Stay calm and respect judicial process, Home Minister says after High Court ruling on use of 'Allah'

PUTRAJAYA: The Home Minister has called for calm and for all parties to respect the country’s legal and judicial process following a High Court ruling that Christians are allowed to use the word “Allah” in their religious publications for educational purposes.

Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the public should not speculate or make assumptions on the court’s decision.

“The ministry will decide on the next course of action after we obtain the written judgment from the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

“In the meantime, I call on everyone to remain calm and not to speculate, ” he said on Thursday (March 11).

Aside from “Allah”, the High Court had made a ruling on March 10 that Christians nationwide can use three other Arabic words - Baitullah, Kaabah and solat.

This came following the decision by Justice Nor Bee Ariffin, who allowed a judicial review by a Christian woman of Melanau descent, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill, to exercise her constitutional rights of practising her religion in the country.

In 2008, Customs officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang had seized from Jill Ireland, a clerk, eight CDs entitled “Cara Hidup Dalam Kerajaan Allah”, “Hidup Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah” and “Ibadah Yang Benar Dalam Kerajaan Allah”.

Jill Ireland then filed for a judicial review to challenge the seizure of the CDs as well as seeking declarations from the court that her constitutional rights were violated, among others.

Muafakat Nasional comprising Umno and PAS has urged that the High Court’s ruling on the use of the Islamic words be referred to the Court of Appeal.