Anwar slammed for speaking on Allah issue at Kajang church
(TMI) – A lawmaker and two Muslim clerics have slammed opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic), for remarks he made on the Allah issue during a meet-the-people session at the Holy Family Church hall in Kajang last Sunday.
Umno’s Supreme Council member, Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, said Anwar’s move showed his desperation to win the Kajang by-election.
“Intellectuals in Malaysia have agreed that the Allah issue is something that cannot be discussed by any party. It was needless for him to touch on the issue just to win more votes, he should refer the matter to Muslim scholars who truly understand the Allah issue,” Reezal was quoted as saying by Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia.
Berita Harian reported today that Perak mufti, Datuk Harussani Zakaria, had categorised Anwar’s move as “syirik” (polytheism) for defending the Christians as if he believed in the concept of Trinity.
The Trinity concept refers to the three divine personifications of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — which forms part of the belief system of the Christians, especially Catholics.
“Anwar’s move is overboard as he plays with an Islamic edict, which has been agreed by 14 mufti who have the power to decide on Islamic laws. He made a big mistake and it can be categorised as ‘syirik’,” Harussani had said.
In 2008, National Fatwa Council’s chairman Tan Sri Abdul Shukor had issued an edict which stated that the word “Allah” was exclusive to Muslims and should not be used by non-Muslims.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah had also cited the 1986 decree by the National Fatwa Council which bans several Arabic words from being used by non-Muslims including the word “Allah”.
The “Allah” row first erupted in 2008 after the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Herald’s newspaper permit for publishing Christian references to God as “Allah”, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its constitutional rights.
The Church has argued in court that the word predates Islam and that Christians’ right to use “Allah” in a non-Muslim context was affirmed by the government’s own 10-point solution issued in 2011.
