BANGKOK: The storm which erupted after a High Court ruled that the national Catholic weekly “Herald” was allowed to use the word “Allah” saw eight churches and one Christian institution in the country attacked.

A Sikh temple and a mosque were also targeted. Such attacks are unprecedented in Malaysian history and it has left the country in crisis.

There are nevertheless signs of hope with a tremendous outpouring of sympathy by Muslims and others after the incidents.

But let’s first look at the “Herald” itself and its influence in the country.

The first thing to note is that it is extremely difficult for a Muslim to get hold of a copy of the “Herald” due to the government’s strict publishing laws. The paper is only sold at Catholic churches and has a circulation of just 13,000-14,000 among the country’s 900,000 Catholics.

The country’s laws against proselytizing Muslims strongly discourage any Catholic from giving a copy of the “Herald” to his or her Muslim friend or neighbor.

Second, English is the main language used in the publication. There are small sections in Malay, Chinese and Tamil. The “Herald” wants to be able to resume using the word “Allah” only in its Malay section.

Use of ‘Allah’

This leads to another pertinent question: Who are the Christians who use the word “Allah?”

Christians who worship in English, Chinese or Tamil would never use “Allah” for God — only Malay-speaking Christians use this term. They are mainly the indigenous peoples of the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island, although many work or study in western or peninsular Malaysia, and many Catholic churches there conduct Malay-language Masses to serve them.

The heated debate following the court ruling has generally missed these points.

Even some Christians have called for their fellow Christians to drop using the word “Allah” for the sake of national peace and harmony, not being aware that East Malaysian Christians have been using this word for more than 100 years.

Politically orchestrated?

Some Muslims have always had a strong suspicion that Christians are out to convert them and that this whole “Allah” issue is just one attempt to confuse them. They are unaware that East Malaysian Christians are at home with the word.

Many Malaysians, however, see the whole issue as being politically orchestrated and a way of using Muslims’ sensitivities to gain votes.

This alleged politicization, ironically, has led to new efforts by both sides to reach out to one another.

More than 100 civil society groups representing a spectrum of Malaysian society have come forward to condemn the church attacks. Church leaders have called on all Christians not to react but to respond with love, forgiveness and prayer, while Muslims have volunteered to help patrol churches.

Individual Muslims have also shown solidarity with Christians through Facebook.

Possible outcome

But the most positive outcome may be the creation of a new culture of interreligious dialogue in the country, something that has generally been considered “too sensitive.”

Many Muslim groups including the opposition Islamic party have expressed readiness to meet and talk with Christian leaders, and also called for interfaith councils to discuss and resolve interreligious issues.

A public interreligious forum in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 11 entitled “Allah: Whose is it?” attracted 1,000 people of various religions. Most of the speakers were Muslim scholars. Media reported the discussion was calm despite divergent viewpoints.

A Muslim scholar who spoke at the forum told me that dialogue must continue even though we often have to “agree to disagree.”

Such dialogue cannot come at a better time, when such a huge failure in communication is apparent.

Finally, another outcome is that the indigenous Christians of East Malaysia are beginning to assert their right to worship in the way they have always done. Media reported them stating that though both they and their Muslim neighbors use “Allah,” there has never been a problem.

The East Malaysian Christians who are bumiputra (sons of the soil), like Malay-Muslims, may be the determining factor in how this issue turns out in the end.

Courtesy: UCAN