Dr M: Faith of Christians not affected if ‘Allah’ not used
(Bernama) – The belief or faith of the Christians in the peninsula in the religion will not be affected even if they do not use the word ‘Allah’ to refer to their God, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The former prime minister said the Arabic term for God was only a common usage among Christians in Sabah and Sarawak.
“All this while we have never quarrelled about this because they (Christians in the peninsula) never use the word, so why irritate other people, it won’t hurt them not to use the word ‘Allah’,” he told reporters when met at the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) New Year open house at the Putra World Trade Centre.
“They have never used it before. Those who use it are Sabah and Sarawak. There is no objection, but here in the peninsula, why do we want to find a cause to quarrel.”
Dr Mahathir said the people, regardless of their religion, had managed to live together in peace and any that annoyed others was not a good thing.
Last Friday, Catholic weekly Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew, in an article posted by a news portal, said that Catholic churches in Selangor would continue to use the word Allah in their weekend services in Bahasa Malaysia.
This was despite the State Islamic Religious Department’s intention to send them reminders on an enactment prohibiting the use of the word by non-Muslims.
His statement had caused an uproar among various non-governmental organisations, which among others, described Andrew’s action as not only challenging the sensitivities of Muslims, but also having no respect for the law.
Five reports lodged
Meanwhile, five police reports have been lodged today to exhort Rev Lawrence to withdraw his statement, insisting on the use of the word ‘Allah’ at all churches in Selangor.
The reports were lodged by the Shah Alam Umno division, Umno Youth and Puteri movements of the Kota Raja Umno branch at the Shah Alam District Police Headquarters.
Division chief Azhari Shaari said the reverand’s statement opposed the state syariah enactment and the command of the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah against the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims in the state.
“We want Rev Lawrence to withdraw his statement in four days from today, and if ignored, we will lodge more police reports,” he told reporters today.
Sultan Sharafuddin had previously barred the use of the word ‘Allah’ by non-Muslims in the state, saying it was only applicable to Muslims in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule to Section 9 of Part 1 of the Non-Muslim Religious Enactment (Control Development Among Muslims) Act 1988 which was gazetted in 1988.
As such, Azhari also suggested that the Attorney-General studied the statement of the reverend to determine if it contravened court proceedings in connection with the use of the word ‘Allah’ so that appropriate action could be taken if it was found to be in contempt of court.
Rev Lawrence in his statement, highlighted in a portal on Dec 27, had said that he would insist on using the word ‘Allah’ at all churches in Selangor.
Azhari also urged Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and the Selangor Religious Department to take further action over the statement, to protect the interest of Muslims in the state.
Kota Raja Umno Youth chief Khusyairi Abdul Aziz proposed that the reverend tendered an open apology on his statement which was seen as an act that can jeopardise the harmony of the society in the state.
Meanwhile, Gombak Umno division chief Abdul Rahim Kamarudin said the division lodged a police report over the issue at the Hulu Kelang AU2 police station at 3pm today.
“We want action to be taken against the reverend,” he said.