KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Court of
Appeal dismissed a request by Catholic leaders to dismiss an appeal filed by
the government against a 2009 High Court decision allowing the use of the word
Allah in Christian media.
The three-member bench of justices issued their ruling after a morning of
deliberation, saying that appeal hearings would start 10 September to resolve
the dispute between The Herald, a Malaysian Catholic weekly, and the Home
Ministry.
With scores of Muslims waiting outside for the ruling, Court of Appeal
Justice Datuk Abu Samah said the matter "is still a live issue and the
controversy has yet to be resolved. Thus we dismiss this application",
this despite a ten-point letter issued by Prime Minister Najib Razak on 11
April 2011, allowing Bahasa Malaysia Bibles to use the word Allah.
For the justice, "It is a drastic action to strike out an appeal that
has been properly filed before this court and to deny the appellants the right
to an appeal".
In fact, the government insists that the Arabic word "Allah" should be for the exclusive use of Muslims.
In fact, the government insists that the Arabic word "Allah" should be for the exclusive use of Muslims.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur expressed
fear that the controversy could trigger possible violence, fed by vitriolic
statements from Islamist movements.
The controversy over the use of the name "Allah" for the Christian
God in the media and books, like the Bible, in Bahasa Malaysia broke out in
2008, when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke The Herald's license to
publish. In response, Catholic Church leaders sued the government for violating
rights enshrined in the Constitution.
In 2009, the High Court granted Catholics the right to use the term
"Allah", a ruling that shocked and angered Muslims, who consider the
word exclusive to Islam.
Source: Free Republic
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