JULY 19 — The Vatican’s envoy to Malaysia, Archbishop Joseph Marino, was in the spotlight over the Allah controversy but for the wrong reasons.

Responding to a question in a meeting last week with a small group of reporters, the 60-year old diplomat, among other things, said he supported the arguments in a fact sheet put out by the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) on why Christians should be allowed to use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God.

“In terms of how they presented the arguments in favour, it seems to be quite logical and acceptable,” he said in his first media outing since arriving in Malaysia in mid-April as the first Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia, two years after Malaysia established diplomatic ties with the Vatican.

Two local online news portals invited to the meeting characterised his comments as supporting the use of ‘Allah’ which immediately drew flak particularly two right wing Malay groups, Perkasa and Jati. They demanded that the government shut down the Vatican’s embassy and kick out Marino if he did not apologise.

Their reaction seemed disproportionate to the situation and surprised even Bernard Dompok, president of UPKO, a component party in the ruling coalition. The former Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister said Perkasa had gone way too far in their demand. ““To ask an ambassador to leave… that is just unbelievable, “he said.

Ironically, the Archbishop is no stranger to living among Muslims, having been the Holy See’s diplomat to Bangladesh previously.

In a side-interview with the Wall Street Journal after the meeting, he was quoted as saying, “The first thing I came to learn was the beauty of Islam, and it is indeed a religion of peace and harmony.”

“Its spiritual components of seeking God are profound. That was the joy that I have, if I may say, with my deep contact with Islam in a country that is predominantly Muslim.”

“Religion cannot be a source of discord. It is against the very nature of religion that we fight over religion. It is against the very nature of God. … So not only is inter-religious dialogue something among peoples of faith, it is also something that peoples of faith give to society – harmony, tolerance, living together, working together,” the Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying.

He said inter-religious dialogue is a gift to society because it assures society that religion will never be a source of discord.

Marino also expressed his eagerness to be a part of any inter-religious dialogue while in Malaysia.

But all that had to be put on hold for the moment. The Archbishop had to first deal with the diplomatic fallout.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom had earlier chided the diplomat. In a statement the minister said Archbishop Joseph Marino should not have issued the statement on the use of the word ‘Allah’ as it has created anxiety among the public and can threaten national unity.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman had also issued a strongly worded statement over the alleged meddling into the “Allah” controversy which he deemed to be Malaysia’s internal affair. He also summoned the envoy for an explanation.

To put matters to rest, the envoy asked Foreign Minister Anifah Aman to convey his apologies if his comments on the ‘Allah’ issue have caused any misunderstanding and inconvenience. Archbishop Joseph Marino said he never intended to interfere in the internal affairs of Malaysia.

Marion had done what any good diplomat would. And with humility and grace as befitting that of the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia. — MySinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.