'Allah' row spills on to Facebook
Razak AhmadPublished: Jan 5, 2010 12:49 AM | Updated: Jan 5, 2010 11:51 PM
More than 43,000 Malaysians protested online over a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper to use the word ‘Allah' to describe God, signalling growing Islamic anger.
More than 43,000 Malaysians protested online over a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper to use the word ‘Allah' to describe God, signalling growing Islamic anger.
A group page on social networking site Facebook was drawing 1,500 new supporters an hour on Monday as last week's court ruling split political parties and even families.
Among those who signed up for the protest were Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamed, while Mahathir's daughter Marina called critics of the court decision "idiots" in her weblog.
"The problem is that there will be lots of doctrines and principles promoted that would totally contradict Islamic theology... there is a danger to public order here," said Shad Saleem Faruqi, a constitutional law lecturer with Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia.
The Facebook page, named in Malay as 'Protesting the use of the name Allah by non-Muslims', said that the group was for Muslims "who realise that this is propaganda to confuse Muslims now and in future".
The Catholic Church, which publishes a Malay version of its newspaper, The Herald, says that it uses the word ‘Allah' for God to meet the needs of its Malay-speaking worshippers in Sabah and Sarawak.
"There should not be a cause for concern because some people have got the idea that we are out to convert (Muslims), but not at all, there is no question of this," Father Lawrence Andrew, the newspaper's editor, told Reuters.
Umno ‘politicising' the issue
The ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court followed a ban imposed by the government on the weekly Herald in January last year over the use of the word ‘Allah' by Christians.
The government had argued that the use of the Arabic word might offend the sensitivities of Muslims who make up 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million population, while Christians
- including about 800,000 Catholics - make up about 9.1 percent.
The Herald circulates in Sabah and Sarawak where the indigenous population converted to Christianity more than a century ago and where the word has been commonly used in prayer for decades.
Mahfuz Omar, the vice-president PAS, said the main government party, Umno, was politicising the issue.
"This shows that Umno is taking opportunity on this issue to whip up Muslim sentiment so that they unite and see Umno as the champion of Islam," said Mahfuz in a statement on Monday.
- Reuters
A group page on social networking site Facebook was drawing 1,500 new supporters an hour on Monday as last week's court ruling split political parties and even families.
Among those who signed up for the protest were Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamed, while Mahathir's daughter Marina called critics of the court decision "idiots" in her weblog.
"The problem is that there will be lots of doctrines and principles promoted that would totally contradict Islamic theology... there is a danger to public order here," said Shad Saleem Faruqi, a constitutional law lecturer with Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia.
The Facebook page, named in Malay as 'Protesting the use of the name Allah by non-Muslims', said that the group was for Muslims "who realise that this is propaganda to confuse Muslims now and in future".
The Catholic Church, which publishes a Malay version of its newspaper, The Herald, says that it uses the word ‘Allah' for God to meet the needs of its Malay-speaking worshippers in Sabah and Sarawak.
"There should not be a cause for concern because some people have got the idea that we are out to convert (Muslims), but not at all, there is no question of this," Father Lawrence Andrew, the newspaper's editor, told Reuters.
Umno ‘politicising' the issue
The ruling by the Kuala Lumpur High Court followed a ban imposed by the government on the weekly Herald in January last year over the use of the word ‘Allah' by Christians.
The government had argued that the use of the Arabic word might offend the sensitivities of Muslims who make up 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million population, while Christians
- including about 800,000 Catholics - make up about 9.1 percent.
The Herald circulates in Sabah and Sarawak where the indigenous population converted to Christianity more than a century ago and where the word has been commonly used in prayer for decades.
Mahfuz Omar, the vice-president PAS, said the main government party, Umno, was politicising the issue.
"This shows that Umno is taking opportunity on this issue to whip up Muslim sentiment so that they unite and see Umno as the champion of Islam," said Mahfuz in a statement on Monday.
- Reuters
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