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‘Allah’ prayer poster for Christians only, NECF says

By Debra Chong
Assistant News Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 ― Malaysia’s evangelical church group appears baffled by the pique expressed by a Muslim lawyers’ group over their Facebook prayer campaign containing the word “Allah”, saying it was meant for Christians only and carried a message to spread love and care for the country.

The Muslim Lawyers Society of Malaysia (PPPMM) yesterday accused the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) of committing “criminal” blasphemy against Islam by misappropriating the name of the Islamic god for their purposes, even as the dispute is being heard in the Court of Appeal.

“The Malaysia MyHome project is intended for Christians only and is a call to express love and concern for the nation.

“The suggested actions to pray and extend help to those in need are common and standard expressions of faith among believers of all religions,” NECF secretary-general Pastor Eugene Yapp said yesterday, replying to the PPPMM’s statement urging Islamic authorities to act against the church.

He pointed out that the NECF used the word “Allah” only in its Bahasa Malaysia version of the poster campaign so as to include its East Malaysian Bumiputera congregation, who make up about 60 per cent of the country’s Christian population and are more familiar with the national language.

Malaysia’s total Christian population stands at just under 10 per cent of the country’s 28 million people, but one-third of Sabah and just over half of Sarawak in Borneo Malaysia follow the faith.

But religion and race in this country where 60 per cent are constitutionally defined as Malay and Muslim, are hot button issues.

Violence broke out and led to attacks against several places of worship nationwide after a High Court ruled in 2009 that the Catholic Church had the right to publish the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia section of its newspaper, Herald, as the Arabic word was not exclusive to Islam, contrary to the belief of many Muslim Malaysians.

Tensions remain at a simmer today.

“The Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment 1988 does not extend to the right of a person to profess and practise his or her religion, including in the context of prayer and good acts for the nation and its people,” Yapp said, in response to the PPPMM’s reference to the same state Islamic laws used to argue their case.

He also highlighted that the right to profess, practise and manage one’s own faith was a fundamental principle which Article 11 of the Federal Constitution guaranteed all citizens.

In its Facebook page, the umbrella body representing the country’s evangelical churches had urged ― in the national language ― all churches and Christians to “embrace, love and bless the country with Allah’s presence and power”.

The same message was also carried in English and Chinese.

Under a project it called “Malaysia My Home”, the NECF urged believers of the faith to put prayer and action together for God’s blessing to institute “real and lasting change for our communities”.

The message also called on Christians to “get to know the people around you” and to “extend help to those in need”.

The message was posted on May 9 — four days after Malaysia’s hotly contested 13th general election and in which the results appear to have fractured society into an urban-rural divide, although some groups have attempted to paint the score along racial lines.

PPMM president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar claimed to have received numerous complaints from various non-governmental Islamic organisations, and urged the respective state Islamic departments and councils to file police reports to pressure the government to act against the church.

“It is an offence for any party to deliberately and continuously use Allah and a few other words with roots from Islam in the context of a non-Islamic religious for any purpose.

“The NECF poster that has clearly misused the sacred name of Allah is obviously a criminal action and breaches the Schedule of (Section 9) Part I of the Enactment that forbids the use of the name of Allah as well as other Islamic terms by non-Muslims,” Zainul had said.

But Yapp said he could not see what the PPPMM found objectionable about the church campaign.

“I don’t see what’s objectionable about calling to prayer,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted, adding that the NECF would not remove the Bahasa Malaysia poster from its Facebook page “unless there’s some objection, or someone tells us to take it down”.

“Otherwise, we just leave things it as is for the moment,” he said, adding, “Just as it is their right to express their view, we have a right to express ours.”

He noted that PPPM had not asked the NECF to remove the “Allah” poster, but only wanted the authorities to investigate.

Yapp said the church group had not received any complaints nor have the police contacted it to date