We shall use the word till Kingdom comes.
SEVERAL years ago, the Malaysian Catholics responsible for the publication of their church’s publication, ‘The Herald’, were in trouble with the country’s law for using the word ‘Allah’ in its Bahasa Malaysia section. Unhappy leaders of the church in Malaysia went to court to seek justice relating to the freedom of religion in this country.
Indeed in the Federal Constitution (April 2006) – supreme law of the nation – two provisions are relevant: Article 3 and Article 11. While Article 3 proclaims that “Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation”, Article 11 allows “Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion, and subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.”
Clause (4) states: “State law and in respect of the federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, federal law may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam.”
Read together, these two provisions pretty much sum up what the freedom of religion means in the context of Malaysia – there’s freedom and there’s no freedom.
Three years ago, to prevent the evangelists from propagating their religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam, many copies of the Christian Bible in Bahasa Indonesia and imported by the Malaysian Christians for their own use here were detained by the religious authorities, but were later released after each copy had been stamped: “For use by the Christians only”. Problem solved.
Yet another consignment of copies of the same Alkitab was also seized – this time by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais). These have not yet been handed back to their rightful owners for reason(s) yet to be disclosed. Can’t they be similarly stamped and released, please?
Fear of the Word
Subject to correction, there appears to me that there is genuine fear among some Muslims in the country of accidentally reading the Bible or the page of a Christian publication in Bahasa Malaysia where the word ‘Allah’ appears; so fearful are they it seems, that this word may have the effect of shaking their faith in Islam.
So in order to avoid this accidental discovery, the Arabic word should be deleted from the Christian Bible and other Christian publications if written in Bahasa Melayu, in the national language which has been accepted by Malaysians of all colour and creed and which has been taught in all schools since the formation of Malaysia.
In due time the High Court decided that ‘The Herald’ could use the word ‘Allah’. Many thought the problem was solved. But on appeal, the higher court reversed that decision. Confusion reigned! Despondency reigned! And the obiter dictum allegedly made by a judge of the Court of Appeal to the effect that the word ‘Allah’ was not an integral part of Christianity (“Bukan aspek penting Kristian” – Utusan Malaysia, Oct 15, 2013) touched on a raw nerve of the whole Christian community in the country, especially those in Sarawak and Sabah, whose people were so used to the enjoyment of freedom of religion long before Malaysia came into being. Despondency set in!
Now every time they pray to God for the repose of the dead using that Arabic word, they are deemed to have committed a crime of sorts. Every time members of the Bahasa Malaysia congregation sing a hymn in praise of the glory of God, they wonder if the language is the proper language acceptable to Him. All the texts of sermons, liturgy and other written materials in Bahasa Malaysia have reverent reference to the Almighty in that name. What are you going to do about them?
So what began with an issue over a word in a publication became the concerns of not only of the Roman Catholics but also of the Christians of other denominations in Malaysia.
Convert the 10-point Solution to legislation
Sensing the danger of religious polarisation with potentially adverse political ramifications for the country, the federal cabinet scrambled a trouble-prevention formula styled the 10-Point Solution with the objective of assuring the Christians of Sarawak and Sabah that they could continue using the word ‘Allah’ to refer to the Almighty God in their religious practices. They can even import the Bible printed outside the country. The assurances by the politicians in power of this freedom to retain the status quo have been pronounced from time to time. They are much appreciated.
However, the solution is of a temporary nature – a stopgap political measure, at best. Something more concrete is required, I submit: a piece of legislation to guarantee the enjoyment of freedom of religion in Sarawak and Sabah – to a situation that existed before 1963; in the case of Sarawak, since the Anglican Mission came in 1848!
Exactly a year today, I wrote about this squabbling over an Arabic word. I was hoping that the court would have settled the issue once and for all by now, if the religious bodies themselves could not solve the problem. Unfortunately, there appears to be no end soon to this quarrel over the use of a word in holy literature. That bothers many people, me included. If it does an ordinary layman, then it is a serious problem indeed if this concern is expressed by a high ranking priest, a leader of a large number of Christians in this country.
For instance, in a recent sermon, His Grace, Datuk Bolly Lapok, Archbishop of the Anglican Province of Southeast Asia poured his heart to his flock, who are on the horns of a man-made dilemma. Referring to the court decision banning the use of the word ‘Allah’ by Christians in Malaysia, he said: “For the sake of peace, it is tempting to accept the decision, to give the other cheek; after all, scripture (Romans 13) urges us to be ‘subject to the governing authorities’ and to constantly seek for the welfare of the nation.” “But,” he added, “to the natives of Sarawak and Sabah the impact of the court decision is far-reaching. To them, the issue at stake is more than religious sensitivities whether one is a Christian or not.”
His Grace continued: “The word is part and parcel of our language and embedded in every aspect of our culture. It is in our writing, speaking and dreaming. In other words, it is in our language and cultural DNA. We feel that there has been a miscarriage of justice; it is insidious; it is tantamount to an act of language and cultural genocide. Never before have we felt so disenfranchised, so alienated and so dispossessed in our own country.”
Strong words of lamentation, these! They were uttered for us all to ponder upon, to make sense of it all, and to find a solution or a formula whereby the controversy may be interred permanently, if the courts of law could not help us out in this potentially divisive wedge of our society.
Reading the pulse of his flock correctly, he continued, “The vast majority of the natives are naive, ignorant of their own rights, dependent, vulnerable as lambs are … Many are completely oblivious to the dynamics that are making them pawns and victims of the political hegemony of the day. They cannot understand why certain people take offence when all they do is simple living and praying the way they have been for generations. It is as if we natives are banned for who or what we are.”
The Archbishop also assured us of the Church’s role in this issue.
Listen. “For the church to keep silent about the ban is not only irresponsible but a denial of her holy calling to be the salt and the light of the earth, to serve, to feed the lambs.”
Calling the court’s decision a political expediency that “has won over what traditionally characterises the Malaysian society – moderate, tolerant, friendly, gracious, generous”, he repeated his well-known line: “We shall use the word till Kingdom comes.”
What a portrait of moral courage characteristic of a true Malaysian who has no political gallery to play to except his flock, among whom are many admirers of the effective leadership of a good Shepherd!
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