Priest's Use of 'Allah' Brings Malaysia Sedition Probe
By Abhrajit Gangopadhyay
Jan. 8, 2014 10:08 a.m. ET
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A police investigation of a Roman Catholic priest in Malaysia over accusations of sedition has become the latest round in a worsening struggle between the country's minority Christians and majority Muslims over how to refer to God.
The investigation heightens worries among religious minorities about how they believe the law is being used to limit the ways they worship. It follows growing controversy over bans that prevent Christians in the country from using the word "Allah" to refer to God.
Father Lawrence Andrew showed a Bible written in Arabic to members of the media as he left court in Kuala Lumpur in December 2009. Reuters
On Tuesday, police announced they were investigating Father Lawrence Andrew for telling a local media outlet that Roman Catholic churches in Selangor, one of Malaysia's 13 states, would continue to use the word "Allah" to refer to God.
An edict issued in November by the sultan of Selangor, who is also the head of Islam in the state, prohibits non-Muslims from using the word "Allah."
Police say the inquiry was prompted by reports from Muslim groups who say Father Andrew's comments violated the sultan's edict. Such edicts are often issued by religious authorities in Malaysia but are rarely enforced.
Father Andrew said police called him in for a preliminary inquiry about his statement, which was published by the online news portal Malaysian Insider, on Tuesday. He said he hasn't been charged. He acknowledged telling the news outlet that Selangor churches continue to use Allah in their Malay-language services.
Francis Pereira, the priest's lawyer, said police told them Father Andrew is being investigated under Section 4 of the Sedition Act. The act is a colonial-era legislation that allows for the detention of people plotting to overthrow government and must contain elements of violence for a conviction. A violation can be punishable by three years in prison or a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,520), or both.
"We have no idea why he is being investigated under the Sedition Act," Mr. Pereira said.
Tony Pua, a lawmaker from the opposition Democratic Action Party, said of Father Lawrence: "He was certainly not calling for bloodshed or inciting violence. We call upon the Royal Malaysian Police to act impartially in accordance to the provision of our federal constitution and the laws of this land and not be biased against any persons based on his religion, race or descent."
Tensions were first strained in October when Malaysia's appeals court banned the Catholic Church from using the word "Allah" to refer to God in its newspaper, the Herald. Father Andrew is the editor of the newsweekly.
The legal dispute dates to 2007. After Syed Hamid Albar, then the home minister, prohibited the church's Herald newspaper from using the word "Allah"—arguing it should be solely for Muslims—the archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Pakiam, filed a lawsuit to overturn his decision. In 2009, the High Court found the Roman Catholic Church's use of the word constitutional, a ruling that sparked mob vandalism and arson directed at both Christian and Muslim properties. The following year, the same court ordered the Herald not to use the word while the government appealed the decision.
The October ruling has prompted discussion among government officials about how widely the ban should apply and sparked outrage from some Christian groups who say they have long used the word "Allah" to refer to their God.
Last week religious tensions heated up again as Christian organizations voiced dismay after Islamic authorities tasked with enforcing Islamic codes of conduct in the state searched the Bible Society of Malaysia in Selangor and seized 320 copies of the Malay-language bible because it used the word "Allah."
According to the Christian Federation of Malaysia, about 60% of the 2.6 million Christians in the country of 28 million use the word "Allah" to refer to God.
The recent actions have raised concerns about religious freedom for minorities in Malaysia, which is majority Muslim but also has sizable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist communities.
Islam has always been a strong political force in Malaysia, where Muslims generally practice a more moderate form of the faith. But calls by some conservative Muslims urging for a stricter Islamic code of conduct are gaining strength.
On the specific use of the word "Allah," a recent survey by the University of Malaya's Centre for Democracy and Elections showed that 77% of 1,676 citizens surveyed in peninsular Malaysia believe that Muslims should have exclusive right to use the word "Allah," while only 11% supported non-Muslims using the word.
Write to Abhrajit Gangopadhyay at [email protected]
