Islamist group wants ‘Allah’ ban applied to all Christians
The Malay Mail Online – Thu, Oct 24, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — Unhappy at Putrajaya’s double-speak on last week’s court ruling on “Allah”, Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) is insisting that the ban on the Arabic word be made applicable to all Christians nationwide.
In a statement here, the group said the Court of Appeal’s decision banning Catholic newspaper The Herald from using the word should be made a precedent for all future cases, including when it involves Christians from Borneo states.
“We see it as disturbing when the top leader himself cannot respect the decision of his own system ... If some in the government themselves cannot defend the decision, then it will be a problem to us in Malaysia one day.
“In the end, we’re teaching Malaysians to not respect anything,” said ISMA vice-president Muhammad Fauzi Asmuni in a video interview uploaded by the group.
On Monday, Najib had said that the court’s decision does not affect Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, as the contents in the 10-Point Agreement decided by Putrajaya on the matter would be maintained for the two states.
“Recently when the Appeals Court made its decision on the use of the word Allah, it did not at all touch on the practices of Christians in Sabah and Sarawak, in fact the 10-Point Agreement is still being maintained,” said Najib.
But Fauzi accused Najib of back-pedalling on the court’s decision due to pressure from Christian groups, and warned that Muslims will not believe in a leader who flip-flops on his decisions.
“The Herald (case) should have been a reference for other cases, including any new publication, including the Malay Bible because the Bibles are distributed more widely compared to The Herald, and distributed widely to Muslims,” Fauzi said.
“So the government should have made that decision as a general guidance for reference to subsequent cases including any publication from The Herald, and including the case of Malay-language Bibles.”
ISMA also reiterated its position that the “Allah” controversy was part of a ploy by Christian groups in Malaysia to entice Malays into the religion, noting the purpose of translating their holy book into the Malay language.
“Firstly, why do they want to translate the Bible into Malay? Who will read the Bible in Malay? Chinese and Indian Christians, they read in English. They don’t read in Malay,” he said, claiming that Christians in Sabah and Sarawak do not necessarily read Malay Bibles.
“Malay bibles are published in a larger number than the Christians themselves. Which means, to whom are they meant to be distributed?,” Fauzi asked as he alleged of the attempt to Christianise Malay Muslims.
Last month, ISMA organised the Facing Foreign Agenda Symposium, where it identified Christianisation as one of the issues currently threatening the Malay Muslim community.
The Court of Appeal ruled last week against a 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church to refer to the Christian god with the Arabic word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly paper, the Herald.
The court adjudged the usage of the word “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith and said that allowing such an application would cause confusion in the Muslim community.
Churches in Sabah and Sarawak however have said that they will continue their age-old practice of referring to God as “Allah” in their worship and in their holy scriptures.
Several ministers also said recently that the 10-point solution issued by Putrajaya in 2011 — which allows the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Christian bible, containing the word “Allah” — should stand, despite the appellate court ruling.
