LETTER | Thirty-seven years ago, the Home Ministry issued a directive in December 1986 prohibiting the use of four specific words, including ‘Allah’, by non-Muslims.

Unfortunately, the issue is still a political hot potato being bounced around without an acceptable and reasonable resolution.

After going to and fro, through the High Court and Court of Appeal, for over a decade, Justice Nor Bee Ariffin declared in her 2021 judgment that the December 1986 directive that banned the use of these words was “illegal and unconstitutional”.

The judge ruled that the directive was invalid as the home minister had acted illegally and beyond the limits of his powers under the relevant law.

She also pointed out the inconsistency between the directive and the cabinet’s policy decision back then.

This judgment reiterated some important constitutional principles that were overlooked.

One important principle in this judgment was that religious freedom in Malaysia is protected under the Federal Constitution and cannot be curtailed by laws, even during an emergency or under the pretext of a threat to public order.

Right to religious freedom

This right to religious freedom includes the right to profess, practise and manage one’s religious affairs, which includes having access to religious materials for religious education in Malay or any other Bornean language.

The judge also pointed out that the government did not provide evidence that the Christians’ use of the word ‘Allah’ had caused confusion or misunderstanding that disrupted public order.

The government in 2021 appealed against this judgment. But in April 2023, it decided to withdraw its appeal.

Hence, the present cacophony over the Allah issue.

The decision has reduced anxiety and uplifted the spirits of many, especially East Malaysian Christians, but it has raised the temperature among others.

While the High Court ruling focused on just constitutional and legal issues, many other factors come into play in the court of public opinion, often not limited to purely theological considerations.

Hijacked

It has yet again been hijacked by some irresponsible quarters to push their agendas, ranging from spouting religious superiority to the toppling of political rivals.

While discussing this issue with some friends in a Subang Jaya interfaith council, I wondered if this was simply a language or a theological issue regarding one’s concept of God.

While most people who believe in God or religion would agree that there is only one Almighty Creator, how that one Creator is perceived and understood differs, even among people of the same faith sometimes.

So, the argument seems to be that the Muslim perception or concept of the Almighty Creator differs significantly from the Christian concept of the Creator.

Therefore, it follows that ‘Allah’ can only be used for the Muslim concept of the Almighty Creator. Am I making sense?

But then, it also made me wonder if the Muslim concept of the Almighty Creator differs from that of the Middle Eastern and other Muslim-majority countries as they have no issue with Christians using the word ‘Allah’ there.

State Anthems?

The Johor and Selangor state anthems have the word ‘Allah’ in them. I used to sing the Johor state anthem almost every week for 13 years!

So, what now? Non-Muslims from Johor and Selangor cannot sing the state anthem?! Or is it permissible since ‘Allah’ there refers to the Muslim God?

However, there seems to be no consensus, even among Muslim professors and religious scholars in Malaysia, about this.

While one says the word Allah can be used by non-Muslims as long as it is used with reverence, another says it belongs only to Muslims and even questions the need for Christians to pray in the Malay language!

Some Muslims insist that the correct Malay translation for the ‘Christian God’ should be ‘Tuhan’. It may surprise many that over 60 percent of Malaysian Christians have worshipped in Malay or Bornean languages that refer to God as ‘Allah Taala’ or ‘Tuhan Allah’ since centuries ago.

I don’t use ‘Allah’ normally in my worship, but I can understand the pain of other Christians who have used it for years since they were children if they are now told they cannot use the word.

It is indeed bewildering that while Islam and Christianity are said to be monotheistic religions that emanate from the same Creator, here in Malaysia, some fight over what to call that same Creator.

Much fear

There seems to be so much fear of converting and confusing Muslims here, which I find absurd and insulting to Muslims themselves, especially when the Federal Constitution itself has taken away the rights of non-Muslims to propagate their faith among Muslims.

Do you know of any Muslims who got confused and converted to Christianity because of the terminology common to both religions?

However, what irritates me about this whole issue is how politicians have muddied the waters even more lately.

I was absolutely disappointed to read reports that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said: “There is no need to kick up a fuss over the issue involving the use of the word ‘Allah’, as the policy will not change … The policy was decided by the Conference of Rulers and muftis many years ago…. That is the policy, whereby the word ‘Allah’ cannot be used by non-Muslims, including in their holy books.”

He also said the court judgment only applies to Sabah and Sarawak and that “only non-Muslims in the peninsula were prohibited from using ‘Allah’…”.

I truly hope he was misquoted!

Is the prime minister aware there is a large, vibrant, visible East Malaysian Christian community living and praying in the peninsula?

Administrative directive

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail insists the legal dispute was not about who gets the exclusive right to use the word ‘Allah’but was centred on the administrative directive, which contradicted the cabinet policy decision back then.

So, was this the work of some little Napoleon or deep state actors in the Home Ministry – or was it sheer administrative incompetence?

Whatever the case, the consequence of this was the discrimination against and the curtailment of the rights of at least one person, Jill Ireland, to profess and practise her Christian faith (until the court judgment) – not to mention the lingering ambiguity and lack of clarity about whether Muslims have the monopoly over the word ‘Allah’ in Malaysia.

Anyway, how long does it take to review and streamline conflicting administrative directives?

Why didn’t the previous Muhyiddin Yasin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob administrations sort it out immediately after it was pointed out by Justice Nor Bee Ariffin?

It is so disingenuous of politicians from the previous administration to now feign indignation!

And when they equate withdrawal of the appeal with judicial interference, it becomes incomprehensible and devious!

Maybe they are sure another judge would give an opposite verdict?

Defend Islam

So it is heartening to hear Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, say Umno will continue to defend Islam as the official religion of the federation while respecting the rights of non-Muslims to practise other religions, as outlined in the Federal Constitution.

They say the accurate measure of a democracy is how well it protects and respects the equal rights of its minorities.

This is not a zero-sum game, surely?!

The prime minister said the cabinet will give deference to the relevant state enactments and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah’s decree calling for the existing policy on the use of the word ‘Allah’ to be maintained, the religion of Islam being a state matter according to the Federal Constitution.

But the cabinet will also submit its recommendations on the matter.

While they are at it, I hope the relevant authorities will also diligently examine the related state enactments to ensure these do not contravene the important rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land.

These include state enactments which have a long list of words that non-Muslims are prohibited from using, including some commonly used words like nabi (prophet), dakwah (preaching) and haj (pilgrimage).

Malaysians look up to our constitutional monarch and Malay rulers for wisdom and direction on this issue as well.

Acceptable resolution

And so, we wait in hopeful anticipation for a reasonable, acceptable resolution to the “Allah” issue, whether it is a case of being lost in translation, theological conundrum, administrative incompetence or constitutional contravention.

I truly hope Malay-speaking Christians will not be relegated to mere spectators watching from the sidelines in this whole saga that affects them to the core of their being.

So instead of quarrelling over whose is the ‘real God’ and what we can call the ‘real God’ and even questioning the intentions of non-Muslims who use the word ‘Allah’, let us show mutual respect and try to walk in the shoes of the other.

I pray that, as proposed by Wilfred Madius Tangau, this whole episode will provide an opportunity for national reconciliation that will strengthen unity in our multi-religious society in Malaysia. Amen/Amin?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.