Malaysian authorities have taken it upon themselves to decide who gets to use the word Allah. In mid-December, they banned the Catholic newspaper Herald because it used the word. The ban was revoked but on the condition that the Malay language newspaper does not use the word Allah. The Herald is circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics. The authorities said "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.
Last week, the newspaper was told it must stop publishing its Malay edition while the issue is resolved in the courts, as part of conditions for it to be allowed to continue printing its editions in English, Chinese and Tamil.
The Herald's editor, Father Lawrence Andrew, welcomed Thursday's decision. "It's good. Our right has been reinstated, it was taken away from us unjustly," he told afp.
On the condition that it will not be allowed to use the word Allah, the editor said the issue will be left to the court to decide.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.