1. Malaysiakini.com (http://www.malaysiakini.com)
‘Allah' ban: Herald's application decision on Nov 10, 28 October 2009
The High Court here today fixed Nov 10 to arrive at a decision on whether to set aside or uphold its own order in allowing eight parties to intervene in the matter relating the use of the word "Allah" in the weekly publications of The Herald magazine.
Justice Lau Bee Lan set the date in chambers after hearing submissions from the contesting parties on the Kuala Lumpur Roman Catholic Church's application to set aside the court's order.
Counsel S Selvarajah, who is representing the church, informed the media that the church had submitted to court that based on the Federal Court ruling on Sept 3 in the case of Majlis Agama Islam Selangor vs Bong Boon Chuen & 150 others, the High Court had no jurisdiction to allow intervention in judicial review proceedings under Order 15 Rule 6(2)(b) of the Rules of the High Court 1980.
In opposing the application, one of the interveners' counsel, Abdul Rahim Sinwah, submitted that the eight parties had legal interest to be interveners in the judicial review proceedings.
On Aug 3, the court allowed eight parties, including Islamic religious councils, to be interveners in the new application by Archbishop Murphy Pakiam for a judicial review over the usage of the word "Allah" in the church's publications.
In her ruling, Lau had held that the eight parties - the Islamic religious councils of Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor and Malacca, and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association - had legal interest in the issue.
On Feb 16, Pakiam, as the publisher of The Herald, filed a new application for a judicial review after a similar application in 2008 was deemed academic following the expiry of The Herald's publication permit for Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2008.
In the application, naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents, he is seeking, among other things, a declaration that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word "Allah" in the "Herald-The Catholic Weekly" publication was illegal and that the word "Allah" was not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
(Bernama)
(Comments)
・by Sivananthan Kanapathipillay
I am quite confused actually. I was in a Church in Sarawak last week and rhe service was in Bahasa Malaysia..with the pastor using the term "Allah" all the way. Even if the govt disallows the use, it will continue to be used in church forever...you can't change God with a court order!!!!
• by lucia
malaysia boleh! it can only happen in malaysia where the muslim claim copyright to the word 'allah'.
• by Habib RAK
Dumb and Dumber is all I can say about this matter. It is really a shame that we as a Nation are arguing on this matter in this day and age. Ignorant fools. ALLAH is for ALL! He is the creator of ALL. Why are puny mortals trying to champion this when we have far greater challenges in front of us.
2. The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
Court to rule on Herald case intervenors, 29 October 2009
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will rule on Nov 10 whether eight parties will stay as intervenors in the case relating to the use of the word ‘’Allah’’ in Herald - The Catholic Weekly publication.
Justice Lau Bee Lan set the date after hearing submissions from the parties in chambers following the Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam’s application to set aside the court’s decision on Aug 3 in allowing the intervenors.
On Aug 3, the High Court (Appellate and Special Powers) allowed eight parties to be intervenors in the new application by the archbishop for a judicial review.
In her decision, Justice Lau held that the Islamic religious councils of Perak, Terengganu, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor and Malacca and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association had legal interest in the matter.
On Feb 16, the archbishop, as publisher of Herald, had filed for a judicial review naming the Home Ministry and the Government as respondents.
He is seeking declarations that the decision by the respondents on Jan 7, 2009, prohibiting him from using the word ‘’Allah’’ in the Herald was illegal and that the word ‘’Allah’’ was not exclusive to Islam.
© 1995-2009 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd (Co No 10894-D)
3. The China Post (http://www.chaninapost.com.tw), Asian Correspondent Berita (http://us.asiancorrespondent.com)
Church officials: 15,000 Bibles seized in Malaysia, 29 October 2009
by JULIA ZAPPEI, AP
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities confiscated more than 15,000 Bibles imported from Indonesia in recent months because they referred to "God" as "Allah," a translation that has been banned in this Muslim-majority country, Church officials said Thursday.
The alleged seizure is certain to reignite complaints by religious minorities that their right to practice their faiths freely has come under threat as the government panders to the Muslim majority.
A growing sense of discrimination among the minorities is chipping away at Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic nation that practices a moderate brand of Islam.
The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said authorities seized a consignment of 10,000 copies sent from Jakarta to Kuching in Sarawak state on Sept. 11 because the Indonesian-language Bibles contained the word "Allah."
Indonesian language is similar to Malaysian language, both of which use "Allah" as translation for God.
Another 5,100 Bibles, also imported from Indonesia, were seized in March, said an official from the Bible Society of Malaysia, who asked not to be named for fear of angering the government.
A Home Ministry official said he was not aware of the seizures. He said he couldn't be named without his superiors' clearance.
Malaysia has banned non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in their texts, saying the word is Islamic and may upset Muslims. About 60 percent of the country's 28 million people are Malay Muslims while 25 percent are ethnic Chinese and 8 percent are Indians. Many of the Chinese and Indians are Christians.
The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the "Allah" ban in court, saying it is unconstitutional and discriminates against those worshipping in Malay language. The case has been stuck in preliminary hearings for almost two years.
Shastri said the Church is concerned over the continued detention "of our holy book, which is depriving congregations ... and denying them the use of their Bible."
"For most of the Christians, this is not an issue of going against the authorities. They have been using (the word "Allah") for a long time," he said.
Church officials say Allah is not exclusive to Islam but is an Arabic word that predates Islam.
Besides the Bible seizures, Malaysia has been embroiled in other religious disputes. Some were over the conversion of minors to Islam and the religion of deceased people who are said to have converted to Islam secretly before their death. Hindus have also protested the demolition of several temples by authorities.
4. CNN (http://edition.cnn.com)
Bibles seized as Malaysia minorities fear fundamentalism, 29 0ctober 2009
by Saeed Ahmed, CNN
Non-Muslims in Malaysia fear that Islamism is seeping into the moderate nation's fabric.
(CNN) -- Authorities in Malaysia have seized more than 20,000 Bibles in recent months because they refer to God as "Allah," Christian leaders said Thursday.
The seizures have fed fears among minority groups, which see signs of encroaching Islamic fundamentalism in the predominantly Muslim but multi-racial country.
"There is a growing sense of Islamic assertion, yes," said the Rev. Hermen Shastri, general-secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia. "There is some concern."
The Bibles were written in the country's official language, Malay -- in which the word for God is "Allah," as it is in Arabic.
However, Malaysia's government says the word is exclusive to Islam.
Its use in Christian publications is likely to confuse Muslims and draw them to Christianity, the government says. So it has banned use of the word in Christian literature.
"Malay has borrowed from Arabic, just as it has from Sanskrit and Portuguese," Shastri said. "We have maintained the community has the right to use the word.
"But I think this has ignited a cause in the Muslim communities, who are interpreting it as a siege on Islamic beliefs."
A Home Ministry official directed requests for comment to the ministry's Publications and Quran Text Control Department, which enforces the ban. An employee there redirected calls to a spokeswoman, who in turn asked CNN to call the Home Ministry back. Calls to other departments were similarly redirected.
A Roman Catholic weekly newspaper, The Herald, is challenging the ban in court after the government threatened to revoke its license for using the word in its Malay edition. Hearings on the case have gone on for two years.
"We quote it as it is. We cannot change the text of the Scripture," Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew told CNN last year. "I cannot be the editor of the Bible."
Among the Bibles confiscated were Malay-language ones that the Bible Society of Malaysia said it had imported from Indonesia. About 10,000 others also were confiscated from Gideons International, which places free copies in hotel rooms and other places.
The Malaysian constitution provides for freedom of religion. The country has a dual-track justice system, in which Islamic courts operate alongside civil ones.
Rulings by the Islamic, or sharia, courts are directed toward the country's Muslim, who make up 60 percent of the population. But they worry non-Muslims who see them as Islamism seeping into the moderate nation's fabric.
In November, the National Fatwa Council -- the country's top Islamic body -- banned Muslims from practicing yoga. It said elements of Hinduism in yoga can corrupt Muslims.
The council also bans short hair and boyish behavior for girls, saying they encourage homosexuality.
In northern Malaysia's Kelantan state, authorities have forbidden bright lipstick and high-heeled shoes, saying the bans will safeguard Muslim women's morals and dignity, as well as thwart rape.
And last month, an Islamic court judge in the eastern state of Pahang upheld a verdict to cane a Muslim woman for drinking beer in public.
The country has been mired in inter-faith disputes as well in recent months. In those cases, many non-Muslims complain that the civil courts generally cede control to Islamic courts.
Muslims cannot convert to other religions without the permission of the Islamic courts, which rarely approve such requests.
In relationships in which a Muslim parent has converted children to Islam over the objection of a non-Muslim parent, the sharia courts usually have upheld the conversions.
And earlier this year, a Sikh family lost a court battle to cremate a relative after officials said the man had converted to Islam years before his death, though the family said he hadn't.
5. Malaysiakini.com(http://www.malaysiakini.com), Asiaone (http://news.asiaone.com.sg)
Malaysia seizes 15,000 copies of the bible They used the word "Allah" as a translation for God, 29 October 2009
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian authorities have seized some 15,000 bibles imported from Indonesia because they use the word "Allah" as a translation for God which is banned here, a church leader said Thursday.
"The church uses the bible and it is part of the worshipper's life. There is no reason why it should be confiscated," said Reverend Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia.
"The bibles are used in the church," he said, dismissing suggestions by Islamic officials that they could be used to help convert Muslims who make up some 60 percent of the 27 million population.
Shastri said the latest confiscation happened in September when airport authorities in Sarawak state on Borneo island seized 10,000 copies of the Indonesian-language bibles which feature the disputed word "Allah".
Another 5,000 copies were confiscated in March, he said.
"The reason given for the detention of the Scriptures was because they contain banned words," he said.
The Catholic Church has waged a two-year legal battle with Malaysian authorities over the use of the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its newspaper published here.
The Herald newspaper, circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the disputed word in its Malay-language edition.
The government has argued that the word "Allah" should be used only by Muslims, who dominate the population of multicultural Malaysia.
The row is one of a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised".
Shastri said there was no reason to seize the bibles because the use of the word "Allah" predates Islam.
"The word is not sensitive in Indonesia and the Christians use it in the Middle East. It is mainly driven by other motives ... (to project) the dominance of Islam in Malaysia," he said.
Officials at the home ministry, which Shastri said was involved in the seizure, were not immediately available for comment.
(AFP)
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