{"id":391,"date":"2013-10-14T15:14:17","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T15:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=391"},"modified":"2013-10-14T15:14:17","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T15:14:17","slug":"malaysia-court-rules-non-muslims-cant-use-word-allah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/malaysia-court-rules-non-muslims-cant-use-word-allah\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia court rules non-Muslims can\u2019t use word \u2018Allah\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Malaysia\"<\/a>A Malaysia appeals court on Monday upheld a government ban against the use of the word \u201cAllah\u201d to refer to God in non-Muslim faiths, reported the Associated Press.
\nThis action has overruled claims by Christian groups in the country that the decision violates their religious rights.
\nMalaysian Judge Mohammad Apandi Ali, who led a three-member appeals court panel, stated that the use of \u201cAllah\u201d was \u201cnot an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is our judgment that there is no infringement of any constitutional rights\u201d in the ban, he said.
\n\u201cWe could find no reason why the [Catholic newspaper] is so adamant to use the word \u2018Allah\u2019 in their weekly. Such usage if allowed will inevitably cause confusion within the community.\u201d
\nThe Rev. Lawrence Andrew, editor of the Catholic newspaper, The Herald, said they plan to appeal Monday’s verdict in Malaysia’s Federal Court, reported the Associated Press.
\n\u201cWe are greatly disappointed and dismayed,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThis is unrealistic. It is a retrograde step in the development of law in relation to the fundamental liberty of religious minorities.\u201d
\nMalaysia has been witness to a long-term dispute concerning the right to use \u201cAllah\u201d in Christianity, the minister\u2019s fresh remarks came ahead of court proceedings, over the point of contention, which are due to start next week.
\nSome observers have expressed fear that a ruling in the Malay-dominated government\u2019s favor could also be used as precedent to have \u201cAllah\u201d removed from Bibles, reported Agence France-Presse.
\nMuslims make up the majority of the population with 60 percent of the country\u2019s 28 million people, while Christians account for about nine percent.
\nMonday\u2019s ruling in the Court of Appeals overturns a decision by a lower court nearly four years ago that ruled against the government ban.
\nThe row first erupted in 2008 and then in 2009 the High Court made a landmark ruling in favor of the Catholic Church, when it said the word was not the exclusive right of Muslims.
\nIn January 2010, the Home Ministry filed an appeal against the ruling, but there was a three-year hiatus before the dates were fixed for hearing at the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n

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