Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been urged to make a courageous stand to ensure that only Muslims in this country are entitled to use the term Allah.
In making this call, Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) president Mohd Fazil William said the premier must act as Muslims feel threatened.
"Najib should be bold to take immediate action to declare Allah is for Muslims only. If there is a need to amend the Federal Constitution to do this or any other existing laws then it should be done.
"If there is a loophole in the existing laws then patch it up," he stressed.
Fazil was speaking to reporters at the sidelines of a 10-minute protest held in the vicinity of Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
After the Friday prayers, hundreds gathered to vent their anger over the recent court ruling which allowed a Catholic weekly Herald to use the term Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.
Fazil also said Kimma members who "numbered about one million" were standing together with other Muslims to protest the court decision.
Muslims must stand united
Meanwhile, Selangor Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) leader Arman Azha Abu Hanifah made an impassioned plea for Muslim unity, particularly among Malays.
"Because we are not united, they are challenging the dignity of Islam. So, lets stand as one and tackle this problem.
"Lets not have to hijrah once again," he said in reference to Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution.
Azman also raised doubts that the spate of arson attacks on churches were the work of those protesting the court decision.
"Are you sure this is our work? This is the question. Is this some sort of propaganda?... We Muslims believe in peace. We won't do anything that can cause uneasiness for the public.
"We Muslims believe in harmony and peace. We condemn whoever that did it," he said.
'We have no quarrels with Christians'
Also expressing dissatisfaction with the court ruling was Abdul Rashid Mohd Fadzil, leader of Islamic proselytization group Pekida.
According to him, the fundamental problem was Herald's insistence on using the term Allah.
When told that Christians in Middle-Eastern and other countries have long used the word Allah to describe God, Abdul Rashid replied: "We are talking about Malaysia".
Abdul Rashid stressed that Muslims have no quarrels with Christians, but merely want exclusive rights to the word Allah as Catholics could use other terms such as "God", "Lord" or "Father".
Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, chairperson of the Umno Youth media unit, was also present at the protest in his personal capacity.
He too was of the view that the use of Allah is exclusively for Muslims who had been using it for years.
"The church must respect this right and should not use Allah out of respect to Muslims," he said.
Mohd Shukri Abdullah, advisor of Permuafakatan Ummah Council (Pewaris), clarified that the use of Allah by Christian Arabs was different to what is being practised here.
"As Allah is used to represent a single God for Muslims, it should not be used by the Christians here. It would add to more confusion and should stop," he said.
Mohd Shukri has urged Muslims to be united and steadfast in this action.
Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim (IRIM) Malaysia president Amir Hamzah Allipitchay also urged the government to make a stand.
"If the issue is prolonged, it would lead to unrest in the country. The country's leadership must take immediate steps to resolve it," he said.
Grand Imam in tears
Earlier, Grand Imam Ismail Muhammad in his sermon, authored by the Federal Islamic Development Department (Jakim), also addressed the issue.
He said that certain quarters are using Islamic terms and names with the purpose of fracturing the Islamic faith and to confuse Muslims.
To the surprise of many, Ismail broke down in tears when he recited the doa (prayers).
When the prayers ended, a group of NGO representatives took up loudhailers and began chanting slogans, punctuated with chants of 'Allahu Akhbar' (Allah is great) at the mosque entrance.
Calling themselves the Bantah Penggunaan Kalimah Allah movement - a coalition of at least 10 NGOs - the group came prepared with banners as well as a table to collect signatures for a protest petition.
"Today, we will tell them that we have given them rights and religious freedom. But know this, do not play with Islam," a spokesperson, who did not name himself, told the crowd.
In making this call, Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) president Mohd Fazil William said the premier must act as Muslims feel threatened.
"Najib should be bold to take immediate action to declare Allah is for Muslims only. If there is a need to amend the Federal Constitution to do this or any other existing laws then it should be done."If there is a loophole in the existing laws then patch it up," he stressed.
Fazil was speaking to reporters at the sidelines of a 10-minute protest held in the vicinity of Masjid Negara in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
After the Friday prayers, hundreds gathered to vent their anger over the recent court ruling which allowed a Catholic weekly Herald to use the term Allah in its Bahasa Malaysia edition.
Fazil also said Kimma members who "numbered about one million" were standing together with other Muslims to protest the court decision.
Muslims must stand united
Meanwhile, Selangor Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Malaysia (Perkasa) leader Arman Azha Abu Hanifah made an impassioned plea for Muslim unity, particularly among Malays."Because we are not united, they are challenging the dignity of Islam. So, lets stand as one and tackle this problem.
"Lets not have to hijrah once again," he said in reference to Prophet Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution.
Azman also raised doubts that the spate of arson attacks on churches were the work of those protesting the court decision.
"Are you sure this is our work? This is the question. Is this some sort of propaganda?... We Muslims believe in peace. We won't do anything that can cause uneasiness for the public.
"We Muslims believe in harmony and peace. We condemn whoever that did it," he said.
'We have no quarrels with Christians'
Also expressing dissatisfaction with the court ruling was Abdul Rashid Mohd Fadzil, leader of Islamic proselytization group Pekida.
According to him, the fundamental problem was Herald's insistence on using the term Allah.When told that Christians in Middle-Eastern and other countries have long used the word Allah to describe God, Abdul Rashid replied: "We are talking about Malaysia".
Abdul Rashid stressed that Muslims have no quarrels with Christians, but merely want exclusive rights to the word Allah as Catholics could use other terms such as "God", "Lord" or "Father".
Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz, chairperson of the Umno Youth media unit, was also present at the protest in his personal capacity.
He too was of the view that the use of Allah is exclusively for Muslims who had been using it for years.
"The church must respect this right and should not use Allah out of respect to Muslims," he said.
Mohd Shukri Abdullah, advisor of Permuafakatan Ummah Council (Pewaris), clarified that the use of Allah by Christian Arabs was different to what is being practised here."As Allah is used to represent a single God for Muslims, it should not be used by the Christians here. It would add to more confusion and should stop," he said.
Mohd Shukri has urged Muslims to be united and steadfast in this action.
Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim (IRIM) Malaysia president Amir Hamzah Allipitchay also urged the government to make a stand.
"If the issue is prolonged, it would lead to unrest in the country. The country's leadership must take immediate steps to resolve it," he said.
Grand Imam in tears
Earlier, Grand Imam Ismail Muhammad in his sermon, authored by the Federal Islamic Development Department (Jakim), also addressed the issue.
He said that certain quarters are using Islamic terms and names with the purpose of fracturing the Islamic faith and to confuse Muslims.
To the surprise of many, Ismail broke down in tears when he recited the doa (prayers).
When the prayers ended, a group of NGO representatives took up loudhailers and began chanting slogans, punctuated with chants of 'Allahu Akhbar' (Allah is great) at the mosque entrance.
Calling themselves the Bantah Penggunaan Kalimah Allah movement - a coalition of at least 10 NGOs - the group came prepared with banners as well as a table to collect signatures for a protest petition."Today, we will tell them that we have given them rights and religious freedom. But know this, do not play with Islam," a spokesperson, who did not name himself, told the crowd.
Reporting by Andrew Ong, Hafiz Yatim, Jimadie Othman, Kuek Ser Kuang Keng and Vasugi Supramaniam.
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