PUTRAJAYA, Sept 10 — Restrictions on non-Muslims’ use of “Allah” and other Arabic terms only apply if they involve a follower of Islam, the Catholic Church argued today as it faced off with the government in the Court of Appeal over the constitutional right to use the word for God.
The Church’s lead counsel, Porres Royan, argued that the Federal Constitution only outlines that non-Muslims cannot engage with Muslims using the prohibited words, and at the same time protects the right of minority religions to practice and profess their faith.
“This must be viewed in the context that you cannot propagate a non-Muslim faith to a Muslim,” he said when presenting the Church’s submission in Putrajaya’s appeal against a 2009 High Court decision in favour of allowing Catholic newspaper, the Herald, to use the word “Allah” in its Bahasa Malaysia section.
“If a non-Muslim uses any of these words to other non-Muslims, it cannot be an offence because it is not propagation of their faith,” he said, referring to provisions under Article 11 of the country’s apex law.
Article 11 of the Federal Constitution states that every person has a right to profess, practise and propagate their religion, though a clause specifically restricts the spread of “any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam”.
The Home Ministry had in 2008 imposed a condition on the Herald’s annual printing permit, requiring it to no longer use the word “Allah” in its publication over fears that it could “confuse” Muslims and impact on public security and order”.
Today, Porres slammed the government’s position on the issue, saying that the minister had not provided sufficient grounds to implement the ban by simply saying it is a “public security matter”.
He agreed that Islam enjoys a position that is “different from other religions” due to its status as the religion of the federation of Malaysia, but argued that the government should not put the religion before the Constitution.
“It cannot be said that state action must be in conformity with Islam, because what is stated is that the Constitution comes first,” he said.
The government, along with seven other applicants, are attempting to overturn a 2009 High Court ruling upholding the Herald’s constitutional right to use the word “Allah”.
The Allah row erupted in 2008 when the Home Ministry threatened to revoke the Herald’s newspaper permit, prompting the Catholic Church to sue the government for violating its Constitutional rights.
The 2009 High Court decision upholding the Catholic Church’s constitutional right to use the word “Allah” had shocked Muslims who considered the word to only refer to their God. It also led to Malaysia’s worst religious strife, with houses of worship throughout the country coming under attack.
Christians are Malaysia’s third-largest religious population at 2.6 million people, according to statistics from the 2010 census, behind Muslims and Buddhists.
The appellate court is expected to come to a decision on the appeal next month.
