'Allah' row: What now, ban Sikhism as well?

YOURSAY 'It is pathetic. Hindi songs are full of the word of ‘Allah'. So banning Hindi movies would be the right move.'

Sikh group: Fatwa on Allah ban 'illegal and void'

Mohican: Extremely useful and very well put, guruji(spiritual teacher). Even though I am no Sikh, I respect Sikhism and the holy Guru Gran Sahib as it is a sacred scripture of a great religion.

As a Christian, I was taught both at home and at the mission school which I attended that all religions must be respected. For anybody who thinks that his or her religion is more supreme than others smacks of arrogance and is therefore irreligious in his/her outlook.

The supreme god made all one and equal, and we are all his children however great or small we may be.

Lionking: Narrow-minded so-called Muslims in Malaysia such as Penang mufti Hassan Ahmad are making fools of themselves. Is this what they learn? It is pathetic and it shows how shallow their thinking is.

Hindi songs are full of the word of ‘Allah'. So banning Hindi movies would be the right move.

Grow up and be more rational. The word ‘Allah' appears in the holy book of the Sikhs, so now what, ban the religion too?

Abasir: The congenitally ignorant in Malaysia should be alerted that there is a hymn sung by Hindus all over India and in all parts of the world (including Malaysia) containing the word 'Allah'.

It is a hymn that is also featured occasionally in Hindustani movies (which has a strong following among certain ethnic groups in Malaysia) and in Richard Attenborough's multi-Oscar awarded film 'Gandhi'.

It has not offended the more than 160 million Muslims in India. But then we are here in PM Najib Razak's 1Malaysia where everything is contaminated by the Umno virus.

Quigonbond: Two questions - first, can the chief minister interfere with a matter that is Islamic in nature? Hassan should be careful to put the blame on Lim Guan Eng before getting his facts and laws right.

Second question - even assuming the Chief Minister's Office has the right to enforce as it deems fit, has the Penang government the right to enforce it against the Sikhs? I bet the answer is a resounding ‘no'.

Which reminds Malaysians again that five years of Pakatan Rakyat state administration is hardly enough to turn the tide of cynicism, extremism, corruption and abuse of power in Malaysia. I look forward to at least 10 to 15 years of Pakatan rule in federal power.

Onyourtoes: It is not just unconstitutional but a contempt of court since the appeal is still pending - so on what legal basis was the fatwa in Penang issued?

Wanderer: A bloke like Hassan, a so-called Muslim scholar, brings shame and confusion to Islam. The word Allah is used by so many religious faiths in other countries, yet the Muslims in those countries have never objected.

What makes Umno Muslims, marbles wipers here, more Muslim than the rest?

Senior: Are the Muslims here weaklings compared to Indonesia and the Arab countries that they need a fatwa on the word ‘Allah' so that their faith is not misled? I think not, but someone wants them to be more Muslim than Arabs and Indonesians.

AJ-N: I am Muslim, and this issue is really embarrassing. Malays, as usual, are behaving like the Jews, thinking they are special and discriminating all other races/religions in Malaysia. Indeed, this is a non-issue in Arab countries.

Hang Babeuf: Elsewhere in the world it is okay for non-Muslims to use ‘Allah', but here in Malaysia it cannot be used except by Muslims, and only for officially (government-) approved purposes?

It sounds crazy. It is crazy. Rules like that would be okay for a god who needs a passport, visa and landing card to travel across state boundaries.

But for a god who is considered a universal king and lord of the universe? That sounds a lot, but for some that's not enough.

If he is only that, they say, and the Malaysian government is something greater, then it is entitled to impose that condition on his mundane movements here and there.

They can try to impose that restriction. But meanwhile god travels where he pleases, without a passport, and under whatever name through which his faithful know, revere and honour him. Or her...

Imran Firdaus Zain: When did the Sikh religion come into being for it to use the word ‘Allah'?

Ubah lan: Imran Firdaus Zain, Sikhism was born before the Malays became Muslims. I don't think you have any doubts as to whether Christianity or Islam came first, or do you?

Oh, I forgot, in Malaysia, history can be rewritten, just like how the Hindu kingdoms of Malaysia are almost non-existent in our history books today.

Perplexed: Sikhism was born as a middle path when the Muslims and Hindus were busy killing each other 500 years ago in India.

Hence Sikhism is also commonly known as an amalgamation of the best of these two religions. That's why a Sikh temple has a dome structure. Want to ban that too?

Anonymous #06659895: If the word 'Allah' had been used by other religions prior before Islam, my question is who copy the word 'Allah' and from whom?

Abasir: Malaysian Gurdwaras Council president Jagir Singh said, "...the matter had only been politicised and made an issue in Malaysia since the late 1980s."

This is another one from former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad's long list of mischief to undermine the constitution.

James Dean: This Allah issue is a gift from Mahathir to all future Malaysian generations. BN will never be able to resolve this issue, and BN will not want it to be resolved.

Chandran Sukumaran: I doubt if it is written anywhere in the holy book that non-Muslims may not utter the word ‘Allah'. How can Malaysia progress if such a non-issue is being politicised? May Allah save Malaysia!

Ez24get: Hailam chicken rice is quite popular among the Malays - a dish whose recipe came from the non-Malays a long time ago.

Then comes one day, a ruling is passed that the name "hailam chicken rice" cannot be used by non-Malays as it is a dish enjoyed by the majority of Malays and they could confuse the popular hailam chicken rice prepared by the Malays with the other type of chicken rice eaten by the non-Malays.

Now taking a step further, non-Malays are subsequently banned from eating hailam chicken rice. Hailam chicken rice is just hailam chicken rice eaten without fuss in other countries and in the past in Malaysia.

Malays, all these while, never had problem in distinguishing halal hailam chicken rice from the non-halal hailam chicken rice. It's only the politicians who are creating the imaginary confusion for fear of losing power.

Geronimo: Just watch how Umno will react to this new situation. Earlier on, they came up with a cockamamie idea that it was okay for Sabah and Sarawak to use the word 'Allah' but not Christians in Semenanjung.

Now with the Sikhs joining in the fray, they will come out with a decision that the Sikhs can use the word, but not the Christians. And they are asking us why we are not voting for them. - Malaysiakini