The Court of Appeal (CoA), as expected, has reversed the Kuala Lumpur High Court decision on the use of ‘Allah’ by Catholic weekly The Herald.
The CoA, however, took a long time to hear and decide on the appeal, and this has enabled the general election to be safely tucked away without anyone having to worry about any adverse effect the decision might have had, had it been delivered earlier.
Before my fellow-Muslims think that the decision is a great victory for them, I must urge them to think properly. The decision may be a big victory for some Muslim NGOs or Nasharuddin Mat Isa, Ibrahim Ali(right) and Hassan Ali, but for the rest of the Ummah it will matter very little.
The decision binds only The Herald. How many Muslims read it? How many are threatened by anything besides their own insecurities?
Besides, someone can always produce another publication with a new name and the controversy will start all over again.
The CoA, however, took a long time to hear and decide on the appeal, and this has enabled the general election to be safely tucked away without anyone having to worry about any adverse effect the decision might have had, had it been delivered earlier.
Before my fellow-Muslims think that the decision is a great victory for them, I must urge them to think properly. The decision may be a big victory for some Muslim NGOs or Nasharuddin Mat Isa, Ibrahim Ali(right) and Hassan Ali, but for the rest of the Ummah it will matter very little.The decision binds only The Herald. How many Muslims read it? How many are threatened by anything besides their own insecurities?
Besides, someone can always produce another publication with a new name and the controversy will start all over again.
The home minister will issue yet another directive that the new publication is ‘against public order’ and lawyers will be busy, as will Ibrahim Ali and his gang. Yet another public quarrel will ensue, and this will go on and on.
The CoA decision is limited to The Herald alone. This does not, and should not, mean that Christians are prohibited from using ‘Allah’ in their prayers, or that they are prohibited at all in Sabah and Sarawak.
The CoA decision is limited to The Herald alone. This does not, and should not, mean that Christians are prohibited from using ‘Allah’ in their prayers, or that they are prohibited at all in Sabah and Sarawak.
Christians beyondThe Herald (and Catholics too), can still use that Name whenever they want to, and in any celebration they have.
Of course, some Muslim NGOs will counter this new situation and go to court yet again to stop all Christians, regardless of denomination, from using ‘Allah’ on any occasion, religious or otherwise.
They will probably seek to widen the scope of the original government order to include prohibiting Christians and other non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’ at all under any circumstance. What about Sikhs? Sikhs can’t be bound by an order limited to a single Catholic newspaper.
The CoA has also ventured into new territory, although I shall let my colleagues who are more learned in this part of the law dissect the judgement.
All I can gather from the CoA decision is this: Islam has primacy over other faiths and, if Muslims are upset about some part of the practice of non-Muslims - and the minister issues an order to stop non-Muslims from that practice - then the order is considered ‘valid’. The CoA has also made it clear that it will never disagree with the minister’s order.
How will this be enforced?
Religious people fear God more than the courts, whether they are Muslims or not. This judgment means nothing to the God-fearing Christians.
Of course, some Muslim NGOs will counter this new situation and go to court yet again to stop all Christians, regardless of denomination, from using ‘Allah’ on any occasion, religious or otherwise.
They will probably seek to widen the scope of the original government order to include prohibiting Christians and other non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’ at all under any circumstance. What about Sikhs? Sikhs can’t be bound by an order limited to a single Catholic newspaper.
The CoA has also ventured into new territory, although I shall let my colleagues who are more learned in this part of the law dissect the judgement.
All I can gather from the CoA decision is this: Islam has primacy over other faiths and, if Muslims are upset about some part of the practice of non-Muslims - and the minister issues an order to stop non-Muslims from that practice - then the order is considered ‘valid’. The CoA has also made it clear that it will never disagree with the minister’s order.
How will this be enforced?
Religious people fear God more than the courts, whether they are Muslims or not. This judgment means nothing to the God-fearing Christians.
The court can declare whatever it wants and some Christians (and those of other faiths, and perhaps Muslims too) will do whatever religion requires of them, regardless of the cost to themselves or others.
Religion has that effect on some people. It can drive emotion beyond reason.
But many regular Christians believe that ‘Allah’ is the right Name for God. They will continue to use that Name and the Courts will not be able to do anything about it. How can anyone initiate contempt proceedings against so many people?
But many regular Christians believe that ‘Allah’ is the right Name for God. They will continue to use that Name and the Courts will not be able to do anything about it. How can anyone initiate contempt proceedings against so many people?
The courts will then look stupid - how do will they enforce such orders? This is the scenario I foresee happening in the coming years of this so-called 1Malaysia. Silly things will continue.Likewise, Muslims will fight this ‘battle’ for years to come, and they will be so preoccupied by this war over God’s Name against Christians and other infidels that no one will have little time left for education, their families and their general economic improvement.
This is why I sometimes think that this is all part of the Jewish-Freemason-Communist-Illuminati-American-Martian (insert favourite bugbear here) conspiracy—to sidetrack the Muslims, Christians, and everyone else from focusing on what truly matters in life.
We are made to think that we need to continue to fight great battles and to seek great victories. Maybe we want to think it.
Get real.
ZAID IBRAHIM, a lawyer by training, was involved in politics for a time. This article is reproduced from his blog ‘The Zaidgeist’.
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