Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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(June 2): New non-governmental organisation Christians for Peace and Harmony Malaysia (CPHM) today defended the Christian community from allegations that the word "Allah" was used to preach the Gospel to believers of other religions.

CPHM president Rev Wong Kim Kong said the accusation was not true, and by and large Christians were not extremists who coerced others.

Instead, the Arabic word for "God" was used by Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christian congregations, Wong told reporters before a banquet to launch CPHM at a Kuala Lumpur hotel tonight.

Religious tensions have simmered beneath Malaysia's surface in recent years, notably over the "Allah" controversy, which led to suits by the Catholic Church and the Protestant SIB Church against the government.

Christians make up about 9% of the population, or 2.6 million, and two-thirds of them are Bumiputera based largely in Sabah and Sarawak, where they routinely use Bahasa Malaysia and indigenous languages in their religious practices, including describing God as “Allah” in their prayers and holy book.

CPHM has said that it will not adopt a "confrontational" approach on religious liberty issues, although it agreed that the goal of preserving fundamental rights for religious minority was a noble one.

The Catholic Church, however, has lost its legal battle to use the word "Allah" in its weekly newsletter, Herald.

On January 21, the church lost its final bid to review the Federal Court's earlier decision to uphold the Court of Appeal's ruling to ban the Herald from using the word in its Bahasa Malaysia section.

Malaysia's battle over the use of the word "Allah" has attracted international attention, as well as ridicule, including from Islamic scholars abroad who hold that "Allah" is a generic name for God and is open to use by both Muslims and non-Muslims, as use of the word predates Islam. – The Malaysian Insider

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