Restrict how 'Allah' is used: Mahathir

The Sunday Times, January 3, 2010

Kuala Terengganu - The Malaysian High Court's decision allowing a Catholic weekly publication to use the term 'Allah' must be governed by strict conditions, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.

'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 they were to use it on banners or write something that might not reflect Islam,' he said.

Tun Dr Mahathir said whatever justifications offered for the approval, it would not defuse the anger of Muslims in the country.

'This is because 'God' in other religions is translated as 'Tuhan' in Bahasa Melayu or Arabic, not 'Allah'. 'Allah' specifically referred to God in Islam,' he told reporters after a function in the capital of Terengganu.

He was responding to the High Court ruling on Thursday that lifted the Home Ministry's ban on the Roman Catholic church using 'Allah' in its newspaper, The Herald.

The church had been banned before from using 'Allah', but the Home Ministry lifted the ban upon appeal. When it was re-imposed in 2007, the church took the issue to court.

The Catholic Church, in filing the judicial review, had argued that the word 'Allah' predates Islam as a generic term for 'God' and has been in use in many places, even in the Middle East.

It added that in Malaysia, the term is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

Said Dr Mahathir yesterday: 'I accept the term 'Allah' had been used in Sabah and Sarawak before the two states joined Malaysia, but it is difficult to stop them from doing so now... in the peninsular, we have not heard of such a practice.'

High Court judge Lau Bee Lan, in making her ruling, said usage of the term was constitutional as long as the periodical was confined to educate the followers of the Christian faith.

Reacting to pressure from the Muslims, the Prime Minister's Department yesterday said that it will appeal against the High Court's decision.

De-facto Religious Affairs Minister Jamil Khir Baharom, in advising Muslims and non-governmental organisations to be calm and respect the court's decision, said they should be patient and allow the matter to be resolved through the legal process.

'I'll meet the NGOs soon to hear their views and to discuss further the matter with them,' he said in a statement yesterday.