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Malaysian Sikhs join debate over use of the word 'Allah'
Kuala Lumpur News.Net
Friday 4th July, 2008 (IANS)
Malaysia's 100,000-strong Sikh community is the latest party seeking to intervene in the suit by the Catholic church over the use of the word Allah.
The Malaysian Gurdwaras Council filed an application to intervene in the suit Tuesday. In a supporting affidavit, its president Jagir Singh said the word Allah in reference to god was an integral part of the original version of the Sikh holy book, the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
As such, he said, no followers of the Sikh religion would tolerate any form of obstruction on the use of the original terms taken from the holy book, The Star newspaper reported Friday.
Jagir Singh said the council, the umbrella body of some 130 gurdwaras nationwide, had an interest in the declaration sought by the applicant of the suit.
In the original suit, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Murphy Pakiam is seeking to declare that the Catholic weekly Herald is entitled to use the word Allah.
He is also seeking to declare that its usage was not exclusive to Islam. Pakiam, 70, had named the then internal security minister and the government as respondents in the application filed March 19.
The archbishop is named as an applicant in the action in his capacity as publisher of the Herald.
Other parties which have applied to intervene in the suit are the Penang Islamic Religious Council, Terengganu Islamic Religious and Malay Custom Council, Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council and Perak Islamic Religious and Malay Custom Council.
Practised by the majority Malays, Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. But it is not an Islamic state as per the constitution, which permits religious minorities to practise their respective faiths.
Multi-ethnic Malaysia has significant populations of over two million Hindu settlers from India, Buddhists and Christians of various denominations, and smaller numbers of people practising other faiths.
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Comments on this story
myth_buster
07-04-08, 04:24 AM |
Malaysian Sikhs join debate over use of the word 'Allah'
ignorance is bliss....its only because we as Malaysians wanting to patronise bahasa...pray in the language and why not,if in bahasa God means Allah, we use it?
Its being small-minded, petty and shallow in thinking, if one takes offence of this.
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Angry Singh
07-04-08, 04:37 AM |
Allah
How can ve change our holy book and omit the word Allah when it is there in its original from from our holy gurus. The Malays should be proud that there are other races that hold to the word allah in high esteem. How can our leaders be that shallow in their thinking in not allowing us to not to use the word. The world sikh community will condemn such a move.
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mobiledj
07-05-08, 03:36 AM |
Its ONLY LANGUAGE
ALLAH is in Arabic word. Let anybody use any language 2 pray. So what if the whole use the same vocabulary. There are so many human beings who needs attention n help n here we are making a issue on petty things. wake up.
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Kenny, UK
07-05-08, 07:49 AM |
An interesting test of the rulers in the country
The issue will not go unnoticed by other countries. If Malaysia is to become a first class country, it cannot have narrowed minded leaders/rulers with 2nd class mentality. The Malays need to realise by being stubborn, they will not do any favour to themselves. They will earn more respect if they don’t hold on to such small matter and demostrate they are mature & not uncivilsed.
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