Public ‘Allah’ forum seen as victory for civil dialogue

BANGKOK (UCAN) — A public forum in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims has been hailed as a victory for civil dialogue.

The event attracted 1,000 people.

“It was refreshing to see the diversity of views on the panel which consisted of six Muslims and one Hindu,” Reverend Sivin Kit, pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church, told UCA News.

“The public forum dispelled the myth that the Malaysian public and especially Malay Muslims cannot engage in a civil dialogue on so-called sensitive issues.”

The government had stated that there should be no public discussion on “sensitive issues” and that it is planning private dialogue sessions on the present controversy.

Reverend Kit noted that the recent forum was “a ground-up civil society initiative without involvement and interference of the government.”

“This shows that the common people, (especially) the younger generation, have taken ownership and responsibility to demonstrate that it can be done,” he said.

The event, entitled “Allah: Whose is it?” was jointly organized by the Muslim Students’ Association of Universiti Malaya, Free Public Forum and young people from the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Jan. 11.

Some participants argued that “Allah” was a specific name for God that has been Islamized. Others said “Allah” was not exclusive to Muslims, and that it was the meaning of the word, not the word itself, that was important.

The controversy over the use of the word “Allah” for God by non-Muslims in the Malay language has been raging since the High Court on Dec. 31 ruled against a government ban on the practice.

The government has since filed an appeal and the court has agreed to a stay of the Dec. 31 decision.

There has been an outcry by various Muslim groups and debate on the issue has raged in websites and blogs. While most protests have been peaceful, eight churches and one church institution across the country have been attacked.

Meanwhile, the High Court has fixed March 15 for the first hearing of an application by an indigenous Christian woman challenging the government’s confiscation of Christian CDs in the Indonesian language that contain the word “Allah.”

MS08532.1584 January 13, 2010 36 EM-lines (361 words)

MALAYSIA  PM, Islamic party condemn church arson attacks
MALAYSIA  Government partner concerned about ‘Allah’ bible ban
MALAYSIA  Christians demand release of banned Malay bibles