Malaysia Bans Part Of Catholic Newspaper: Church
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP)–Malaysian authorities have banned the Malay-language section of a Catholic weekly newspaper due to its use of the word Allah, a senior church leader said Wednesday.
Brother Augustine Julian, secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, told AFP the internal security ministry in a letter dated December 10 ordered a ban on articles in The Herald that were written in the Malay language.
"The government does not want us (Christians) to use the word Allah. But this is against the constitution that allows the freedom of religion," he said.
Julian said Allah, or God, was used by church leaders when they deliver sermons in Malay or in the Malay language articles section of the 28-page newspaper.
Muslims use the word Allah to describe their God.
"We follow the Bible. The Malay-language Bible uses Allah for God. If the government feels the word Allah creates confusion among Muslims, then they should educate their Muslims," Julian said.
The junior minister in the internal security ministry Mohamad Johari Baharum could not be reached for comment.
The Herald, a tabloid-sized newspaper, is circulated among the country's 850, 000 Catholics with articles written in English, Chinese, Tamil and Malay.
Religion and language are sensitive issues in multiracial Malaysia.
Malaysian commentators have sounded alarm over the growing "Islamization" of the country and the increasing polarization of the three main ethnic communities, who mingle much less than they once did.
About 60% of the nation's 27 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims. The rest are mostly Buddhist, Hindu or Christian Chinese and Indians.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Christmas Day warned Malaysians to be on their guard against religious extremists tearing apart the multiracial nation which suffered deadly race riots in 1969.
Julian said church leaders would appeal to the government to lift the ban, adding that Christians were unhappy about the ban.
"Christians are definitely unhappy. The best Christmas gift we hope to get is the lifting of the ban," he said.
