Malaysia – Judge Rules Allah Name Not Exclusive To Islam

The High Court in Malaysia has just ruled that a government ban on the Roman Catholic’s publication, The Herald, for using the word “Allah” is unconstitutional.   Judge Lau Bee Lan said the Home Minister’s decision to ban The Herald is illegal, null and void.  In effect the judge agreed with Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam, that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to Islam. Judge Lau Bee Lan said that Christians have the “constitutional right to use Allah” and that the Home Ministry is “not empowered” to impose the ban.

In 1986 the government banned non-Muslim publications from using the word “Allah”.  The reason is that usage in such publications could threaten national security and confuse the Muslims in Malaysia. The fear, apparently, is that Muslims who read such non-Muslim publications using the word “Allah” may be misled into leaving the Islamic faith.

In December 2007, the government ordered The Herald to stop publishing for 2 weeks for using the word “Allah” (which means “God”) in its Malay language section. The Herald, represented by its publisher, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam, filed for a judicial review, naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents. The filing sought a declaration from the High Court that (a) the decisions by the respondents prohibiting the use of the word “Allah” in The Herald was illegal, and (2) that the word “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.

Recently, the government confiscated 10,000 copies of Bahasa language Bibles because they contained the word Allah. These bibles were published in Indonesia, the country with the largest population of Muslims, where there is no such ban.  Indeed the Christians in Indonesia used 2 words, “Tuhan” and “Allah” to refer to God during prayers.

What does this ruling mean to The Herald?  Reverend Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald said: “This is indeed a landmark case for our nation. This also means that the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking community of the Christian faith can now continue to freely use the word ‘Allah’ without any interference from the authorities.”

But the government may yet appeal this verdict.  Government lawyers are now consulting with the Home Ministry on whether to file an appeal.  And the National Union of Malaysia Muslim Students have urged it to appeal this decision. The union issued a statement saying that in the Malaysian context, “the word Allah is exclusive and only refers to the concept of God that is understood by Muslims.”  It also warned that allowing the Herald to use Allah could cause confusion among Muslims who may leave their faith.

But this statement may not be accurate. In the east Malaysia states of Sabah and Sarawak, the word “Allah” is widely used among many indigenous Christian tribes during worship services.  Moreover the Roman Catholic Church argues that the word “Allah” predates Islam, and that this word is used by other religions as well, as it means “God”.

Think about it. So what does this ruling mean to Malaysia? This a historic ruling, one which goes against the government, and the majority Muslim population of the nation.  How will they react?  Who is the ultimate winner, and ultimate loser?

Previous posts

Malaysia – “No” To Christian Allah
A Tolerant Christmas With Allah, But Without Christ