http://www.smh.com.au/world/ruling-that-christians-may-call-god-allah-sparks-passion-in-malaysia-20100104-lq6w.html
Ruling that Christians may call God Allah sparks passion in Malaysia January 5, 2010 KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's government has vowed to challenge a court ruling that Christians have the constitutional right to use the word Allah to refer to God. The High Court's verdict has sparked small, peaceful protests by Muslim groups since being handed down last Thursday, raising fears of friction between the ethnic Malay Muslim majority and the large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, who mainly practise Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. The Prime Minister's Department will file an appeal against the verdict, said Jamil Khir Baharom, a cabinet minister responsible for Islamic affairs, in a statement at the weekend. The statement called for Muslims to respect the court decision and for all parties to be patient and allow the dispute to be resolved through the legal process. The High Court's decision struck down a government ban on non-Muslims translating God as Allah in their literature. Minorities welcomed it as a blow against what many consider to be institutionalised religious discrimination. The verdict has divided Muslim commentators. Some agree with the Government's insistence that Allah is an Islamic word that should be used exclusively by Muslims, and that its use by other religions would be misleading. However, other Malaysian Muslim scholars say non-Muslims should be free to use Allah. Efforts by Christians to use Allah in Malay-language literature have been perceived by some Muslims ''as a plot to convert Malay Muslims to Christianity'', Anas Zubedy, a popular Muslim blogger on social and political issues, wrote after the court verdict, adding his support of the ruling. The former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said on Saturday that the Government should set strict conditions for the use of the word Allah to ensure the court verdict does not trigger religious tensions, the national news agency Bernama reported. ''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 [non-Muslims] were to use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam,'' Dr Mahathir was quoted as saying. Minorities often claim their constitutional right to practise religion freely has come under threat from the Malay Muslim-dominated government. Authorities recently confiscated 10,000 copies of Malay-language Bibles because they contained the word Allah. Associated Press Ads by Google [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
