PAS backs Alkitab release, usage
By Syed Mu’az Syed Putra, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 18 — The use of Christian bibles in Bahasa Malaysia will not affect the position of Islam and Muslims in the country, the influential PAS Ulama council has said.
In backing the release of the previously impounded 35,100 Malay-language bibles, council chief Datuk Harun Taib said Christians should not be denied their right to use the bibles as Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of the country.
“For me, there is no issue if the bible is used in Bahasa Malaysia… even [if it is printed] in other languages [there] should not be a problem.
“Would the faith of Muslims be affected by a translation of the bible? No, it is just a bible read by Christians, that is all. Why must there be any opposition?” Harun said to The Malaysian Insider.
Harun’s stand seemingly echoes that of Malaysian Ulama Association (PUM) president Datuk Sheikh Abdul Halim Abd Kadir, who said yesterday that the association welcomed the move by the Najib administration in releasing the seized bibles.
Elaborating further, Harun said PAS has no issues with the bible as long as their distribution was restricted to Christians, and not extended to Muslims.
“I have no objections in the matter, just as long as it is not spread among Muslims… that is all. Usage in Bahasa Malaysia, there is no problem,” he said.
The 35,100 Alkitab bibles are presently still held by the home ministry in two ports — Port Klang and Kuching — as Christian leaders have refused to collect them due to the conditions imposed on their release.
The ministry had set two conditions to the importers of the consignments to allow the release of the books — that each book is stamped with a serial number and a ministry disclaimer that says “For Christians Only”.
The government’s more to release of the bibles have, however, sparked fresh concerns of reigniting Malay-Muslim anger and fears over non-Muslim use of the word “Allah”, which reached a critical point last year with arson and vandal attacks on several houses of worship.
The Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug of war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds as Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim God.
Christians, however, have argued that “Allah” is an Arabic word that has been used by those of other religious beliefs, including the Jews, in reference to God in many other parts of the world, notably in Arab nations and Indonesia.
The tussle is still trapped in the courts after the ministry won a stay of the 2009 High Court ruling that allowed Catholic weekly The Herald to use “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.
When asked about the usage of the term “Allah” in the Malay bible, Harun, a PAS commissioner, said that Christians could use the term with the condition that it only be used in the confines of their religion.
“If Christians want to use the term ‘Allah’ for their God no problem; if they are convinced that ‘Allah’ is their God, let them be.
“Besides it is different from Islam’s ‘Allah S.W.T’; for Christians, it is just ‘Allah’. I have no objections if Christians want to use ‘Allah’ among themselves, it is just Muslims [who] have to be careful in this matter,” Harun added.
PKR information chief Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty agreed with his PAS colleague’s views.
“Malays, Muslims need not worry in this matter. This is the right of religion and Bahasa Malaysia is the official religion of the country so we cannot restrict other religions, including Christians from using it,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
He urged Muslims to be more open-minded and not take matters into their own hands by stopping Christians from using the Alkitab, as the Bahasa Malaysia bibles are called.
“People don’t just become Christians because of the language, so there should be no problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Umno ulama Fathul Bari Mat Jahya said that the usage of Malay-language bibles did not contravene the spirit of the Federal Constitution.
