Christians could also be confused with 'Allah', says Appeals Court

The Court of Appeal allowed for the prohibition of the word “Allah” in the Catholic weekly The Herald because it held that it not only confuses Muslims but Christians as well.

In a separate judgement by Justice Datuk Mohd Zawawi Salleh, if the word “Allah” is to be employed in the Malay version of the publication to refer to God, “there will be a risk of misrepresentation of God within Christianity itself”.

Mohd Zawawi explained this is because the Christian conception of God is symbolised by the trinity, which is absolutely and completely dissimilar to the conception of Allah in Islam.

“...in other words, the potential for confusion is not confined only to Muslims but also to Christians,” he wrote on paragraph 23 of his judgement.

Mohd Zawawi also agreed with the judgement by Federal Court Judge Datuk Mohamed Apandi Ali that the usage of “Allah” is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity.

He was referring to the case of Hajah Halimatussaadiah binti Hj Kamaruddin v Public Services Commission, Malaysia & another in 1994 which involves the question of the wearing of a purdah (a headdress covering a woman’s entire face except the eyes).

In the case, the Federal Court had ruled that the wearing of a purdah is not mandatory in Islam and therefore the government’s act of sacking the employee wearing the purdah does not go against any law.

Mohd Zawawi also referred to the case of Meor Atiqulrahman bin Ishak & Others v Fatimah Sihi & Others in 2005 for the wearing of a serban in school.

In his judgement, Mohd Zawawi also concluded that the Christians themselves have not reached a consensus as to how to use the word “Allah”, and questioned the translation of the Bible into several languages.

“In summary we can conclude that Christians themselves have not reached a consensus as to how to use the word “Allah”, whether in their many translations and versions of the Bible or in their general usage of it,” he said.

Mohd Zawawi also ruled that it was doubtful whether the opinion of the Respondent on the usage of the word “Allah” reflects that of the Catholic majority.