Muslim groups say it’s not over, warn of more threats from Christians
Muslim non-governmental organisations warned today that the Federal Court’s decision not to allow the Catholic Church’s leave application to appeal against the ban on the use of “Allah” in its weekly publication did not mark the end of the threat of “Christianisation”.
Pertubuhan Islam Gabungan Amal (Pertiga) urged Muslims to always be prepared for further attacks on their faith from Christians.
“I felt proud when it was announced that we won 4-3. This means we have succeeded in what we asked for.
“After this there will be other issues they (Christians) will come up with, and we must find a way to fight such issues,” Pertiga vice-president Izzudin Merican Nordin told The Malaysian Insider.
Muslim NGOs have always taken the line that the word Allah was exclusively for Muslims as its use by other faiths could cause confusion.
Four of the seven-member bench today dismissed the church’s application for leave to appeal, citing that the Court of Appeal was right in its decision to ban the word in the Catholic weekly, Herald.
Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria, who led the seven-man bench, said the President of Court of Appeal Md Raus Sharif, Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin and Federal court judge Suriyadi Halim Omar had agreed that the leave should not be granted.
Three other judges – Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, and Federal Court judges Datuk Zainun Ali and Tan Sri Jeffrey Tan Kok Hwa – held that leave must be granted to the Catholic Church.
