Use of Allah not a Christian conspiracy to convert Muslims, says DAP
Jennifer Gomez, TMI
The court’s decision banning the word Allah from the Bahasa Malaysia section of Catholic weekly Herald could have wider implications on other Christian reading materials, an opposition politician warned today.
DAP’s Serdang MP, Dr Ong Kian Ming (pic), said the grounds of judgment by the three judges implied that the ban could be easily extended to all Christian publications, including the Al-Kitab, or any other material printed in native languages.
“To say that the use of the word Allah is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity shows a complete lack of understanding of Bumiputera Christian practices as they have been using the word in their prayers, songs and scriptures for generations,” he said in a statement today.
Ong also hit out at Judge Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh who, he said, had done a great disservice to the Christian community by “liberally quoting Christian sources from outside Malaysia to explain that even some Christians did not agree to the use of the word”.
“In liberally quoting sources, including an opinion piece by a Brutus Balan which appeared on a website run by Daniel Pipes, a well-known right wing US academic, as well as Fox News, is a great disservice upon himself,” he said.
Ong also highlighted a point in Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali’s judgment, saying it implied that the use of the word in the Herald was a potential threat to the peace and harmony which exists in Malaysia.
“This is despite the fact that such a threat has never surfaced in Sabah and Sarawak where Bumiputera Christians have been using the word for generations,” Ong said.
