A Catholic weekly newspaper in Malaysia lost its latest legal battle over the right to use the word ‘Allah’ for God in its local language edition.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal ruled that the government’s efforts to ban the use of the word in Christian publications will continue.
The case dates back to a dispute over the re-registration of the Herald’s publishing license, following criticism from the Home Ministry over political articles that appeared in its pages.
In 2009, the local language edition received an injunction to cease publication. The Herald and the archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur successfully sued for the right to continue, but the government then lodged an appeal against the ruling, which stated that Muslims did not have exclusive ownership of the word Allah.
The court ruling spurred acts of vandalism against Christian churches and death threats against the presiding judge in the case, Lau Been Lan.
“Allah” is the Arabic word for God and is commonly used in the Malay language to refer to God.
The government, however, insists “Allah” is an Islamic word and that its use by others would confuse Muslims.
SOURCES
Image: AFP/UCA News
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