KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 11 — Vocal demands of Muslim exclusivity over “Allah” were not unanimous, as an interfaith forum here last night illustrated a willingness among followers of Islam to share the Arabic word for God.

Titled “Polemik Kalimah Allah dan Rampasan Bible — Antara Undang-Undang dan Sensitiviti Agama” (The Allah polemic and bible seizures — between rule of law and religious sensitivities), the PAS-organised event drew a crowd of more than 150 people who were largely Muslims and Bumiputera Christians from Sabah and Sarawak.

“Whosoever prays and holds steadfast to the truth should not worry about the strength of his or her faith. There should be no compulsion in religion.

“We cannot tell or dictate to other people how they should pray or refer to their own God,” PAS central committee member Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said, adding that he strongly disagreed with how the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had carried out last week’s raid and seized over 300 Malay and Iban language bibles from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).

The Parit Buntar MP was one of the panellists in last night’s forum, along with constitutional law expert Prof Dr Aziz Bari as well as National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) secretary-general Eugene Yapp.

“With regards to how the bibles were seized, I do not believe that it fulfils the precepts of Islam, only the wishes of certain parties,” he said.

For Mujahid, the hardest part was heading home and trying to explain to his constituents the “complexities” surrounding the usage of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims.

But even this was not as intractable as the issue is made to appear in the media, he noted.

“When I explained to my rural constituents why Christians wished to exercise their right to use the word ‘Allah’...they did not find it a problem. Rural, Malay constituents tell me that it’s okay if Christians want to use the word for the purpose of their own worship.

“So, why are we in the city even arguing about this if even kampung people are not confused?” asked Mujahid amid claps and laughter from the audience.

After the flashpoints of bible seizures and threats to protests outside churches last week by pro-Malay rights groups, yesterday’s gathering was a stark contrast to recent events.

There, many of the Christian members of the audience took turns and pains to explain why the word “Allah” resonated with them and was integral in their daily prayers.

One Sabahan Christian, who identified himself only as Phillip, said that he grew up understanding the word “Allah” to mean “God” ?even before he understood a word of Malay or anything about Islam.

“I grew up understanding that Allah to me mean my God, without knowing at that time what Allah means to Muslims. But the word has become such a part of my life and prayer, why can’t I carry on using it? Is it not my right? I am just practising my own faith,” he said.

NECF’s Yapp reiterated that Bumiputera Christians have used the word “Allah” for decades and that the religious knowledge was passed down from one generation to another.

“If you take the word ‘Allah’ away, they feel as though their hands, legs will have been taken away from them as well,” Yapp said, adding that Christians in Malaysia were currently at a “loss” and “despair” over their constitutional rights to practice their religion freely.

Temperatures have risen of late over the so-called “Allah” row that remains unresolved four years after it shocked the nation and led to the worst religious strife in the country’s history.

The ongoing legal dispute between the government and the Catholic Church over its right to print the word “Allah” in the Herald’s Bahasa Malaysia section is still pending before the Federal Court, which is set to hear arguments from both sides on February 24 before deciding on whether it will hear an appeal by the Catholic Church.

Christians make up about 10 per cent of the Malaysian population, or 2.6 million. Almost two-thirds of them are Bumiputera and are largely based 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.