Sarawak Christian’s challenge set to test limits of ‘Allah’ ban

By admin-s On Jun 30, 2014

(MMO) – Putrajaya’s assertion that its ban on Christians using “Allah” is restricted to a Catholic paper will be put to test today when the High Court decides whether a Sarawakian Christian is allowed to possess religious compact discs containing the Arabic word for God.

All eyes will be on today’s case to gauge if the Court of Appeal ruling on the subject — now the case authority on the issue, after the Federal Court declined to hear the appeal last week — will intrude into other aspects of Christian worship notwithstanding the government’s assurances.

Already, the fallout from the appellate court ruling that found “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith has been seen, when the High Court ruled against Sabah’s Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) in its challenge against the seizure of three boxes of religious material bearing the term.

But the silver lining for Christians and adherents of other non-Muslim faiths that use “Allah” is Chief Justice Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria’s decision to relegate the contentious portion of the judgment to an obiter—a passing remark, in legal jargon—rather than binding judgment.

This critical move essentially permits other judges hearing similar cases in the future to disregard the Court of Appeal’s opinion on how vital “Allah” is to Christians.