Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur – Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday called for calm as a fiery debate continued to rage over the High Court’s ruling allowing a Christian publication to use ‘Allah’ to denote God in Christianity.
The Malaysian court ruling allowing Arabic speaking Christians to continue using the word “Allah” to refer to God (as they have done for two millenia), is beginning to cause quite a backlash from Muslims, some of whom have banded together to create an online campaign to fight the decision.
For Prime Minister Najib to have to appeal for ‘calm’ is a worrying development and it appears that his own government is going to appeal the court decision.
I sincerely hope that this whole incident won’t degenerate into another excuse to persecute a Christian minority group at the hands of Islamic extremists.
Previous posts on this here, here and here.
PM Najib calls for calm – Malaysian Government will appeal against court decision which has bitterly divided Muslims in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR – PRIME Minister Najib Razak yesterday called for calm as a fiery debate continued to rage over the High Court’s ruling allowing a Christian publication to use ‘Allah’ to denote God in Christianity.
He said the government was aware of the sensitivities among Muslims and would be appealing against the decision. ‘We need to be calm and allow the matter to be resolved through the court process,’ he told reporters in Pekan.
The court decision has left Malaysian Muslims bitterly divided. Many Muslim politicians on both sides have spoken out against the ruling, but there are also Muslims, including members of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), who support it.
The High Court last Thursday lifted the Home Minister’s ban on the Catholic Church’s use of ‘Allah’ to denote God in its newspaper The Herald.
The Church had gone to court after the ban was imposed in 2007, arguing that the word ‘Allah’ is a generic Arabic word for God and predates Islam.
The emotive debate has caused tension within the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance which has a history of squabbling over Islamic issues. Some of its leaders, such as PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, have reportedly said it was permissible for followers of Abrahamic faiths to use ‘Allah’.
I found this article from the Wall Street Journal interesting and note these comments:-
A Facebook group formed to protest non-Muslims using the word Allah has attracted over 36,000 members in just a few days. The page describes itself as a group for “awakened Muslims” pushing back against Christian efforts “to confuse the Islamic community.”
Meanwhile, hackers attacked the Web site of the Roman Catholic Church’s weekly newspaper, the Herald, on Sunday. The publication is at the center of the linguistic battle. Visitors were blocked from accessing the paper’s Web site, said its editor, the Rev. Lawrence Andrew. The Web site was working normally Monday.
Tags: Christianity, Law Moral Ethical, News