Malaysia Maintains Limited 'Allah' Ban

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian government has reiterated that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah," sparking concern Friday among Christians who use it to refer to God in their Malay-language Bible and other publications.

Abdullah Zin, the de facto minister for Islamic affairs, told reporters Thursday that the Cabinet is of the view that "Allah" refers to the Muslim God and can only be used by Muslims, who comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's population.

"The use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims may arouse sensitivity and create confusion among Muslims in the country," Abdullah said.

His statement is the latest twist in a long-drawn controversy involving The Herald, a weekly organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church. It was told by the Internal Security Ministry last month that its Malay-language section would be banned unless it stops using "Allah" as a synonym for God.

But the paper was surprised when the ministry made an apparent about-turn last weekend by renewing its annual permit — a government requirement for all publications in Malaysia — without imposing any conditions. The paper assumed it was a tacit approval for the use of "Allah."

Abdullah's comments Thursday, however, threw the issue into fresh confusion, and will likely renew complaints by ethnic minorities that their rights are increasingly undermined because of government efforts to bolster the status of Islam, Malaysia's official religion.

The Herald's editor, Rev. Lawrence Andrew, said its latest issue on Wednesday still uses "Allah," but he could not say whether upcoming editions would omit the word.

"We will have to discuss how to go about this with our lawyers and publishers," Andrew told The Associated Press.

Andrew reiterated the paper's stance that Malay-speaking Christians have long used the word, which has roots in Arabic and predates Islam.

"The newspaper does use Allah in quotes from the (Malay-language) Bible. Nobody can tell us that we cannot quote from the Bible. That would be a gross violation of our rights," he said.

He declined to comment further, noting the paper has initiated court action to get a legal endorsement for what it says is its Constitutional right to use "Allah."

The Herald, which has a circulation of 12,000 copies, publishes reports in four languages — English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil — for the country's 900,000 Catholics.

A church in Sabah state in eastern Malaysia has separately also sued the government for preventing it from using the word "Allah" in its Malay-language literature. The church says the ban violates the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution.

Religious issues are extremely sensitive in Malaysia, which prides itself on multiracial harmony. Ethnic Chinese, who are Christians and Buddhists, account for a quarter of the population, while mostly Hindu Indians are less than 10 percent.

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