ruling that the word "Allah" can be used by the Catholic weekly magazine, Herald. The
application was filed at the High Court Registry here. On Monday, the ministry lodged an
appeal with the Court of Appeal against the ruling. On Dec 31, High Court Judge Datuk
Lau Bee Lan ruled that pursuant to Articles 11 and 12 of the Federal Constitution, the
Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in respect of instruction and education of
the congregation in the Christian religion. (Bernama)
My opinion:
Just one word " Allah", and current government is all worked up over who is allowed to use it. There must be some "copyright" or "all rights reserved" over this word that the government thinks they solely owns the usage of it, and decides who has the right to use it. I guess if they feel so attached to it, they can keep it. Frankly, there are some who says that the reason that the Catholic weekly magazine wants to use the word is that there is a hidden agenda to make Christian's God appealing to the Muslims. What nonsense! Aren't there existing laws in the country where any non-Islamic religious publications or events, esp. Christians; there must be a disclaimer written somewhere that basically says, " For Non-Muslim Only"? I don't see any protest coming from other Islamic countries esp. neighboring Indonesia that get all worked up over this, since they use the "Al-Kitab" there.
I just googled " Who is Allah?" and a few good "balanced" links came up which are worth a read...
http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/gospel/g4105efm.htm
http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/195/
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