Islam and the Near East in the Far East, Page 27

Malaysian Religious Controversy Arouses Contradictory Responses

By John Gee

Fires in places of worship, as well as efforts at encouraging religious understanding have both followed from a controversy over who has the right to use the word “Allah” in Malay-language writings.

Some Malay Muslims argue that “Allah” is a specifically Islamic term, and should not be used by Christians, as that could confuse Muslims.

A ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah” was introduced in 2007. This was contested by the Roman Catholic church, whose publication The Herald regularly used the term in its Malay-language section to refer to God. The term had been in use in Arabic since before the preaching of Islam, the church has argued, and was the most appropriate one to use in Malay.

The controversy has probably mystified many of the Arabs who have heard about it, as Arab Christians have customarily used the term over the centuries without objection from their Muslim neighbors. After all, the Bible was translated into Arabic before it was translated into Anglo-Saxon or French, and “Allah” was, uncontroversially, the standard term for God.

Within Malaysia, however, the issue has tended to polarize opinion. It has been claimed by some analysts that the government instituted the ban in the first place as a way of seeking to rally Malay Muslim support, and is now trying to distance itself from an issue that has proved very divisive, among Muslims as well as in the country at large.

The 2007 ban was instituted by then-Home Affairs Minister Syed Hamid Albar, and subsequently championed by supporters of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the dominant party in the government. Since the ruling coalition suffered its biggest ever electoral losses in 2008, however, some party leaders, including Prime Minister Najib Razak, seemed to have become anxious to defuse the conflict. There were real fears of an escalation of communal violence, with serious consequences for Malaysia’s internal cohesion and international standing.

The 2007 ruling was one element in the alienation of support for UMNO’s non-Muslim coalition partners, which were seen as being ineffectual in countering measures regarded as consistently favoring Muslims over non-Muslims. Now the government is anxious to encourage the rebuilding of electoral support for Chinese and Indian allied parties, but hindered by its refusal to engage in the kind of give and take that would allow them to have more credibility in their respective communities. (Although the Malaysian Indian Congress has been so seriously damaged by allegations of corruption against its leader that the government’s main hope seems to lie in the creation of a new Indian allied party.) In the past, there was an assumption that the government could count on Chinese and Indian fears of the Islamic Party, PAS, to keep voters turning out for its allied parties, regardless of what they could deliver to their supporters, but the 2008 elections showed that this was no longer the case.

Arab Christians have customarily used the term “Allah” over the centuries.

The issue flared up after the Malaysian High Court on Dec. 31 ruled in favor of the Catholic church’s appeal against the ban. The ensuing three weeks saw protests by those who wanted the ban reinstated, and 16 attacks on religious institutions—13 against Christian churches and schools, one against a Sikh temple and two against mosques. This was despite the High Court’s suspension of its order on Jan. 6, in agreement with the original parties to the legal case.

Far from trying to bid for the sympathies of pro-ban supporters by taking a more radical position than the government, PAS, UMNO’s chief rival for Malay support, took a strong stand for conciliation. In a written statement issued on Jan. 4, President Hadi Awang said, “PAS would like to state that, based on Islamic principles, the use of the word ”˜Allah’ by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism is acceptable.” He added that the word must not be misused “so as not to affect racial and religious harmony in the country.”

Nik Aziz Nik Mat, PAS’ highly respected spiritual leader, subsequently spoke up in favor of a dialogue to seek to resolve the dispute peacefully.

UMNO Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin suggested that representatives of the government’s fatwa council and the Catholic church should meet to try to resolve the question outside the law courts.

For many Malay Muslims who favor the ban, the underlying issue is a belief that various Christian groups have an agenda of proselytization, and that their using the term “Allah” is a means for evangelists to approach Muslims through words and concepts already familiar to them. Ironically, the Catholic church doesn’t seek to proselytize among Muslims, but feels worst hit by the ban.

Muse vs. “The Clash of Civilizations”

Reckoned by some to be the best live band in the world, the British trio Muse went on their latest international tour at the beginning of the year. On Feb. 3 they were in Singapore, where this fan went to see them perform before an enthusiastic audience of 11,000 people at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Seven of the 18 songs they performed were from their latest album, “The Resistance,” including “United States of Eurasia,” which takes aim at the “clash of civilizations” approach to international relations. Songwriter Matthew Bellamy was reportedly moved to compose the piece after reading Zbigniew Brzezinski’s The Grand Chessboard, which he saw as describing plans to give the U.S. control of Eurasia and its resources for the next century.

There’s a lot thrown into the song and, while it is not a political tract, it is fairly clear what it opposes and supports. What does “And these wars they can’t be won” refer to other than the current U.S.-UK military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan? The system of confinement without trial centered on Guantanamo is implied by “You and me fall in line, To be punished for unproven crimes.” An Arab-sounding theme recurs in the music, as if to underline the inclusiveness of the song’s appeal.

This may not have been noted widely among most people who follow Middle Eastern affairs closely, but it must have been by millions of fans worldwide.

John Gee is a free-lance journalist based in Southeast Asia, and the author of Unequal Conflict: The Palestinians and Israel.