The Straits Times, January 5, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Muslims are planning a nationwide rally on Friday over the 'Allah' issue, despite appeals for calm from top government leaders.
The High Court ruled last week that Catholics can refer to God as 'Allah' in their publications, sparking anger among many Muslims.
Mr Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary-general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa, told Agence France-Presse yesterday the group would launch a protest on Friday outside major mosques.
'We want the government to revoke the court decision. Sure, the word Allah is only to be used by Muslims. There is no doubt about it,' he said.
The Malaysian government filed an appeal yesterday against the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision. Today, it is expected to ask for a stay of execution to prevent the word from appearing in non-Muslim publications until the appeal is heard.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday urged the public not to make hasty decisions on the matter, a day after Prime Minister Najib Razak appealed for calm.
'I think we should have faith in the government leadership to tackle the problem. We don't want a situation where the court decision can cause anger and tension between the various races in the country,' Mr Muhyiddin told reporters.
One group, the Selangor Umno Youth, has decided to cancel a big-scale rally on Friday.
But a senior opposition figure has accused Umno of politicising the issue.
'This shows that Umno is taking the opportunity on this issue to whip up Muslim sentiment so that they unite and see Umno as the champion of Islam,' Mr Mahfuz Omar, the vice-president of the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), said in a statement yesterday.
Some Muslims claim the use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims will confuse believers.
A group page on social networking site Facebook, called 'Protesting the use of the name Allah by non-Muslims' in Malay, was drawing 1,500 supporters an hour yesterday.
Among those who have signed the online protest is Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The High Court ruling followed a ban imposed by the government on the Catholic weekly Herald in January last year over its use of the word 'Allah'.
The government had argued that the use of the Arabic word might offend Muslims who make up a majority in the country, where religion and language are sensitive issues.
Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the Herald, yesterday dismissed accusations that the church was on a campaign to convert Muslims.
'There are allegations we're trying to convert Muslims. We're not doing that,' Father Lawrence told The Malaysian Insider in a phone interview.
He also appealed for calm, adding that the church was not 'gloating' over the court decision.
The government-backed Department of Islamic Development has appealed to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam to prevent the word from being used in any publication while the judicial process continued.
'We all have a responsibility to put a stop to extremists moving in the midst of our respective religious bodies,' the department said in the statement yesterday.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BERNAMA, REUTERS, BLOOMBERG
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