The Straits Times, January 6, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's main Islamic party PAS has said that the word 'Allah' can be used by followers of the Abrahamic faiths to denote God, but added it must not be 'misused or abused'.
The decision by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) was made after a three-hour meeting of its top leaders that ended late on Monday. The decision is in contrast to loud demands from sections of the Muslim community to ban Christians from using the word.
The PAS meeting was led by party president Hadi Awang, a conservative cleric.
'PAS would like to state that based on Islamic principles, the use of the word 'Allah' by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable,' said Datuk Hadi in a written statement.
'However, the word 'Allah' must not be misused or abused so as not to affect racial and religious harmony in the country,' he added.
The party's leaders met on Monday after a clamour from its members who wanted to know the party's stand on the issue that has divided Malaysian Muslims from the non-Muslims, and between Muslims themselves.
The heated debate came about after the High Court last Thursday lifted the Home Ministry's ban on the Roman Catholic Church using 'Allah' to refer to God in its newspaper, The Herald.
The Church had gone to court after the ban was imposed in 2007, arguing that the word 'Allah' is a generic Arabic word for God and predates Islam.
The government had argued that the use of the Arabic word by non-Muslims in Malaysia might offend Muslims in a country where race and religion are sensitive issues.
The court's decision had led to much debate among political and religious leaders, and on the Internet.
A group page set up on social networking site Facebook to ask the government to stop the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims in Malaysia has attracted more than 66,000 by late yesterday.
While the PAS statement acknowledged that there was nothing wrong for Christians to use 'Allah', it urged the public not to misuse the word for 'cheap politicking' to gain mass support.
'The wrongful and irresponsible use of the word should be avoided so that it does not create an issue that jeopardises the racial and religious harmony of this country,' Mr Hadi said.
Several small demonstrations by Muslim groups have been held in the past few days. There are also plans by several groups to hold demonstrations at various mosques after Friday prayers this week.
On Monday, the Malaysian government filed an appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision. Yesterday, it sought a stay of execution to prevent the word from appearing in non-Muslim publications until the appeal is heard.
But despite the leaders' meeting, PAS members are believed to remain split over the issue, observers say.
Bloggers yesterday pointed to a report in The Star's Malay news website, mstar.com.my, that quoted a top PAS cleric saying Muslims who agreed with the court's ruling have veered away from Islam.
Deputy PAS spiritual leader Haron Din said on Monday: 'I call on my friends to weigh again their views.
'If we support something kufur (that turns us away from Islam), we will indirectly become kufur also.'
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, BERNAMA
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