Friday, January 04, 2008

M'sian gov't restricts use of 'Allah' term again

According to The Star, the Cabinet has reverted to its earlier decision to restrict the use of the term 'Allah' for Muslims only and The Herald - The Catholic Weekly is not allowed to name the Supreme Being in the Abrahamic tradition as 'Allah' in its Malay-language supplement. Meanwhile, malaysiakini has reported that the Sikh community also uses the Arabic word 'Allah' to call or refer to their Supreme Being.

On theological debate & the role of the State

2 Comments:

Blogger Monsterball said...

Sikhism was influenced to a certain extent by the beliefs of Sufi Islam.
The solution is simple - ban any Bahasa version of the Guru Granth Sahib.
There just the minor inconvenience of Article 11 of the Malaysian constitution. Never mind... the UMNO controlled Federal Court will know how to rule appropriately.

2:00 AM  
Blogger Dave said...

Election time - UMNO needs to play the racial, Islam card lagi… Sigh…

A friend of mine wrote: “The Malayan Declaration of Independence (1957) provides an outstanding example of how common usage of ‘Allah’ builds mutual understanding. The Declaration of Independence begins with the phrase “Dengan nama Allah yang Maha Pemurah lagi Mengasihani, segala puji bagi Allah yang Maha Berkuasa.” The Declaration continues to affirm an agreement between the Queen and the Malay Rulers whereby Malaya was granted Independence. Obviously, the Declaration assumes that both the Queen of England (who is the head of Christianity in England) and the Malay Rulers could appeal to the same supreme God (‘Allah’) to ratify their agreement. The Deputy Minister ought to take note that there was no hint of any confusion regarding the Independence granted to Malaya.”

4:27 AM  

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