The current head of state of the Malaysian federation intervened after Anwar Ibrahim’s government announced on May 15 its intention to withdraw the appeal against the ruling that had allowed its use also in non-Muslim publications. The permit could only apply to Sarawak and Sabah, the two Borneo states where the Christian presence is strongest. An issue that has been hostage to political exploitation for years.
Kuala Lumpur () – In view of the tensions that persist over the use of the word “Allah” in Malaysia, including among non-Muslims, King Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, Sultan of Pahang, current head of State of the entire federation. According to the particular system of government in force, every five years one of the rulers of nine of the States into which the country is administratively divided is appointed to this position. These regents also have the role of “sultans”, that is, leaders of the Muslim community.
As reported by the official news agency Bernamathe Sultan of Pahang stressed on June 5 that the controversial use of “Allah” is not a terminological and linguistic debate, but is related to the faith of the Muslim community and that any persistent confusion poses serious risks.
“My government must harmonize the current situation and, at the same time, place the use of the word ‘Allah’ in the correct context, taking into account national security, the good of the Muslim community (ummah), as well as my position and that of the other Malaysian regents as Muslim leaders,” King Abdullah of Pahang said during his birthday federal award ceremony at his official residence in the capital, Kuala lumpur.
Reviving a debate that has been open for decades, but recently radicalized by the claim of radical Islamist groups to prevent ethnic and religious minorities from using the Arabic word to designate “God”, on May 15 the federal government announced its decision to withdraw its appeal against the previous ruling that allowed the use of “Allah” also in Christian publications. A week later, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim indicated the government’s intention to review the conflicting rules on the use of the word by those who are not part of the Islamic community. It is most likely that earlier official measures will be adopted that would prevent non-Muslims from speaking in the states of the Malay peninsula (where Islam is the majority), but would allow it in the states of the island of Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah), where the Christian minority is most concentrated.
In the Malaysian language there are several expressions to define the deity, but “Allah” entered the lexicon long ago and is also used by Christians. The distinction in the use that the authorities intend derives from the impulse to recognize the Islamic identity of the country (although in reality slightly more than half of the population is Muslim) that successive post-independence governments have fostered. In 2009 it was prohibited to The Herald, the national Catholic news outlet, to use “Allah” to refer to the Christian God; the verdict was later overturned by the courts on appeal and challenged again by the government. But since then the issue has passed into the hands of politics, expanding and exacerbating a debate that is still open.
