Friday sermon irks local church leaders as ‘Allah’ row rages on
January 26, 2013
The ‘Allah’ dispute remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s polls. – File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 - Local clergymen are unhappy that federal
Islamic authorities appear to be bent on “waging a war” between the
country’s Muslims and Christians over the protracted dispute on
non-Muslims’ usage of “Allah” to refer to their God.
When contacted for their response to yesterday’s Friday sermon by the
Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), church leaders sighed
in disappointment that the religious authority was so blatantly
inciting suspicion and intolerance between the two most dominant
religions here.
But they refrained from condemning Jakim, noting that the authority
reserved the right to preach to all Islamic followers like how church
leaders could preach to parisioners, adding that it was time to lay the
matter to rest.
“The emphasis is unfortunate, because all religious places should be
teaching people to live in peace and harmony with others, instead of
cultivating a culture of suspicion,” said Christian Federation of
Malaysia (CFM) general secretary Rev Dr Hermen Shastri.
Treading carefully, the leader said that religions should always
foster togetherness and acceptance, and should prevent from creating a
society of fanatics.
“But that is all I can say at this point,” he added.
Catholic priest Rev Fr Simon Labrooy was more forward with hs words,
asking if the individual or individuals who penned the sermon in Jakim
had unity or division in his mind.
He said it was not the Malaysian Muslims who were “waging a war” on
the Christians, but suggested that it was the person who wrote the
sermon who should be investigated for his intention.
“Never that the Muslims are to blame for doing this. But who has the
right to write this? He should be hauled up because it shows that in his
mind, he is already inciting religious tension.
“Next, we have already provided a lot of facts o why and how ‘Allah’
has been used by Christians... why do you want to commit yourself to a
blatant lie like this?
“How could you judge the Arab-speaking world, particularly the Christians who use ‘Allah’ there?” he said.
When asked if Subang Jaya parisioners in his flock have been affected
by the ongoing polemic or feel animosity towards Muslims, Labrooy said
Christians are aware that the ordinary Muslim is not the one responsible
for the dispute.
“They (Muslims) too do not want tension or trouble... this is just the work of a few bad apples,” he said.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church parish priest Rev Fr Michael Chua said the
latest Friday sermon would warrant another discussion among CFM members
on whether they should issue another response to the issue.
“This is not the first time... there have been many other occasions and we cannot be responding to every single thing.
“Let us stick to our last stand on this issue... for the sake of not
prolonging this,” he said, referring to CFM’s remarks on the threat by
Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali to burn Malay language Bibles.
In the statement issued four days ago, the CFM had expressed disgust
with the threat, reminding those who intend to participate in it that
all religious scriptures are sacred books.
“Christians are peace-loving people who will continue to seek peace
and harmony across all religious groups for the well-being of our great
country.
“We call on those who desire to foment hatred for political gain to
cease and desist from such a vile act - an act unbecoming of us as
Malaysians who uphold the Rukunegara of which the first pillar is
‘Belief in God’,” said CFM in the statement signed by its president
Bishop Datuk Ng Moon Hing.
In Jakim’s Friday sermon yesterday, the religious authority warned
Muslims nationwide of attempts by “enemies of Islam” to confuse them
into believing that all religions are the same.
Muslims here were also told that being too open-minded and allowing
Islamic rights to be abused by other religions was a “dangerous” act.
“It is very clear that today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community’s faith.
“They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many
tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of ‘Allah’ in their
scriptures,” the sermon said.
Jakim insisted that “Allah”, a word that millions of Arab Christians
and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God,
belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam
as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused, doubtful and
mistaken over the true identity of the Muslim God.
Citing an unnamed academic research, Jakim said that the word “Allah”
was never found in the Bible as God, to these users of the holy book,
exists in the Trinity concept as “God the Father, God the Son and God
the Holy Spirit.
The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department, is “The Lord”.
As such, Jakim insisted that the National Fatwa Council’s 2008
decision on the matter was accurate in stating that “Allah” cannot be
used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the Gods of
others.
The authority also warned that painful punishment would await
disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these “symptoms” if Islam’s
collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here.
The “Allah” dispute, which first erupted after the watershed 2008
Elections, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s
polls.
Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan
Eng, who is also the Penang Chief Minister, called on Putrajaya in his
Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo
Malaysia.
Hot on the heels of the DAP leader’s remarks, several state Rulers
and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws
banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court
judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
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