Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Jan 5, 2010 / 02:08 am
Following the Malaysian High Court’s approval of a Catholic newspaper’s use of the word “Allah” for God, hundreds of Muslim youth have protested and the newspaper’s website has been hacked several times.
The Herald, the country’s only Catholic publication, has been threatened with the loss of its printing license for using “Allah” to name the Christian God in its Malay-language section.
The newspaper argued that its usage follows centuries of tradition, while the Malaysian government argued the usage by Christians would confuse Muslims.
On Dec. 31 Judge Lau Bee Lan ruled in the Herald’s favor.