KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — The heated debate surrounding the use of word “Allah” by non-Muslims will not end despite the Federal Court decision yesterday that a Catholic paper cannot appeal a lower court ruling, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said.
“We are thankful for the decision. I just hope that no one tries to politicise this and, I stress, there will be efforts to divide us because in these situations, there is a clash.
“This clash is not just between faiths, but within faiths as well,” Hishammuddin was quoted as saying by Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia today.
The defence minister said that the issue was a very “emotional” one, and that all parties should respect the court decision made yesterday.
Malaysia’s highest court ruled yesterday that the Catholic newspaper Herald has no grounds to appeal a lower court decision preventing it from using the word “Allah” to refer to God.
The landmark decision on a divisive issue that has fuelled intense debate and heightened religious tensions in the country brought to an end the Catholic Church’s challenge in the Malaysian court system.
A seven-member bench at the Federal Court decided by a narrow 4-to-3 majority to deny the Catholic paper the right of appeal.
Despite this, the government issued a statement yesterday evening reiterating the Najib administration’s commitment to its 10-point solution from 2011, and that Malaysian Christians are still free to call their God “Allah” in churches.
