Oh My God

Malaysia's highest court has rejected a challenge to the ban on Christians using the word Allah to refer to their god, in a highly divisive legal case.

The case was brought by the Catholic Church, which sought to overturn a ban first put in place in 2007. But the Federal Court said an earlier ruling backing the ban was correct.

The case began over the use of Allah to refer to the Christian god in the Catholic Church's Malay-language paper. Christians argue they have used the word, which entered Malay from Arabic, to refer to their god for centuries and that the ruling violates their rights.

Malaysian authorities claim its use by Christians could confuse easily confused Muslims and lead some to convert to Christianity.

This ruling was handed down by a seven-member panel, which voted by 4-3 to dismiss the challenge.

Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew said he was greatly disappointed by the judgement which didn't touch on the fundamental rights of minorities .

Reports in Malaysian newspapers suggested the Church could call for a review of the decision.

Malaysia has banned an Ultraman comic book because it uses the word Allah to describe the Japanese action hero.

The Home Ministry claimed in a statement that the Malay-edition of Ultraman, The Ultra Power contained elements that can undermine public security and societal morals. It claimed Ultraman is idolised by many children and equating the lead character, Ultraman King, with Allah would especially confuse Muslim children and damage their faith .

The government demands that the word Allah should be exclusively reserved for Muslims because of concerns its use by others would confuse Muslims and tempt them to convert. It also warned that use of the word can provoke the community and threaten public safety.

Ultraman is a fictional Japanese superhero who fights monsters and first appeared on television in the 1960s. A line in the book said Ultraman is considered and respected as Allah, or the Elder, to all ultra heroes .

Malaysia should reverse a ban on a Christian newspaper using the word Allah to refer to the christian religious character called God, a UN official said about a decision that fanned religious tension in the mainly Muslim country.

The UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, said in statement:

Freedom of religion or belief is a right of human beings, not a right of the state. It cannot be the business of the state to shape or reshape religious traditions, nor can the state claim any binding authority in the interpretation of religious sources or in the definition of the tenets of faith.

Catholic weekly The Herald will not be allowed to use the word Allah to refer to the Christian God, ruled the Court of Appeal.

The panel, chaired by Justice Mohamed Apandi Ali, overturned a High Court decision and unanimously ruled in favour of the Government's appeal, saying that the minister had not acted in any way that required a judicial review.

The court also found that there had been sufficient material considered by the minister in taking action under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. The Judgement reads:

Our common finding is that the usage of Allah is not an integral part of the Christian faith. We cannot find why the parties are so adamant on the usage of the word.

The court claimed that such usage of the word would cause confusion and that in the interest of supposed public safety, chose to grant the Government's appeal.

The welfare of an individual or group must yield to the interest of society at large, said Justice Mohamed Apandi, adding that this should be read alongside the constitutional freedom of religion.

The weekly, published in four languages, has been using the word Allah as a translation for God in its Malay-language section, but the Government argued that Allah should be used exclusively only by Muslims.