Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak assured Muslims that his government would continue to defend the name of “Allah” and uphold the position of Islam, even as it embraced the concept of moderation. In a message during the celebration of Maal Hijrah celebration, the Malaysian leader said that even as Malaysia upholds the Federal Read more
Catholics in Malaysia will continue to use the word Allah to refer to God in the liturgy, despite a court ruling that only Muslims may use the word. The Court of Appeal decision was specifically against a Catholic newspaper, the Malaysia Herald, which intends to lodge an appeal. Malaysia’s leading Catholic bishop, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam Read more
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 Read more
Muslim groups planned to rally against the Catholic Church when the religious tussle over the Middle Eastern word for god heads back to the legal arena in Malaysia. Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary-general of the group Perkasa, said the planned rally was in support of the Home Ministry in its efforts to prohibit non-Muslims from Read more
The new papal nuncio to Malaysia has landed in the midst of an intense row over whether Christians in the country should be allowed to use the word “Allah” to refer to God. Archbishop Joseph Marino, the first nuncio appointed to the Muslim-majority nation, said during a press conference that he supported the arguments in Read more
Christians from two churches in Malaysia rejected a requirement that they will need a police permit to sing Christmas carols in their parishes or their homes. Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, head of the Malaysian bishops’ conference, told Vatican-based Fides news that the country will soon be in “a police state” if authorities continue demanding Read more
The Church in Australia said it can assist the government in the matter of asylum seekers, and welcomed the High Court’s permanent injunction against the deportation of two asylum seekers to Malaysia, the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office said in a statement. “The Government knows our views and it also knows of the work Read more
Predominantly Muslim Malaysia and the Holy Seee have established diplomatic ties. The announcement came after talks between the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak and Pope Benedic XVI. “In the cordial conversations, the positive developments in bilateral relations were discussed, and an agreement was reached to establish diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the Holy See,” the Vatican Read more