Use of word 'Allah' not exclusive to Muslims: Malaysian court

KUALA LUMPUR: In a landmark verdict, a Malaysian court has ruled that Christians have the Constitutional right to use the word 'Allah' while referring to God, setting aside a government ban on its use by the country's religious minorities.

The High Court ruling came on Thursday on a lawsuit filed by the Catholic weekly Herald, whose publication permit was approved by the home ministry on the condition that it would not use the word 'Allah'.

After the verdict, government lawyers said they would consult with the home ministry before deciding whether to appeal.

The Herald is now free to use the word 'Allah' in its publication after the court quashed the home minister's prohibition against it using the word, declaring the order as "illegal, null and void."

In her decision, Justice Lau Bee Lan also declared that under Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution, applicant Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop Murphy Pakiam had the Constitutional right to use 'Allah' in the Herald in the exercise of his right that religions other than Islam might be practised in peace and harmony in the country.

She further ruled that the Constitution, which states Islam as the country's religion, did not empower the minister to make such a prohibition.