KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Denying Malay-speaking Christians the right to describe God as “Allah” in their worship and in the Al-Kitab is tantamount to persecution, Catholic Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam has said, as he continued to express the Church’s objection to last week’s controversial court ruling.
The archbishop of Kuala Lumpur also pointed out that more than half of the Catholic Church’s parish churches and chapels in the peninsula conduct at least one worship service or catechism lessons weekly in Bahasa Malaysia, in order to cater to the thousands of Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians from Sabah and Sarawak who live here.
“Hence, to conclude that the word ‘Allah’ is not essential to the Christian faith would be a grave denial of the fundamental right of the Bahasa Malaysia speaking Christian community to use this word in prayer, worship services, prayer books, the Al-Kitab and other publications,” Pakiam said in a statement issued yesterday.
“This would be tantamount to signalling a form of persecution,” added the senior cleric.
The Court of Appeal ruled last week against a 2009 High Court decision allowing the Catholic Church to refer to the Christian god with the Arabic word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its weekly paper, the Herald.
The court adjudged the usage of the word “Allah” as not integral to the Christian faith and said that allowing such an application would cause confusion in the Muslim community.
Pakiam noted today that the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Christians from East Malaysia who have migrated to the peninsula include armed forces personnel, police officers, civil servants, college and university students, as well as other workers in the private sector.
“As committed religious leaders, we have to ensure that we respectfully minister to them in the national language.
“For this reason then, we do not accept the statement of these judges and stand in solidarity with other Church leaders who have also emphatically voiced their objection,” said Pakiam.
He also called the Court of Appeal “grossly misinformed” in concluding that the word “Allah” was not essential to the Christian faith.
“The first Article of Faith in the Catholic Creed and for all Christians is: ‘I believe in ONE GOD, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth’,” said Pakiam.
“It is to be noted that for centuries the Bahasa Malaysia translation and the Arabic equivalent of the ONE GOD, is the sacred word ‘Allah’, which the Christians have been using peacefully,” added the priest.
Churches in Sabah and Sarawak have said that they will continue their age-old practice of referring to God as “Allah” in their worship and in their holy scriptures.
Several ministers also said recently that the 10-point solution issued by Putrajaya in 2011 - which allows the printing, importation and distribution of the Al-Kitab, the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Christian bible, containing the word “Allah” - should stand, despite the appellate court ruling.
Sabah-based political analyst Dr Arnold Puyok, however, has criticised the federal government’s response as being “too East Malaysian-centric”.
Pakiam urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today to “take positive steps to stop the indoctrination of unwitting Malays by individuals and organisations from swinging towards a divisive radicalism”.
“We, together with all peoples of goodwill, invoke the good sense of the thousands of Malay brothers and sisters, many of whom have greatly benefited from the education offered in our Mission schools and are familiar with our belief in God, to allow us to continue peacefully with our use of the sacred word ‘Allah’,” the priest pleaded.
