So the number of churches attacked has risen to 9. Now, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department has urged church leaders to drop the usage of “Allah”. He said they should adopt the same approach as Datuk Clarence Bongkos Malakun, president of the Sabah Justice of peace Council.
Earlier Datuk Clarence Bongkos Malakun said: “It is time for us, the Christian community, particularly the Catholic make an evaluation based on the present situation for security and public peace and drop the word Allah to calm our Muslim brothers.”
Tan Ken Ten, Kota Baru MCA division chief agreed: “The term should just have been reserved for Muslims and Islam. Everyone knows that it’s sacred to them so why challenge it?”
If so, then what should the Christian community do? Datuk Clarence Bongos Malakun proferred this suggestion: “Rather than insisting on the right to use the word “Allah” it is better if Catholics only use the word ‘Tuhan’ or ‘Tuhan Yang Maha Kuasa’.”
So how did the Christian community react? Pastor Richard Samporoh, head of the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church in Shah Alam said: “So many people have been using the word before Merdeka. In the language of our people, the Lunbawang and Lundayeh, ‘Allah’ means God. This is stated in the Lundayeh Bible, not the Malay Bible.”
Then Pastor Richard Samporoh added: “Many people, including the politicians, have misunderstood the whole issue. We’re not demanding to use the word. We have been using it for almost 300 years. The case was only filed because of the ban from the Home Ministry.”
Three years ago, the Home Ministry banned the Roman Catholic Church’s newletter, The Herald, from using the word “Allah”. This ban was challenged by the church and in a historic ruling on New Year’s Eve, High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to Islam and that The Herald can use it in its publication.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the advisor of PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) said: “It cannot be disputed that Arabic speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews have collectively prayed to God as Allah throughout the last 14 centuries. However, there are now those who are exploiting race and religion to incite hatred for political gain. While sensitivities over its usage (the word Allah) have arisen in Malaysia, the way to resolve these conflicts is not by burning churches and staging incendiary protests but by reasoned engagement and interreligious dialogue.”
Earlier, foreign diplomats had asked Mahmood Adam, Home Ministry secretary-general, why the term ”Allah” is not allowed when it is widely used by Christians in Indonesia and the Middle East. He said: “They don’t understand the situation here. Malays here are different from Muslims in other countries.”
So then, is this a Malay issue as Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said recently? Azmi Sharom from the Universiti Malaya said: “The soil has already been prepared by UMNO. The tone has been very much about the Malays being under threat. The Allah ban had no basis in theology. Instead of making a stand on principle, UMNO are trying to make sure they don’t lose appeal to their voters even if it means they are appealing to a bunch of racists.”
So what about the attack on churches? A recent statement from the Board of Directors of the Muslim Professionals Forum said: ”The Holy Quran unequivocally prohibits destroying the houses of worship of all religions, as warned in Surah Al-Hajj, Verse 40: ‘… Had not Allah checked the excesses and aggression of one set of people by means of another, surely would be destroyed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated…’”
The statement went on to say: “During the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the second righteous caliph, the religious freedom of the citizens of Ilya (Jerusalem) and the sanctity of their synagogues and places of worship were confirmed: ‘This is the protection which the slave-servant of Allah, Umar, the Commander of the Believers, extends to the people of Ilya: The safeguarding of their lives, properties, churches, crosses, and of their entire community. Their churches cannot be occupied, demolished, or damaged, nor are their crosses or anything belonging to them to be touched. They will never be forced to abandon their religion, nor will they be oppressed …’ (At-Tabari, Tarikh, Vol III, p. 609, ed. Dar Al-Ma’arif, Egypt.)”
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan has already said that the churches would need to beef up their own security against the attackers because the police force do not have enough manpower to do so.
So how are the churches going to be safeguarded? Fortunately, volunteers from Muslim non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have begun patrolling church areas in the Klang Valley.
Ten volunteers had begun patrolling from 11pm yesterday in church areas in Kampung Pandan and Brickfields. Altogether 130 NGOs have committed to be the “eyes and ears” of the government to face any threat to Christian churches.
Previous posts
Allah Ruling Aftermath – What If …
Allah Ruling And Attacks On Churches
Allah Ruling – What Is The Crux Of The Unrest?
Allah Ruling – Mahathir Explains Christianity And Islam
Allah Ruling – Stay Of Execution Granted
Allah Ruling – Mahathir To Leaders: Flex Your Muscles
Malaysia – Government Filed Appeal On Allah Ruling
Malaysia – Reactions To Allah Ruling
Malaysia – Judge Rules Allah Name Not Exclusive To Islam
Malaysia – “No” To Christian Allah
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