Jais urged to act against Christians using ‘Allah’ behind closed-doors

(MM) – Two Malay-Muslim activist groups have demanded action against a Christian group for allegedly calling God in a non-Islamic context at a closed-door gathering in Klang yesterday, claiming such usage violated the Selangor sultan’s decree, Utusan Malaysia reported today.

Pertubuhan Ikatan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Selangor (IKDDAS) and Selangor Perkasa pushed the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to investigate the Christian gathering as they insisted the organisers had broken the state law even though several lawyers had previously disputed the Selangor Ruler’s decree is legally binding on non-Muslims.

“From the legal perspective, it is clear that the use of the word ‘Allah’ is forbidden to non-Muslims,” IKDDAS president Rosdi Long was quoted as saying.

To back his argument, he cited Section 9 of the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988.

“If it is true that the organiser used the holy word in a non-Muslim programme, Jais should not hesitate to take action against those who were involved,” he added.

In an insubstantiated report today, the Umno-controlled newspaper claimed that the International Full Gospel Fellowship held a closed-door function at an unnamed hotel in the Selangor royal town yesterday, where the Christian group purportedly sang songs containing the word “Allah”.

Utusan Malaysia further reported that a board in the hotel hall informing of the gathering had featured the words: “International Full Gospel Fellowship: Keluarga Allah Satelit Nilai dan Satelit Puchong, ‘Dari dalam gelap akan terbit terang’”. The English translation reads: “God’s family, Nilai and Puchong satellites, ‘Light will shine strong from the darkness’”.

Selangor Perkasa chief Abu Bakar Yahya reportedly said that it was not right for non-Muslims to refer to God as “Allah”, citing the Selangor Sultan’s decree on the matter.

Putrajaya, however, has said that the ban on the Arabic word is only restricted to the Catholic weekly, the Herald, following the Court of Appeal ruling in October that upheld the Home Ministry’s ban on “Allah” in the Catholic Church’s internal newsletter.

The Catholic Church has said it will continue its legal fight for the “Allah” word to the Federal Court in its persistance to safeguard its religious freedom as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution.

The Selangor Sultan renewed his decree last month that the Arabic word for God be barred to non-Muslims in the country’s most developed state, including in the Malay-language Christian bible, the Al-Kitab, and in the Herald.

Nizam Bashir, who is both a constitutional and syariah lawyer, told The Malay Mail Online last month that Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah’s decree, which impinges on non-Muslims’ right to freedom of expression relating to their god, was unconstitutional as Article 10 (2) of the Federal Constitution states that only Parliament can restrict such freedoms.

Local Islamic authorities have argued that use of “Allah” in a non-Islamic context will confuse Malaysian Muslims.