MALAYSIA WATCH: Christians are forbidden to use the word 'Allah' for God in Selangor or face 'stern punishment'

IF YOU ARE IN MALAYSIA - IN THE STATE OF SELANGOR (the most prosperous state in Malaysia) SPECIFICALLY, OR EVEN IN PENANG, AND YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, BE ADVISED NOT TO USE THE WORD "ALLAH" OR YOU RUN THE RISK OF BEING STERNLY PUNISHED.

"Allah" has been used by Indonesians and Malaysians to refer to God which was used in the traditional translations of the Christian Holy Bible dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Sultan Sharafudrin Idris Shah of Selangor

But be informed the Sultan of the Malaysian state Selangor himself -- Sultan Sharafudrin Idris Shah (shown in picture), has issued a decree that ‘Allah’ can be used only by Muslims and those who violate the ruling will receive stern punishment. 

We have reported about this Sultanate of Selangor ruling recently. In fact, we also reported that a Catholic Bishop had taken the Malaysia Sultan of Selangor to court for arbitrary ruling on freedom of religion but there has been no judgement yet. 

In our view, Malaysia Courts will find it difficult to reverse the Sultan of Selangor ruling. High reverence for sultans across Malaysia, where Islam is the religion practised by more than 63% of the population, is something that Malaysia courts will find hard to ignore. The Sultan of Selangor is one of the nine hereditary sultanate rulers of Malaysia who take turns to become King of Malaysia and Malaysia Courts will be hard put to go against the decision of one of the hereditary monarchs.

According to a Muslim Exclusive report, “Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah made a decision and decreed that the word ‘Allah’ is a sacred word specific to Muslims and it is prohibited to be used by any non-Muslim in Selangor.” 

No less than the the Islamic Affairs Council of Selangor state released the Selangor sultan's decision. The Islamic council  also warned that "a stern action" was ordered against those questioning the new fatwa. 

But Malaysia's Council of Churches also said it will continue to use the word “Allah” in the Malay version of the Bible and issued the following statement: “Many indigenous communities in our nation have incorporated this word in their everyday language. That being the case, we shall continue this practice, and call on all parties to respect this fundamental right guaranteed to them in the country's Federal Constitution.” 

However, report also says that officials across the country "reacted positively to the reaffirmed ban on the word, some of them saying that Sultan Sharafuddin has every right to issue such decrees, him being the head of the state's Islamic affairs.”

Meanwhile in Penang,  Datuk Ibrahim Ali, the fiery leader of Perkasa, a Malay rights group, called on Muslims to burn Malay language Holy Bibles that contain the word "Allah" and other religious scripts that come into their possession. 

But a report by the Malaysian Insider said that the Perkasa Malay rights group leader was "merely protecting Islam and its position as enshrined in the Federal Constitution [of Malaysia] and includes rejecting those who insult the religion and who try to spread their own faiths to Muslims." 

In Sarawak, considered the poorest 'state' of Malaysia, Bian, a member of the state's assembly said that  the call to burn Bibles was an act meant to politicise religion for the political ends of Barisan Nasional (BN, party of current Malaysia Prime Minister Najib). 

Bian also called Sarawakans to “ponder over why the people of a land as rich as Sarawak are amongst the poorest in this country after 50 years under the BN government." He reminded Sarawakans that "“The constitution guarantees us freedom of religion and that guarantee must be honoured. We must not let matters of personal belief tear us asunder.”

~~ AdB
11 February 2013

For more info: The cities in the State of Selangor and their population (Wiki): 

City	Population 2010
1	Subang Jaya	1,553,589
2	Klang	1,113,851
3	Ampang Jaya	804,901
4	Shah Alam	671,282
5	Petaling Jaya	638,516
6	Cheras	601,534
7	Kajang	448,243
8	Selayang Baru	265,297
9	Rawang	194,577
10	Taman Greenwood	157,967

For info: Over 28 million people live in Malaysia, out of them:

• 61.3% are Muslims, 
• 19.8% are Buddhists, 
• 9.2% are Christians, 
• 6.3% are Hindus and 
• 3.4% practice other or no religion (Source: 2010 Census).

REPORTS:

Muslim exclusive: Malaysian sultan forbids using ‘Allah’ outside Islam

Published 09 January 2013The Sultan of the Malaysian state Selangor has issued a decree that the sacred word ‘Allah’ can be used only by Muslims. 

The move put more fire into controversy in the state where language peculiarities also make Christians use the term. 

“Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah made a decision and decreed that the word ‘Allah’ is a sacred word specific to Muslims and it is prohibited to be used by any non-Muslim in Selangor,” the Islamic Affairs Council of the Selangor state said Tuesday. 

The body added "a stern action" was ordered against those questioning the new fatwa, but did not elaborate. 

The sultan, mufti and council convened after the chief minister of another state, Penang, urged the central government to allow the word ‘Allah’ to be used in the Malay translation of the Bible, national daily The Star Online reported. 

For full story, link here.

Under fire, Perkasa says bible-burning threat meant to prevent violence

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 ― Despite facing heat for Datuk Ibrahim Ali’s bible-burning remark, Malay rights group Perkasa have insisted their president’s words were actually a “wake-up call” to prevent possible violence against distributors of bibles containing the word “Allah” and other Arabic scripts. 

The group’s secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, said Ibrahim has no problem facing the consequences of his remarks, including being questioned by the police due to the reports lodged against him. 

“To the Perkasa president, he is sure not worried about these reports... because the investigation will surely be based on truth and justice,” he said in a statement sent to The Malaysian Insider. 

But Syed Hassan maintained that Ibrahim’s statement was more to prevent possible physical violence and other untoward incidents, should these Malay-language bibles get into the hands of Muslim students. 

If this is seen by Muslims who view this as an attempt at apostasy, the Perkasa leader said violence could be used against the book’s distributor. 

“I very much understand my president’s statement because it is as a ‘wake-up call’ to all parties to prevent these untoward incidents.  

For full story, link here.

‘Politicing religion is deliberate action’

Joseph Tawie | February 10, 2013 

Sarawakians must be wary of BN's divdie and rule policy and their inaction over the Bible burning issue, says Baru Bian. 

KUCHING: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s deafening silence in face of Perkasa’s call to burn the Malay version of the Bible shows that the Barisan Nasional government had a ‘deliberate plan’ to politicise religion and ‘contain’ Christianity. 

Reminding Sarawakians to be wary of BN’s divide and rule policy, Sarawak PKR chief Baru Bian said: “Witness the ‘Allah’ issue, the deafening silence by the prime minister in the face of Ibrahim Ali’s call for the Malay Bible to be burnt, Dr Mahathir’s association with Perkasa and most recently, the revelations of the ongoing RCI in Sabah into Project IC. 

“My friends, we cannot be blind to all these events.” 

Bian said both Malaysia and Sarawak were a secular nation and state and as such had no “official” religion. 

“The constitution guarantees us freedom of religion and that guarantee must be honoured. We must not let matters of personal belief tear us asunder,” stressed Bian, who is the Ba’Kelalan assemblyman. 

On the coming parliamentary election, he said:  “As we prepare for the polls, let us reflect on what is dear to us as Sarawakians, and what we value most in our society. 

“Let us ponder over why the people of a land as rich as Sarawak are amongst the poorest in this country after 50 years under the BN government. 

For full story and picture of the Holy Bible in Malay version, link here.