Award-winning American Muslim scholar on Allah ruling: “We are laughing at you”

Reza Aslan says Christians using the word Allah do not pose a threat to Islam.


A well-known American Muslim theologian has joined a long list of critics over the recent Court of Appeal ruling on the use of the word Allah, saying it was a "political decision more than anything else".

"This notion that Malaysian Muslims need to be protected by the court because you can't think for yourself, you can't make decisions on your own. We are laughing at you," said Reza Aslan, speaking on BFM Radio's Evening Edition programme yesterday.

"That you can control people's ideas, their behaviour, their faith and their minds simply by trying to control the words that they use, is absurd. It is an embarassment to a modern, constitutional, democratic and deeply Muslim state like Malaysia," he added.

Continue Reading..

Judges “misinformed”, Allah ruling tantamount to persecuting Christians - Archbishop Pakiam

The head of the Malaysian Catholic Church today said that the decision of the Court of Appeal on the Allah issue was tantamount to persecuting Christians in Malaysia.

Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam (pic) noted that the three judges were grossly misinformed in arriving at the decision to ban Catholic weekly Herald from using the word Allah.

He said Christians in Malaysia have been using the word peacefully for centuries and "we do not accept the statement of these judges".


Continue Reading..

Putrajaya’s silence on calls to defend Islam from “threats and insults” is worrying, say Christians

The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) is concerned over Putrajaya's inaction in cooling rising temperatures on the Allah issue, ahead of the case which will be heard at the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

Its chairman Rev Dr Eu Hong Seng said there had been calls by various groups to defend Islam from being insulted and threatened.

"The call for 'action' by some Muslims is incendiary and alarming to ordinary Malaysians.

"Worst of all, there appears to be no action or statement from any government authority calling for calm or even ordering a stop to such actions, which is clearly stoking anger," Dr Eu said in a statement.

Continue Reading..

Court allows Putrajaya’s appeal against ‘Allah’ ruling

The Catholic Church today failed to strike out Putrajaya’s appeal against the 2009 landmark High Court ruling that upheld Christians’ right to refer to God as “Allah”.

Court of Appeal Justice Datuk Seri Abu Samah Nordin ruled that the subject matter of the appeal was “not academic”.

“It is still a live issue,” Abu Samah said in his judgment today.

“The controversy has yet to be resolved,” he said to a packed courtroom.

With the decision, the church will have to duke it out in the courtroom with Putrajaya again next month, prolonging the over four-year-long legal tug-of-war between Muslims and Christians here over one word — Allah.

Abu Samah was heading a three-man Bench that included Justices Datuk Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim and Datuk Rohana Yusuf.

Continue Reading..

Smaller turnout than expected at ‘Allah’ protest

The highly-anticipated protest against the Catholic Church’s “Allah” appeal today drew a smaller turnout than expected despite Malay rights group Perkasa’s repeated calls for its members and supporters to turn up in a show of Muslim solidarity.

Around 200 people gathered outside the Court of Appeal here as they awaited the court’s decision on the Catholic Church’s application to dismiss the government’s appeal against the landmark decision to allow non-Muslims to use the word “Allah”.

“We’re not here today to protest but the show solidarity and support to our fellow Muslim lawyers to fight for us.

“Let’s respect one another and don’t do anything to provoke anyone,” Iqbal Hakim from Persatuan Belia Islam Nasional told the crowd.

On Monday, Muslim-Malay supremacy group Perkasa vowed to rally outside the court to protest the church’s attempt to use the word “Allah”, which it has insisted belongs exclusively to Muslims.

Continue Reading..

On eve of trial, Catholic priest cautions against raising ‘Allah’

Catholic priest Rev Father Lawrence Andrew has implored Malaysians to refrain from raising the “Allah” issue now that the disputed word has returned to court, after Muslim supremacists declared a rally in protest against the Church tomorrow.

Andrew, who is also the editor of Catholic paper, Herald, said the issue “should not be tried by intimidation or in the media”, in response to Perkasa’s declaration.

“First and foremost, it’s a court case so people speaking about it outside the court is subjudice,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.

Self-declared defenders of Islam, Perkasa, had sparked alarm among Malaysia’s religious minorities with its intent to demonstrate against the Church outside the Court of Appeal while the case is underway as it called to mind the tensions that spiralled into violence four years ago after the High Court ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Muslims.

Continue Reading..

Pray for ‘Allah’ appeal, Archbishop urges Catholics

Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam urged Catholics nationwide to pray for tomorrow’s highly-anticipated Court of Appeal hearing.

Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam has urged Catholics nationwide to pray for tomorrow’s highly-anticipated Court of Appeal hearing, when the Catholic Church is scheduled once again to duke it out with the government over its right to use “Allah”.

The hearing could see another legal victory for the Church or prolong its legal battle for the right to refer to its God as “Allah”, the word in the centre of a protracted legal battle that has put a major strain on religious ties between Christians and Muslims here.

”The Archbishop of KL calls on Catholics to gather in Churches on Thursday, 22 Aug 2013 from 9am-12noon to pray for a just verdict while the Allah case is being heard at the Court of Appeal,” read a brief text message forwarded to The Malay Mail Online by Father Lawrence Andrew, the editor of Catholic weekly Herald.

Yesterday, the Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur made a similar plea for prayer for “peace and good sense” to prevail, having voiced its concern that recent statements over the “Allah” issue may reignite sentiments that have been simmering since a landmark 2009 High Court ruling.

Continue Reading..

Perkasa to rally against Catholic Church as ‘Allah’ case in swing

Perkasa and other Muslim groups said today they will demonstrate against the Catholic Church outside the Court of Appeal when the religious tussle over the Middle Eastern word for god heads back to the legal arena.


Catholic Arcbishop Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam should brace himself this Thursday should he decide to attend the court hearing to defend the Church’s right to use “Allah”.

Perkasa and other Muslim groups said today they will demonstrate against the Catholic Church outside the Court of Appeal when the religious tussle over the Middle Eastern word for god heads back to the legal arena.

Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali said the planned rally was in support of the Home Ministry in its efforts to prohibit non-Muslims from referring to God as “Allah” in print materials.

“The Court of Appeal’s decision in this case is very important to Muslims,” Syed Hassan said in a statement emailed to The Malay Mail Online.

“Perkasa also calls on other Muslims to join us at Putrajaya in great numbers this Thursday morning. Show our support towards efforts in defending the word “Allah” from being used and misused by other religious believers,” he added.

Continue Reading..

In Borders case, common sense triumphs over bad faith

In the face of Malaysia’s rising religious conservatism, a civil court judge has boldly ruled on reason and common sense to uphold a Muslim storekeeper’s constitutional right to sell a book Islam’s gatekeepers here found offensive.

The court case involving the local Borders’ sale of Canadian author Irshad Manji’s book “Allah, Liberty and Love” has been closely-watched since it hit national headlines last year after Islamic enforcement officials seized the stock and charged the store manager Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz with violating publication and distribution laws.

Five months after pronouncing the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI), the home minister and the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs guilty of abusing their powers to illegally prosecute the bookstore’s Muslim manager, Datuk Zaleha Yusof of the Kuala Lumpur High Court has finally released her grounds of judgment.

Though couched in the language of the court, the judge’s strongly-worded explanation kept to a strict interpretation of the law that has given hope to Malaysians that their civil liberties as laid down in the country’s founding document remain as robust as the day they were conceived half a century ago.

“I am satisfied that the applicants have shown existence of illegality, abuse of discretionary powers, irrationality, unreasonable exercise of power, unconstitutionally and that there exists procedural impropriety on the part of the respondents,” Zaleha wrote in her grounds of judgment released last week.

Continue Reading...

Your silence is deafening, DAP tells Muhyiddin

The Education Minister’s silence and inaction in the SK Seri Pristana issue is sending out the wrong message to educators in schools nationwide.

DAP's national vice-chairman M. Kula Segaran said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s indifference to the plight of whistleblower Guneswari Kelly, who had to transfer her daughter to a vernacular school, has angered the public.

Guneswari, a parent of a pupil at the school, had exposed how non-Muslim pupils at the school were made to have their recess in a shower room during the Ramadan month after she posted a photo on Facebook.

Her nine-year-old daughter had suffered after that when she became the target of abuse by teachers of the school.

Two days ago, Guneswari told The Malaysian Insider that she will transfer her daughter to a vernacular school in Subang as a result of the bullying. The mother had also been the target of threats.

Continue Reading..

SIS warns Jakim against claiming to be voice of God

Malaysia’s religious authorities risk the sin of “shirik” (idolatry) after seemingly speaking for God in judging an online video deemed offensive to Islam, Muslim women’s group Sisters in Islam (SIS) warned yesterday.

On Friday, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) adjudged a video made by dog trainer Maznah Mohd Yusof, which shows her walking and bathing her dogs, to be an insult to Islam and resulted in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) pursuing investigations against her.

“What differentiates Jakim’s opinion from that of the lay person is that Jakim’s views are backed up by enforcement powers of the state,” SIS programme manager Suri Kempe told The Malay Mail Online via email yesterday.

“Anybody who questions and challenges the injustice of these views and actions is accused of being against Islam and God,” she said. “This is tantamount to claiming to be the embodiment of God, and Jakim should be very careful as it could be a form of shirik.”

Continue Reading..

Jakim gives MCMC nod to go after dog trainer

The country's Islamic authorities have set the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on dog trainer Maznah Yusof, saying action against her online video would be a “lesson to society not to repeat such acts”.

Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director Datuk Othman Mustapha said his department today submitted its investigations paper on Maznah, also known as Chetz Yusof, to the commission and may also call her up for counselling.

“If authorities take action against her (Maznah) it will be seen as a lesson to her specifically and society at large not to repeat such acts,” Othman was quoted as saying by national news agency Bernama today.

On Tuesday, a 105-second video reposted on YouTube showed Maznah walking and bathing her three dogs as the “Takbir Raya”, or Muslim call to prayer traditionally reserved for the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, plays in the background.


Continue Reading..

Jakim hands report on dog trainer Maznah to MCMC for action

The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has sent its report to the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for action to be taken against dog trainer Maznah Yusof (pix) over her Hari Raya video.

Jakim director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said the department and the state religious authority also planned to call the woman to explain her action and to advise her.
"If action is taken against her, it is to serve as a lesson to her, in particular, and society as a whole, not to do it again," he said in a statement here.

Continue Reading..

One parent enough to convert kids, says Islamic Affairs Dept

The state Islamic Affairs Department needs only the consent of one parent who has embraced Islam to convert the children to the faith, state director Datuk Johani Hassan said.

This was clearly spelt out under the laws for those who wished to embrace Islam, he said, adding that such laws were in force in several states.

“The law does not say that we need the consent of both parents before we can convert their children.

“When one parent embraces Islam, the children can be automatically converted,” he said.

The Government, however, had announced in April 2009 that children of an estranged couple should be raised in the religion of the parents at the time when they were still married.

The announcement was made by the then de facto law minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.

Johani was responding yesterday to a claim by a 29-year-old Hindu mother that her estranged husband had converted their two children, aged five and eight, without her knowledge in April.

Continue Reading..

Mufti: Amend Articles in Constitution to exclude Muslims

The Perak Mufti has called for an amendment to be made to the Federal Constitution, which will exclude Islam from provisions that grant mothers equal rights to raise children according to their religious beliefs.

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria said that Articles 3, 5 and 11 of the Constitution in relation to religion, liberty and freedom must therefore be amended to exclude Muslims.

“The provision (on child’s religion) should be amended or added to exclude Muslims,” Utusan Malaysia quoted him as saying.

The issue of non-Muslims’ dissatisfaction over such an amendment should not arise in view of the existing pre-Independence social contract, he said.

Harussani said that this was following a recent High Court ruling that granted a plea by M. Indira Gandhi to reverse her estranged Muslim convert husband’s unilateral decision to convert their three children, now aged 16, 15 and five.

Continue Reading..

Muslim NGO under fire for beauty pageant defence

Sisters In Islam (SIS), a non-government Muslim organisation comprising mostly women, drew flak from a conservative Muslim columnist today for purportedly putting civil liberties ahead of their religion’s glory.

The women’s group had recently waded into a row over the rights of Muslim women to take part in the Miss Malaysia World 2013 beauty pageant, and raised its concern on the overreach of fatwa (religious edicts) by Islamic officials here beyond the faith’s intent.

In an opinion piece in Malay paper Mingguan Malaysia, columnist Ku Seman Ku Hussain lashed out at the women’s group for what he viewed to be an attempt to undermine and denigrate Islam by one of its own by persistent questioning of the religion’s authorities here on the grounds the edicts were not legislated into civil law.

“It seems for SIS, fundamental rights freedoms are more important than prohibiting Muslims against insulting their own religion,” he said, in the article titled “Apabila Sisters In Islam mempertikai mufti [When Sisters In Islam dispute the mufti]”.

Continue Reading..

After conversion battle, Indira to fight for reunion with daughter

File photo of Indira (left) with her lawyer Kulasegaran. Indira has not seen her youngest daughter Prasana for more than three years now.


With her children’s conversion nightmare almost over, M. Indira Gandhi will soon file contempt proceedings against her estranged husband, banking her hopes yet again on the country’s justice system to reunite with her youngest daughter.

The kindergarten teacher chalked a major win for herself yesterday when the Ipoh High Court finally quashed the conversion certificates of her three children, declaring it unconstitutional to unilaterally force a minor to embrace a different faith.

Indira’s husband, Muslim convert Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, had converted the couple’s three children to Islam four years ago without their mother’s knowledge.

“I am extremely happy that we won. It has been a much-awaited verdict,” she told when contacted yesterday.

Continue Reading..

Court ruling on conversion a step forward, say lawyers

The High Court's decision that both parents and children have the right to religious freedom is a step forward on how this controversial issue should be dealt with, said constitutional lawyers and an interfaith council.

The court's decision in allowing Indira Gandhi's application to quash the conversion of her three children made it clear that the conversion of a minor to Islam can only be done with the consent of both parents.

Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar said the court had asserted itself and shown it's a bastion of constitutional rights for all citizens.

"The judge had rightly looked at various constitutional laws to conclude as he did. His decision is good as it grants relief to the mother," he said.

Another lawyer, Edmund Bon, said the decision was encouraging as the judge who presided over the case had applied common sense.

Continue Reading..

Jawi want a closer look at Muslim beauty contestants

The four Muslim Miss Malaysia-World finalists are being investigated by The Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) as they are deemed to have insulted Islam.

Jawi director Datuk Che Mat Che Ali said its enforcement unit would look into the matter following a Malay daily’s report that the girls were bent on taking part in the beauty pageant despite an edict by the National Fatwa Council prohibiting it.

“If we find sufficient evidence for further investigation, they will be charged in the Syariah Court,” he said, according to The Star.

Those found guilty can be fined up to RM3,000, jailed up to two years, or both.

Che Mat noted that based on the report in the Malay daily, the participants had expressed their disappointment with the fatwa that was gazetted on Feb 8, 1996, under the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) 1993.

Continue Reading..

Najib: Govt will uphold Islam

This includes protecting the use of the word 'Allah', says PM

KUALA SELANGOR: THE government will continue to uphold Islam and protect its sanctity, including protecting the use of the word "Allah" with the mandate given by the people.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said although Barisan Nasional had failed to take over several states under Pakatan rule, including Selangor, the government would do its best for the people and ensure a holistic development would be carried out, as called for in Islam.

"We will provide more education opportunities, including in the Islamic field, more places of worship and better facilities for the people," he said after performing terawih prayers with the people at Masjid Jamiur Ridhuan in Simpang 4, Jeram here last night.

Continue Reading..