COMMENT | Can Allah just mean God from now on?
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COMMENT | Many years ago, I went to Sabah to direct a documentary series with writer and political commentator Karim Raslan called
Ceritalah Malaysia. One of the stops that we did was in the town of Keningau as there was an interesting story there that we wanted to tell to the rest of Malaysia, which we felt was very important.
In the small town, there is a brother and sister from the Dusun ethnic group. The brother, Father Francis Dakun, is a Catholic priest who presides at the church. The sister, Ustazah Nooraidah Hidayah Dakun, is an Islamic religious school teacher.
KUCHING: The Kuala Lumpur High Court’s ruling allowing non-Muslims to use the word ‘Allah’ has affirmed the feelings, sentiments, and appreciation of the true meaning of the word for all, especially among Sarawakian Bumiputera, said Yayasan Perpaduan Sarawak (YPS) chief executive Datu Aloysius J Dris.
“Salute to our judicial system and process in determining the meaning of the word ‘Allah’. There is no winning or losing in this issue. It just affirms perceptions and sentiments, especially of the people here in Sarawak regardless of their religion.
“To begin with, the usage of the word ‘Allah’ used by Christians has never been an issue in Sarawak as many native people in both Sarawak and Sabah have been using Bahasa Malaysia in church and during worship,” he said in a statement yesterday.
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Published on: Thursday, March 11, 2021
By: Bernama
Malay Mail pic
Kuala Lumpur: The High Court here on Wednesday ruled that Christians nationwide can use the word Allah and three other Arabic words in their religious publications for educational purposes.
The three other words are Baitullah, Kaabah and solat.
This follows Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Nor Bee Ariffin, sitting as High Court judge, allowing a judicial review application by a Sarawak native Christian, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill.
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In the application, Jill Ireland had sought, among others, a declaration that it is her constitutional right to have access to Christian publications in the exercise of her rights to practise her religion and right to education, as provided under Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.
[Reuters]
Malaysian Christians are allowed to use the word “Allah” to refer to God in educational publications, a High Court ruled on Wednesday in ending a decades-long ban, which the court said was unconstitutional because it restricted religious freedom.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court further ruled that a 1986 directive by the home ministry to bar the use of Allah and three other Arabic words in Christian publications was illegal and irrational, because Malay Christians had used these words for more than 400 years, the state-run Bernama news agency reported about the verdict.
“The use of the words would not disrupt public order,” Judge Nor Bee Ariffin said in her ruling allowing Christian publications to use not just “Allah, but also the words “baitullah,” “kaabah” and “solat.”