The Allah controversy in Malaysia is far from over

Vanitha Nadaraj

Malaysian Christians attend a Sunday service inside a church in Petaling Jaya near Kuala Lumpur on Jan 10, 2010, amid heightened ethnic tensions after a series of firebomb attacks on churches and an escalating row over the use of the word 'Allah' as a translation for the Christian God in the Muslim-majority nation. (Photo: AFP)

In 1986, two separate government decisions were made involving the word Allah, the Arabic word for God. The decisions were inconsistent with each other but that is not the problem. The fact that these directives are still in force is what is haunting the country.

In May that year, the cabinet decided that Christians were prohibited from using the words Allah and three other words in their printed materials unless For Christians was printed on the cover of these materials. The other three words were Kaabah (referring to Islam's holiest site), Baitullah (House of God), and solat (prayer).

In December, the home ministry issued a directive saying there was an outright ban. The suggested alternative was Tuhan, which some say means Lord.

What followed were high-profile court cases, one of which involved the Catholic weekly Herald, and claims that those opposing the ban were creating disunity and undermining Islam. These claims triggered arson attacks on churches 13 years ago, and street protests, the latest of which was on May 19.

The incidents that triggered the three court cases happened at about the same time.

Two cases came to an end within the past 30 days.

It started when the home ministry prohibited the Catholic weekly from using the world Allah for national security purposes

One was on May 15 when the government said that it would not appeal against a 2021 High Court ruling that the 1986 home ministry directive was unlawful because it was inconsistent with the cabinet decision. This case involved a Sarawakian Protestant who was caught in 2008 for bringing CDs containing the word Allah for personal use.

The other case started in 2007 when the home ministry seized Christian educational materials containing the word Allah belonging to a Protestant church. The Sabah-based Sidang Injil Borneo Church filed a notice of discontinuance on April 25 and did not state the reason why they were dropping their lawsuit.

The Herald case emerged in 2009 and came to an end in 2015. It started when the home ministry prohibited the Catholic weekly from using the world Allah for national security purposes, and to avoid confusion and misunderstanding among Muslims.

The Catholic Church filed a judicial review and the High Court ruled in 2009 that the ban was unconstitutional. The government appealed and won, but the Church pursued the case relentlessly. In 2015, the case was thrown out by the apex court.

Soon after the High Court ruling on the Herald case, there were arson attacks in 2010 on three churches in Kuala Lumpur and nearby Petaling Jaya. Molotov cocktails were used in the attack on the Assumption Church, while two Protestant churches were also damaged but no one was harmed.

Catholic churches in these cities started to beef up security including hiring extra security guards fearing an escalation. Many Catholics removed crucifixes and other religious items from their cars after hearing of vandalism incidents.

The fear is still there. The past has taught Christians to be wary and not court attention, and the present tells them that the issue is far from over.

There cannot be a ban on non-Muslims using those words for themselves

Days after the government decided to drop the case, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says he is bringing before the Rulers Conference the government's proposals to strengthen enforcement on the use of 'Allah' and strengthen interracial and inter-religious unity and harmony in Malaysia.

The Rulers Conference is a council comprising nine rulers and four governors, who are the heads of the states in Malaysia. The council has been vested with several functions, including matters relating to Islam and Malay privileges.

Rulers have the power to enact laws in their own states relating to these matters. Since 1986, most of the states have enacted laws that prohibit non-Muslims from using some 20 to 40 words including Allah.

A council representing major non-Muslims religions wants the Rulers Conference to reconsider these state laws. They say that these laws are unconstitutional because the Federal Constitution only allows states to restrict or control the spreading of religious beliefs among Muslims.

There cannot be a ban on non-Muslims using those words for themselves, says the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism. One of its three vice-presidents is Archbishop Julian Leow of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.

It is not just the laws. Christians have also witnessed the use of religion as political fodder on numerous occasions. That is why the two recently concluded court cases hardly made a ripple within Christian circles on the peninsula.

There may be some discussion among those in the Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak and understandably so. Allah is commonly used there because Malay is spoken widely. It is for this reason that non-Muslims in these two states can use the word Allah in publications but under certain conditions.

For now, it is the status quo for Christians in Malaysia.

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.