Thursday 31 December 2009

Catholic Magazine Can Use word "Allah"

Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan ruled in the High Court today that the The Herald has the constitutional right to use the word in the magazine to propagate the Christian religion but not Islam.

She also ruled that the Home Ministry's decision prohibiting the magazine from using the word "Allah" in its publications was illegal, null and void. Bernama has the report below.


Catholic Magazine Herald Can Use Word "Allah"
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- The Catholic weekly magazine, Herald, can use the word "Allah" in its publications, the High Court here ruled on Thursday.

Justice Datuk Lau Bee Lan, in her oral decision, held that the Herald had the constitutional right to use the word in the magazine to propagate the Christian religion but not Islam.

She said that pursuant to Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution, it was an offence for non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" to Muslims to propagate the religion.

But it was not an offence for non-Muslims to use the word to the non-Muslims for the purpose of religion, she added.

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.

Article 10 allowed it to use the word in the exercise of its right to freedom of speech and expression, she said.

Lau said the decision by the Home Minister prohibiting Herald publications from using the word "Allah" in the magazine was illegal, null and void.

She said the minister had also failed to adduce evidence that the use of word would threaten national security and create misunderstanding and confusion among Muslims.

On Feb 16, Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam filed for a judicial review on the usage of the word "Allah" in the church's publications, naming the Home Ministry and the government as respondents.

He claimed that the word 'Allah' was not exclusive to the religion of Islam.

On Jan 7, the Home Minister approved the Herald's publishing permit for the period Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2009, on condition that the word "Allah" was not used in it and the words "Restricted" must be printed on the weekly's front page whereby it could only be circulated to Christians and at churches only.

The Home Minister had justified the ban on grounds of national security and to avoid misunderstanding and confusion among Muslims.

-- BERNAMA

4 comments:

ingin tahu said...

How they gonna say: "In the name of the father, the son and the holy ghost"?

fs-86 said...

Ini bukan salah PAS, UMNO atau PKR kerana ianya diputuskan oleh mahkamah. Perkara ini adalah kerana kebodohan orang cerdik pandai di negara kita yang menggubal akan segala undang-undang tetapi lupa untuk menggubal undang-undang untuk meng"eksklusif"kan perkataan "Allah" hanya kepada orang Islam.

Sepatutnya kita mengambil iktibar dari Turki yang lebih kurang 90 tahun merdeka. Mereka meletakkan pada perlembagaan mereka yang turki adalah negara sekular selagi wujudnya Turki dan perlembagaan tersebut tidak boleh dipinda. Oleh itu, sesiapa memerintah pun tak akan timbul isu meng"Islam"kan Turki.

Inilah akibat pemimpin yang pandai cakap.

Mereka yang kafir mahu mengkristiankan umat Islam di negara ini dengan menggandakan bahan bacaan menggunakan perkataan Allah. Umat Islam akan terkeliru lalu terpesonglah akidah mereka. Oleh itu, menjadi tanggungjawab kerajaan yang memerintah serta alim ulama seluruh Malaysia menggandakan usaha dakwah Islamiah.

Allahu Akbar, Allah itu tidak beranak dan tidak berbapa.

Anonymous said...

aiyah ...allah or NO allah, JESUS is my only LORD , amen !

Anonymous said...

Justice Lau judgement is correct & logic & rational.

Allah word is not copyrighted by Islam only.

Unless, there is a constitution saying Allah is the word SOLELY for the use of Malay Muslim in West Malaysia...then Justice Lau has erred in her judgement.