Muslim groups to protest at Klang church, demand priest’s apology
A coalition of Malay-Muslim groups is set to march to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Klang on Sunday morning to protest Christians' insistence on using Allah and deliver a memorandum to express their dissatisfaction.
Calling itself the Klang Muslims Solidarity Secretariat, the group is the first to announce which church it would be protesting at on Sunday after Selangor Umno announced a few days ago it was planning similar demonstrations on Sunday with several pro-Umno NGOs.
Secretariat president Mohd Khairi Hussin said "ties between Muslims and Christians had been cordial before the Church insisted on using the Arabic word Allah in their worship".
The Kapar Umno religious bureau chief said he is hoping that the rally will get the support of Muslims from around the Klang area, adding that participants will gather at 9am before marching towards the Catholic church to deliver the memorandum.
The group has called on Herald editor Rev Father Lawrence Andrew to retract his statement and apologise for allegedly challenging the Sultan of Selangor's decree on prohibiting the usage of Allah by non-Muslims in the state, in order to avoid an "uprising" of Muslims in the country.
Andrew said last week that Catholic churches in Selangor would continue to use the word Allah during its weekend services in Bahasa Malaysia despite the state's Islamic Religious Department (Jais) intention to send them reminders on a 1988 state enactment prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word.
Gombak Umno head Abdul Rahim Kamarudin said Andrew has until Saturday to withdraw his statement.
The secretariat also said that another protest will be held simultaneously at the Metro Tabernacle Church in Taman Samudera, Gombak on Sunday, followed by similar protests around Selangor in the days after.
Among the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the coalition are Jalur Tiga Malaysia (Jati), Selangor Perkasa, Klang Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), and Pertubuhan Ikatan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Selangor (IKDDAS). - January 2, 2014.
