Malaysian Authorities Confiscate Bibles Containing 'Allah'
19 October 2018 21:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Kuala Lumpur - Islamic authorities in Selangor, Malaysia, confiscated 321 Bibles from a Christian group for using the word 'Allah' to refer to God on Thursday, January 2, 2014.
"We were notified that we are under investigation because we are violating the Law in Selangor. Non-Moslem citizens are prohibited from using the word 'Allah'," said the Head of the Bible community Lee Min Choon yesterday, as quoted by Reuters.
The confiscation was carried out after the Malaysian Court ruled that the Arabic word is exclusive to the majority of Melayu Muslim.
The decision also overturned a previous court ruling that allowed a Roman Catholic newspaper to be printed in Melayu Language, and use the word 'Allah'.
Experts asserted that the decision might be a plot to deter the public resentment towards Prime Minister Najib Razak's administration for issuing subsidy budget cuts for electricity, fuel and sugar.
REUTERS | EKO ARI