Malaysian media in tussle over use of ‘Allah’

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A government official in Malaysia banned a Christian newspaper from using the Arabic word "Allah" to refer to God, and efforts to reverse the Dec. 10 ban resulted in mixed signals from the country’s government.

A letter by the official to The Herald ordered the Catholic newspaper to stop using "Allah" in articles written in the Malay language, according to Augustine Julian, secretary of Malaysia’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference. "The government does not want us (Christians) to use the word ‘Allah,’" Julian said. "But this is against the constitution that allows the freedom of religion."

The newspaper’s publisher appealed the decision in January and says he was told he could continue to use the word, which Christians have used for centuries to refer to God. The prime minister’s office, however, told reporters the government decided restrictions on the use of the word were still enforceable. Then The Herald’s editor, Andrew Lawrence, said he had received a fax saying the paper would get its 2008 permit with no conditions about using "Allah."

Andrew blamed an approaching general election for the ban. Malaysia’s population is 60 percent Muslim and religious issues are sensitive.

The Catholic newspaper was joined in its suit over the issue by an evangelical church that had been banned from importing religious children’s books containing the word. Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said the ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" was unlawful because Arabic-speaking Christians used that word "before Arabic-speaking Muslims existed."