Malaysia’s battle for ‘Allah’ goes online

Openly opposed to the ruling, Mukhriz, just like his

father. - Picture by Choo Choy May

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 — Like-minded Muslim Malaysians are banding together online in social network groups such as Facebook to oppose a High Court decision that allows Catholics to describe the Christian God as “Allah” in the national language.

As of 8am today, 10,000 accounts have signed up in the Facebook group page titled “Menentang Penggunaan Allah Oleh Golongan Bukan Islam” (Against Non-Muslims using the word Allah) to protest the Dec 31 judgment in favour of the Catholic weekly, Herald.

Among its members are International Trade and Industry deputy minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, a cross-section of youth members from political foes Umno and PAS and university students. Its adviser is controversial Mingguan Malaysia columnist Dr Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah who has riled up non-Muslims with his idea of using population figures to determine benefits.

In the group description, it stated its objective is to oppose the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims which it alleged is an attempt to confuse Muslims.

“For the awakened Muslims, this is a propaganda by them (Christians) to confuse the Islam Ummah (community) now and in the future,” read the group description.

Just as in the group’s description, Umno hawks and Muslim conservatives alike have used similar arguments in their bid to put pressure on the relevant authorities to reverse the High Court decision and maintain exclusivity on the word “Allah” for Muslims.

Leaders like former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Selangor mentri besar Datuk Seri Khir Toyo and Umno Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil have also said that the court decision will create uneasiness among the different races.

Mukhriz — Dr Mahathir’s son — is known for his far-right controversial political stand while Ridhuan is a household name among conservatives

Though the group did not state its political affiliation, it is clear that its creators who uses the pseudonym “Ali Baba Bujang Lapok”, are inclined to Umno judging from how Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders have been targeted and blamed for the controversy.

Progressive Islamist leaders like PAS Shah Alam and Kuala Selangor MPs, Khalid Samad and Dr Dulkefly Ahmad, have been derided as traitors to Islam for agreeing with the court decision.

PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim have also been accused of “gambling the sanctity of Islam” for his alleged support of the High Court decision.

An online research by The Malaysian Insider also found that various pro-Umno blogs have begun exploiting the sensitive controversy to underscore their tactics of portraying PR as anti-Islam.

This is however not entirely true. Known Islamic hardliner like PKR’s Zulkifli Noordin have openly voiced out his disagreement with the court decision.

The Malaysian Insider also understands that conservative camps within PAS are also at odds with their more progressive peers but have so far remain silent, presumably in an attempt to avoid confrontation with the more liberal elements within PKR and DAP.

The controversy over the word “Allah” has stirred huge debate among Christians and Muslims alike in Malaysia and attracted international attention as well.

The Home Minister, who controls giving the annual mandatory publishing permits in the country, had banned the church from using the word “Allah” outside the Muslim context.

But some questioned if there can be a copyright over the word “Allah”, which Muslim representatives say is a special word reserved to refer to the Muslim God, meaning “the one and only Almighty”