(1) The New Straits Times Online (http://www.nst.com.my)
Christian publications can use 'Allah' on condition, 26 February 2009
by Hamidah Atan
Christian publications are now allowed to use the word "Allah" as long as they state that the materials are only meant for Christians. Home Ministry Quran Publication Control and Text Division secretary Che Din Yusoh said the move which came into effect on Feb 16 followed the gazettement of the cabinet's decision in 1986.
The cabinet's decision was that Christian publications were banned from using four words - Allah, Baitullah, Kaabah and solat (prayer) - unless the publications clearly stated that the materials were only meant for Christian followers.
"We decided to gazette the move recently. However, those who failed to adhere to this condition will have their publications seized by the ministry's enforcement officers.
"We will be firm to ensure compliance. It is only fair that they adhere to it," he said.
Reverend Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Catholic Church's The Herald, was quoted by a news portal as saying that the ministry is allowing the publications to use "Allah" to refer to God as long as they state that the material is only meant for Christians.
The controversy first broke out in late 2007 when the government banned the use of “Allah” in Christian Malay-language texts because it allegedly might confuse Muslims.
The Herald has challenged the ban in court.
The Herald publishes in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia to cater to its multi-ethnic faithful. It has a circulation of 14,000 copies.
© Copyright 2009 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.
(2) The Associated Press (http://www.google.com)&International Herald Tribune (http://www.iht.com)
Malaysia to allow Christians to use 'Allah', 26 February 2009
by JULIA ZAPPEI
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian government has softened an earlier ban on the use of the word "Allah" by Christian publications to refer to God and is allowing them to use it as long as they specify the material is not for Muslims, a church official said Thursday.
The government had earlier argued that the use of Allah in Christian texts might confuse Muslims, who might think Allah refers to their God.
The revised order was issued Feb. 16 by Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, said the Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, the Roman Catholic Church's main newspaper in Malaysia. He said the publication has already started printing "For Christianity" on its cover.
The Herald publishes weekly in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Malay with an estimated readership of 50,000. The ban on "Allah" concerns mainly the Malay edition, which is read mostly by indigenous Christian tribes in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak. The other three editions usually do not use the word "Allah."
The dispute has become symbolic of increasing religious tensions in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 27 million people are Muslim Malays. A third of the population is ethnic Chinese and Indian, and many of them practice Christianity.
Malaysia's minorities have often complained that their constitutional right to practice their religions freely has come under threat from the Malay Muslim-dominated government. They cite destruction of Hindu temples and conversion disputes as examples. The government denies any discrimination.
Andrew, the Herald's editor, said although the order "makes things easier" for the Herald, the newspaper will not drop a legal challenge against the ban. A court is due to hear arguments in the case Friday.
The Herald is arguing that the Arabic word is a common reference for God that predates Islam and has been used for centuries as a translation in Malay.
Andrew said the new order is still a violation of religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution because Christians will not be able to use any literature that does not carry the warning on the cover, including much imported material.
He said most Malay-language Bibles in Malaysia are imported from Indonesia, which uses a variation of the same language.
"If this (order) is enforced, it will be difficult to possess materials ... from Indonesia, and thus practicing our religion will not be easy. This goes against ... the constitution," he told The Associated Press.
Andrew said the order also prohibits the use of three other Arabic words — "solat," or prayer, "Kaaba," a holy site in Saudi Arabia, and "baitullah," or house of God — without the warning.
Ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Home Minister Syed Hamid's aide said he would not be available for comment until Monday.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2009 The International Herald Tribune
(3) My Sin Chew (http://www.mysinchew.com)
Christians Can Use Of Allah Word With Conditions, 26 February 2009
by BOB TEOH
KUALA LUMPUR: In a new twist to the controversial prohibition on the use of the Allah word, the Home Ministry has allowed Christians to use the Allah word with conditions.
In a gazette signed by Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, the new move comes into force on ten days ago 16 Feb 2009 known as Gazette PU A 62 under section 22 (1)(c) of the Internal Security Act 1969 titled as Internal Security (Prohibition On Use of Specific Words on Document and Publication) Order 2009.
The gazatte states:
Prohibition on use of specific words on document and publication 2. (1) The printing, publication, sale, issue, circulation and possession of any document and publication relating to Christianity containing the words “Allah”, “Kaabah”, “Baitullah” and “Solat” are prohibited unless on the front cover of the document and publication are written with the words “for christianity”.
(2) The words “for christianity ” referred to in subparagraph (1) shall be written clearly in font type Arial of size 16 in bold.
A spokesman from the publication and Quranic text divisionof the ministry told mysinchew he was unaware of the gazatte and would check with its legal division.
A lawyer who preferred to remain annonymous said he had just received the gazatte notification through an online legal library service.
He said for practical reasons, only the Allah word is of importance as Christians do not use the other three words cited in the gazette.
“This is good news for Christians as the new move acknowleges the right of Christians to use the Allah word even though with conditions,” he said.
He said what the gazette means is that hencefoth, all Bahasa Bibles or Al Kitab must now be stamped with the phrase “For Christianity.” it really depends on Christians themselves to decide how to view the new move.
He said they can take it as a pun and which is what it really is that the Bible is for Christianity.
But the problem, he pointed ou, is that henceforth all Al Kitab and Chrsitian publications in Bahasa Malaysia must be stamped with the condition even existing copies and this makes it a logistic nightmare.
A Christian leader said this matter has to be discussed first as the churches are not even aware of the new ruling.
He expressed surprise that this new gazatte has come into force when there are two cases before the courts for a determination on the constitutionality of the earlier prohibition by the ministry. The Catholic Church is suing the government over its insistence that they cannot use the Allah word in the bahasa section of their weekly publication.
The Sidang Injil Borneo Sabah (Evangelical Church) is also suing the government over confiscation of their Christian publications imported from Indonesia which contain the word Allah.
The Sikhs have also applied to intervene in the suits as they said the outcome would impact them as they too use the word Allah in their Holy Scriptures. Subsequently, a slew of applications from the various state Islamic authorities have been filed with the courts. Thye claim that the civil court has no jurisdiction over the matter.
Previously, the Home Ministry in out of court attempts had suggested churches stamp the word “For Christians Only” on the Al Kitab and Bahasa publications. But this was not acceptable to the churches which had counter offered with the phrase - “This is a Christian Publication.” But this was rejected by the ministry.
The lawyer also pointed out that the fact that the gazatte singles out only Christians and not Sikhs or other people of other faiths only serves to confirm the contention of Christians that the prohibition is specifically targeted at Christians in violation of their human and constitutional rights on freedom of religion.
Hearing on the Herald case resumes at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Friday (27 Feb).
(4) The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
Christian publications can use the word “Allah", 26 February 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has allowed Christian publications to use the word "Allah" to refer to God as long as they specify the material is not for the majority Muslims, a church official said Thursday.
The Feb 16 order issued by Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar is an apparent softening of its stand by the government, which had earlier banned the use of the word in all Christian texts.
The government argued that Allah is an Islamic word and its use by others might confuse Muslims, who might think Allah refers to their God.
The Herald, the Roman Catholic Church's main newspaper in Malaysia, has already started printing ``For Christianity'' on its cover, said its editor Rev. Lawrence Andrew.
The Herald publishes weekly in English, Mandarin, Tamil and Malay with an estimated readership of 50,000.
The ban on ``Allah'' concerns mainly the Malay edition, which is read mostly by indigenous Christian tribes in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak. The other three editions usually do not use ``Allah.''
Andrew said although the order ``makes things easier'' for the Herald, the paper will not drop its legal challenge against the ban. A court is due to hear arguments in the case on Friday.
The Herald is arguing that the Arabic word is a common reference for God that predates Islam and has been used for centuries as a translation in Malay.
Andrew said the new order is still a violation of religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution because Christians will not be able to use any literature that does not carry the statutory warning on the cover, including a lot of imported material.
He said most Malay-language Bibles in Malaysia are imported from Indonesia, where the language is more widely spoken.
``If this (order) is enforced, it will be difficult to possess materials ... from Indonesia, and thus practicing our religion will not be easy. This goes against ... the Constitution,'' he told The Associated Press.
Andrew said the order also prohibits the use of three other Arabic words ``solat,'' or prayer, ``Kaaba,'' a holy site in Saudi Arabia, and ``baitullah,'' or house of God without the statutory warning.
Ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comments. Home Minister Syed Hamid's aide said he would only be available for comment Monday.-AP
(5)WorldWide Religious News (http://wwrn.org)
"Malaysian government defeated by history: Christians have used the word 'Allah' for centuries"
("AsiaNews", February 25, 2009)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Next February 27, the first hearing will be held in the lawsuit of the archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur and the Catholic weekly Herald against the government, which has prohibited the use of the word "Allah" in Catholic publications. All of the Christian Churches of Malaysia are closely following the battle, which is creating problems for them as well, with bans and confiscations of books and catechisms. The prohibition comes from the ministry of interior security, according to which the use of the word "Allah" in a non-Islamic publication "could create confusion and harm public order." The archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur is defending its right to use the word "Allah" by referring to article 10 of the Constitution (freedom of expression) and article 11 (freedom to practice one's own religion). Without even mentioning that the archdiocese has on its side more than four centuries of documented history, in which the use of this term on the part of Christians has never created problems. In fact, Christians used the word "Allah" to refer to "God" even before the existence of the Malaysian state.
For more than a year, the weekly Herald has been the target of a press campaign and of criticisms on the part of Islamic associations and newspapers, which demand that the use of the word "Allah" be reserved only for Muslims. This is due to the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in the country, but also to the ambiguity of the legal system, which is secular in the Constitution, but influenced by religious membership and Islamic on the legislative level.
The central government seems not to want to expose itself too much in resolving the question, and is trying to find some sort of piecemeal solution. After the security minister prohibited the use of the word "Allah" and was taken to court, last February 16, in the official Gazette, the interior ministry published an order according to which all Christian publications are permitted to use the word "Allah," but only if the front page clearly states that the publication is "for Christians only."
For all of the Christian communities, this decision is insufficient. First of all, because it is "an exception" to a domestic security Order, which by norm affirms the "prohibition" of the use of the word "Allah." The second reason is historical. From extensive documentation compiled by the Catholics in recent months, it clearly emerges that Christians have used the word "Allah" for more than four centuries. A Malay-Latin dictionary printed in 1631 demonstrates that for the Latin word "Deus" ("God"), the Malay word is "Allah." This means that use of the term was widespread well before the publication of the dictionary. According to some Catholics, "the word ‘Allah’ is not a new word in the theological vocabulary of the Christians since the time of the Sultanate of Malacca [16th century], of the Straits Settlements [1826], of the Federation of Malaya [1948], and later of Malaysia [1963]." It is only in 1992 that a Malay dictionary appears defining the word "Allah" as "the God of Islam."
・Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
（End）
