Q&A: What Court Decision on Use of ‘Allah’ Means for Malaysia
Celine Fernandez, WSJ
Malaysia’s appellate court is scheduled to rule on Monday on whether the Roman Catholic Church can use ‘Allah’ in its weekly publication to represent the Christian God.
The battle in the court of appeal was the result of a lower court judgment in 2009 which ruled that the Catholic Church had the constitutional right to use the word Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia editions of the Herald, its newspaper. In early 2010 the same court ordered the Herald not to use the word while the government appealed the decision.
Last month, the Catholic Church argued before the appellate court that it should be allowed to use the word because it has been used for centuries by the Malay-speaking Christian community. The government, meanwhile, argued that the then-home minister didn’t act in bad faith when he restricted the use of the word because he had done so from the aspect of security and public order. The government also argued that the word is specific to Muslims.
Monday’s ruling may be appealed to the next level, the highest court.
Muslims make up about 61% of Malaysia’s 28 million people. The Christian Federation of Malaysia said that about 60% of the approximately 2.6 million Christians in the country use the word Allah to refer to God.
Observers, including Dr. Patricia Anne Martinez, a Malaysian scholar of Islam who is Catholic, think the decision will go against the Herald, partly because of the current political climate. She pointed out that the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant partner in the ruling coalition, has been using Islam for political expedience.
“There has been very negative and widespread publicity about the use of the word ‘Allah’ and the Herald case,” she said, noting that UMNO used the issue during the campaign before the 13th general elections in May to show it was “championing Islam.”
The closely watched verdict raises high-stake issues for Malaysia, particularly freedom of religion.
“We are not oppressing the non-Muslims,” said Azril Amin, one of the lawyers in the suit representing the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council, a body that looks after Islamic affairs. “We are not stopping them from practicing their religion.”
Mr. Azril, who is also the vice-president of the Muslim Lawyers Association, said the government’s side is simply saying “the proper use of the word Allah” should be reserved for Muslims.
Father Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Herald, says the long legal battle has not worn him down.
“When justice is denied, you don’t consider the tiredness, but the commitment that you have for the good of the people,” he said. “We are just stating what is in Article 11 of the federal Constitution, which says we have the right to worship and to manage our religious affairs. So, therefore, we are basically fighting for religious freedom.”
Dr. Mujahid Yusof Rawa, a member of Parliament from the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS, has visited close to 30 churches nationwide promoting interfaith dialogue.
“The court has to stick to the freedom of faith by taking Islam as the religion of the state into account,” said Mr. Majahid, who is Muslim.
Mr. Mujahid spoke with The Wall Street Journal’s Celine Fernandez about what’s ahead. Edited excerpts follow:
The Wall Street Journal: How do you think the court will rule and why?
Mr. Mujahid: The fact that the court has deferred the ruling, which was supposed to be in September, will signal to you the tension of the issue. The court has to stick to the freedom of faith by taking Islam as the religion of the state into account. The extreme right still represents the significant group of Malay Muslims who feel that the word “Allah” used by Christians will lead to religious unrest. The Malays may not agree on the extreme tone of the right. But their concern is that it will not be a good precedent as the Catholic Church will dare to intrude further in demanding their use of “Allah” in many other church symbols. The court also, in my opinion, has to look into these multi-racial dynamics. And of course the ruling party, UMNO, at some degree may influence the ruling.
What will the impact be on religion and culture in Malaysia?
The impact is that interfaith relations will be more tense as many people have an interest in this. Politicians will ride the issue between the extreme right and the liberals.An Islamic party like PAS will be tested in its call for freedom of faith. The liberals will find a good ground to exert with more radical approaches in its belief of freedom of faith. The Malays, who are majority Muslims, will be tested in their pursuit of defending Islam but complying with Article 11, where freedom of faith is protected in the federal constitution. The theory that Christians proselytize Muslims will increase. And the Catholics will be seen as the enemy of Islam among the general Muslim viewpoint. Whatever the outcome of the ruling, it definitely will have a great impact for Malaysia and the international community.
What will it say about freedom of the press?
That’s the whole issue. Catholics were banned from using the word “Allah” in their publication the Herald, but the high court found the ban as contradicting the notion of freedom, although the circulation must be limited to the Christians only. The government went to the court of appeal. The Catholics defended, and now it is time for the court of appeal to give its ruling. I think the issue was given such a highlight for the purpose of political gain rather than looking into a brighter future in faith relations.
