My prediction : OK to use Allah in East Malaysia but not in West Malaysia .

East Malaysian Christians say will continue using ‘Allah’

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

(Left to right) Pastors Danil Raut, Simon Petraus, and Alfred Tias at the High Court today. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Church leaders representing the East Malaysian Christian community said today they hoped the government would come up with a solution which enables them to continue to use the word “Allah” in their daily worship.

Speaking to reporters after the High Court here set a date to hear the case of Jill Lawrence, a Melanau who is suing the government for confiscating CDs containing the word “Allah”, the church representatives stated that the word “Allah” would still be used during Sunday services.

“Before this, there was no problem with using the word for our daily worship. Of course, the Christians in East Malaysia are not happy with the tussle, but we will wait and see what the court decides,” said Pastor Danil Raut, who is the president of the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) church in Peninsular Malaysia.

An SIB church in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan was the latest to have been hit by the spate of attacks on churches throughout the peninsula, where firebombs were thrown at some churches.

The latest lawsuit involving the use of “Allah” has set the stage for another court battle over the word.

The country has been gripped by a raging debate over the word since the High Court ruled on Dec 31, 2010 that the Catholic weekly Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia edition had a constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in the Christian sense.

Read more here

Another ‘Allah’ court battle looms

(left to right) Pastor Danil Raut,Pastor Simon Petraus,Pastor Alfred Tias from Sidang Injil Borneo(SIB) and Lawyer Annou Xavier before they enter court. - Picture by Choo Choy May

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — The High Court here fixed March 15 for the mention of an application by a Melanau woman to challenge the Home Ministry’s decision in confiscating eight compact discs of Christian religious teachings containing the word “Allah”.

The date was fixed by deputy registrar Nik Mohd Fadli Nik Azlan, setting the stage for another court battle over the word “Allah”.

The country has been gripped by a raging debate over the word since the High Court ruled on December 31 that the Catholic weekly Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia edition had a constitutional right to use the word “Allah” in its Christian sense.

The ruling sparked protests from Muslim groups and has been linked to a series of firebombing and arson attacks against at least eight churches in the past few days.

In the latest case, the applicant has claimed that the compact discs which were confiscated was for her own personal use.

The said publications were in audio visual form and had the words “Allah” printed on them. Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, 27, was granted leave on May 4 last year to initiate the judicial review proceedings against the ministry and the government, as respondents.

She wants an order of certiorari to quash the ministry’s decision to confiscate the CDs, an order of mandamus to direct the ministry to return the CDs to her and a declaration that she has the legitimate expectation to exercise her right to possess, use and import publications containing the word “Allah”.

Read more here