Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Apr 29, 2008 / 04:49 am
A Catholic newspaper in Malaysia on Friday continued its fight to use the word “Allah” to signify God in its newspapers. The newspaper has appealed to the High Court to hear its case, Agence France Presse reports.
On Friday before an audience of two hundred, including Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam, High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan decided that the arguments from both sides would be heard on Tuesday to determine if the case should proceed.
In January the Catholic weekly The Herald almost had its publishing license revoked because it used the word “Allah” in its Malay section. “Allah” is both the Malay and the Arabic word for God. Authorities warned the paper not to use the word again in the future.
The Malaysian Cabinet last year ruled that the word could be used only by Muslims. The internal security minister also issued a ban on its use in a non-Muslim context.