In worsening ‘Allah’ row’, PKR offers to be peacemaker

(The Malay Mail) – PKR today volunteered to act as intermediary in an increasingly acrimonious row between Muslims and Christians over “Allah” that yesterday led to an unprecedented raid on the Bible Society Malaysia by Selangor Islamic authorities.

The Pakatan Rakyat component party also reminded the public to not to fall prey to attempts to unravel the country’s interfaith harmony.

“PKR is confident that a wise approach to handle religious issues is the best way to prevent the ongoing tension between Muslims and Christians in this country,” the party’s information chief Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty said in a statement today.

“Indeed, religious tension goes against religious principles, the Federal Constitutions and democratic practice.”

The party hoped that the planned meet will increase the awareness and understanding of the importance of a dialogue culture among the plural Malaysian society.

It also felt that the best way towards alleviating public anxiety and worry over religious issues is to collect objective opinions from all sides.

PKR’s offer follows the raid by Selangor Islamic authorities against the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

The Selangor Islamic Religious Department also seized copies of both the Malay-language and Iban bibles that contain the word “Allah”, while three BSM officials were also held by police.

Separately, a coalition of Malay-Muslim group also announced yesterday that a rally will be held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang this Sunday morning over the insistence of Christians in the state to use the word ‘Allah’.

The coalition calling themselves the Klang Muslims Solidarity Secretariat blamed church leaders for sparking the current row over the Arabic word and threatened an “uprising” if their demand to stop non-Muslims from using it is ignored.

Temperatures flared after Jais announced plans to clamp down on churches in the state that used the Arabic word in their worship, even as the so-called “Allah” row remains unresolved four years after it shocked the nation and led to the worst religious strife in the country’s history.

The ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Catholic Church over its right to print the word “Allah” in the Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia section is still pending before the Federal Court, which is set to hear arguments from both sides on February 24 before deciding on whether it will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church.