１．The Star Online（http://thestar.com.my）
Now, Sikhs want to be part of suit over the word Allah, 4 July 2008
KUALA LUMPUR: The Sikh community in Malaysia has become the latest party seeking to intervene in the suit by the Catholic Church over the use of the word “Allah.”
The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council filed an application to intervene in the suit through the firm of Jagjit Singh & Co on Tuesday.
In a supporting affidavit, its president Jagir Singh said the word “Allah” in reference to God was an integral part of the original version of the Sikh holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
As such, he said, no followers of the Sikh religion would tolerate any form of obstruction on the use of the original terms taken from the holy book.
Jagir Singh said the council, the umbrella body of some 130 gurdwaras nationwide representing more than 100,000 followers of the Sikh religion, had an interest in the declaration sought by the applicant of the suit.In the suit, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Datuk Murphy Pakiam is seeking to declare that the Catholic weekly Herald is entitled to use the word “Allah”.
He is also seeking to declare that its usage was not exclusive to Islam.
Rev Murphy, 70, had named the then Internal Security Minister (now Home Minister after the ministry was merged with the Home Affairs Ministry) and the Government as respondents in the application filed on March 19.
The archbishop is named as an applicant in the action in his capacity as publisher of the Herald.
Other parties which have applied to intervene in the suit are the Penang Islamic Religious Council, Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Custom Council, Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Custom Council.
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２．WorldWide Religious News（http://wwrn.org）
"Malaysian Sikhs fight to retain 'Allah' in Granth Sahib"
("The Times of India", July 5, 2008)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - A Sikh group in Muslim-majority Malaysia is demanding the right to use the world "Allah" as a synonym for God and has joined a legal battle by Christians against a government order banning non-Muslims from using it, an official said on Friday.
The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council filed an application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday seeking to join a suit by the Herald, a Roman Catholic newspaper, against the government over use of the word "Allah", said council president Sardar Jagir Singh.
The home ministry previously ordered the newspaper not to use the word "Allah" in its Malay-language publication as a translation for God, saying using the word would confuse Muslims. The Herald then filed suit, claiming it had a right to use the word.
Jagir said his council, representing more than 100,000 Sikhs, wanted to join the suit because the ruling would affect them.
The word Allah appears on "numerous occasions" in the Sikh holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, he said. "Not a word can be altered. It's our holiest book ... it will mean we can't practice our own religion."
Jagir said so far he has not received a court date. The high court is scheduled next Wednesday to hear the applications of several Islamic institutions that have applied to intervene in the suit to defend the ban.
The Herald says "Allah" is an Arabic word that predates Islam and has been used for centuries to mean God in Malay.
The government has not explained how the use of "Allah" by other religions would confuse Muslims, but apparently wants to draw a sharp distinction between the Islamic God and all other deities.
The case is an example of increasing complaints by religious minorities in Malaysia that their rights have been undermined by government efforts to bolster the status of Islam, the country's official religion.
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