The Malaysian government has reiterated that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah," sparking concern yesterday among Christians who use it to refer to God in their Malay-language Bible and other publications.
Abdullah Zin, the de facto minister for Islamic affairs, told reporters on Thursday that the Cabinet is of the view that "Allah" refers to the Muslim God and can only be used by Muslims, who comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's population.
"The use of the word `Allah' by non-Muslims may arouse sensitivity and create confusion among Muslims in the country," Abdullah said.
His statement is the latest twist in a long-drawn controversy involving the Herald, a weekly organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church.
It was told by the Internal Security Ministry last month that its Malay-language section would be banned unless it stops using "Allah" as a synonym for God.
But the paper was surprised when the ministry made an apparent about-turn last weekend by renewing its annual permit -- a government requirement for all publications in Malaysia -- without imposing any conditions.
The paper assumed it was a tacit approval for the use of "Allah."
But Abdullah's comments on Thursday threw the issue into fresh confusion and will likely renew complaints by ethnic minorities that their rights are increasingly undermined because of government efforts to bolster the status of Islam, Malaysia's official religion.
The Herald's editor, Reverend Lawrence Andrew, said its latest issue on Wednesday still uses "Allah," but he could not say whether upcoming editions would omit the word.
"We will have to discuss how to go about this with our lawyers and publishers," Andrew said.
Andrew reiterated the paper's stance that Malay-speaking Christians have long used the word, which has roots in Arabic and predates Islam.
"The newspaper does use Allah in quotes from the [Malay-language] Bible. Nobody can tell us that we cannot quote from the Bible. That would be a gross violation of our rights,'' he said.
Andrew declined to comment further, adding the paper had initiated court action over the issue.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS