So how did Malaysian Muslims react to the New Year’s eve High Court ruling by Judge Lau Bee Lan that the Roman Catholic’s weekly, The Herald, can continue to use the word “Allah” in its publication?
First, the Prime Minister’s Department said it will, in cooperation with the Home Ministry, appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision.
Then Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, Minister of Family, Women and Community Development, said: “Actually, non-Muslims in the country accept the fact that the word ‘Allah’ belongs to Muslims. I am concerned that the issue can ‘explode’ if not handled wisely and with utmost care. In a country like Malaysia, culture, tradition, convention and ethics, apart from the law, play a critical role in ensuring harmony among the races.”
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said: “I accept the term ‘Allah’ had been used in Sabah and Sarawak before the two states joined Malaysia, but it is difficult to stop them from doing so now. But in the peninsula, we have not heard of such practice.”
Then he added: “‘God’ in other religions is translated as ‘Tuhan’ in Bahasa Melayu or Arabic, not ‘Allah’. Allah’ specifically referred to God in Islam. If they understand that, they would use the word ‘Tuhan’, not ‘Allah’.”
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad added: “What I am afraid of is that the term ‘Allah’ might be used in such a way that could inflame the anger of Muslims, if they were to use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam.”
Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary general of Pribumi Perkasa, a Malay rights group, said: ”‘The court decision is not right and we are planning to hold a major demonstration to protest this. We fear that the court victory will mean that Christian missionaries will now use the word, confusing the identity of Muslims and undermining religious harmony.”
Harunssani Zakaria, state mufti of northern Perak called this ruling “an insult to Muslims in this country.” Reezal Merican, advisor to the Federation of Malay Students’ Association said: “We want to live in peace with all religions here but the word ‘Allah’ has traditionally in Malaysia been used to represent the Muslim God, which is different from Christianity, and this must be addressed.” Then he added: “Although the court decision had to be respected, the government needed to appeal it.”
Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the Wanita UMNO chief said the movement will ensure that the place and position of Islam is not tarnished. She added: “If need be, we will apply to meet the King.”
Selangor opposition leader Dauk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said: “I am very saddened as a Muslim over the judgment in allowing the Catholic church to use the word Allah in their weekly publication. Allah is only for Muslims. In other languages God is referred to as Tuhan whereas in Islam it is Tuhan Yang Maha Esa (The one and only God). Therefore you must understand the distinction between the two.”
Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo added: “We don’t want other religions to use it as it refers to the one and only God. Now that the High Court has allowed the usage of the term Allah, soon any religion can apply their own reasoning to use the word Allah. Imagine if a deity were to be referred to as Allah. Surely it would create a lot of tension.”
Then, taking a swipe at the High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, a former Selangor Mentri Besar said: ”I am not happy with the High Court’s decision. Human beings are, at the end of the day, just human beings, no matter how fair you try to be, there is no way you can be 100 per cent impartial. And the judge who made the decision was not a Muslim, so I question the fairness in the decision.”
Explaining further, Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said: “The problem is just image. If a young Malay child were to read the pamphlets or Christian publications which referred to the Christian God as Allah, would the child not be confused?”
Amidst all these choruses of protests, one voice stood out in support of the High Court ruling. This is the voice of Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad from Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS, or Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party), the main Islamic opposition party. He said that “Allah” has been used by Arab Muslims, Arab Christians and Jews for centuries without any problem. He added: Even though all these religions may not be united, we all believe we worship God Almighty. We all believe in God and we call God Allah.”
Think about it. Why all these reactions to the Allah ruling? What is happening in Malaysia? Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said that High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan is not 100% impartial, and he could not accept the ruling because Judge Lau Bee Lan is not a Muslim. Is this fair comment or bias comment? What would happen if the table were turned the other way round? Suppose a Muslim High Court Judge had ruled in favor of the government, would it be acceptable for the Roman Catholic Church to say that the ruling is not fair because the Judge is not a Christian? It is of course within the right of the government to appeal the ruling, so why not just leave it to the legal system to sort this out?
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Malaysia – Judge Rules Allah Name Not Exclusive To Islam
Malaysia – “No” To Christian Allah
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