreover, the church has been quick to point out, Catholics in Malaysia have been using the word for centuries. Published in four languages, The Herald serves indigenous Malaysians from Sabah and Sarawak, who are mostly Christians and use ‘Allah’ as a translation for God.

Archbishop filed a suit to get a declaration from the courts that the church has the right to use the word in print and in church services – the second consecutive year in which he had taken the Home Minister to court to settle the dispute over the word.

This was after the church received a warning to stop from the Home Ministry, which issues the annual printing permit for all publications, to stop using the word.

The Home Minister then claimed the church’s use of the word in any literature published in BM would confuse the Muslims, who comprise the biggest religious group in the country. Around 60 per cent of Malaysia’s 27 million people are Muslim Malays. The rest of the population includes indigenous tribes as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, variously practicing Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism, among others.

“PAS (Opposition Islamic party) state that based on Islamic principles, the use of the word Allah by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable,”

The number of churches in Malaysia that have been attacked due to the recent ruling on Christians using the term “Allah” for God has risen to nine.

Four churches were hit by Molotov cocktails. During that attack, a Pentecostal Church, Metro Tabernacle Church was gutted by fire.

In many parts of the country, the word “Allah” has been used for God in Malay-language Bible translations for more than a century. Many Christians in that country don’t know any other word for God.

Sixty per cent of Malaysia's 28 million people are Muslim while only 9 percent are Christians. Of the 2.5 million Christians, 800,000 are Catholics.

Indigenous Christians in Sabah (and Sarawak) have used the Malay language in general and Malay Bible in particular since 1950s including the use of the word "Allah" to refer to God.They have used Malay since its founding, officially registered as a Church in 1959 under the Trustees Ordinance (British) which ordinance is now recognized as law by the Federation of Malaysia when Sabah together with two other entities (Sarawak and Singapore) joined Malaya to form Malaysia on 16th Sept 1963.

“The term ‘Allah’ was not created by the Islamic God, or Muhammad or any Muslim.

In many parts of the country the word 'Allah' has been used for God in Malay-language Bible translations for more than a century.

The number of churches in Malaysia that have been attacked due to the recent ruling on Christians using the term “Allah” for God has risen to nine.

Firebombs were thrown at three more churches, while another was splashed with black paint. These are the series of attacks on Christian churches in Malaysia.

The attacks have come as the result of a high court ruling on December 31st overturning a government order that banned non-Muslims from using the word “Allah” in their prayers and literature.

In many parts of the country, the word “Allah” has been used for God in Malay-language Bible translations for more than a century. Many Christians in that country don’t know any other word for God.

“The term ‘Allah’ was not created by the Islamic God, or Muhammad or any Muslim. “The Pagans of Arabia had been using ‘Allah’ to denote ‘God’ for hundreds, probably for thousands, of years before Islam’s birth.”

Even after the nine attacks, the government, which has officially condemned the bombings, still contends that making “Allah” synonymous with God confuses Muslims. For many Muslims in that country, the claim to exclusivity is held firmly and no compromise will be accepted.

Comments

That is like saying... Here in Canada/U.S.A. no one can use the words God or Jesus because we as english speakers hold a right to it... maybe God was said/spoken differently in Hebrew or in Aramaic but we as Christian people have a special right to own this One particular word... NO... everyone has the right to find God, no matter how you say His name, or what language you speak...

Allah is the Maltese word for God. It has been in use since St.Paul was shipwrecked on the island of Malta in the first century A.D. Ask any Maltese what is the word for God in Maltese and he will tell you Allah.

Arab Christians and Jews refer to 'God' as 'Allah'. Allah is a contraction of two Arabic words 'Al Ilah' which means 'The God'. The Hebrew word 'Elohim' and the Greek word 'Theos' is translated as 'Allah' in the Arabic and Malay Bible, hence the use of the word 'Allah' to mean 'God' by these group of Christians. Some scholars note that the word 'Allah' has a common etymological origin with the Hebrew word 'Elohim'. A helpful article about the word Allah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah.

You have to ask if the Malaysian Government’s claim that Arab Christians and Malaysian Christians have different understandings of the Christian doctrine of God is blind ignorance or bad information or a knowing untruth used in the pursuit of religious and political imposition of power.

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