I refer to the Malaysiakini report Another U-turn: Ban on 'Allah' in Christian publications remains .

It is reported that our home minister signed the order and it became effective on Feb 16 this year. This was done while a court case on the matter was undergoing judicial review.

On the administrative side, this kind of error is serious and unbecoming. This case has attracted the attention of the nation and is of national interest yet the home minister went ahead and signed such an order.

So we have the government making another U-turn. This kind of negligence on the part of the home minister is comical and at the same time ridiculous. It is an insult to the country on how the government makes decisions.

Looks like it is up to the whims and fancies of ministers to do whatever they want. Action should be taken against him for such negligence but I believe the home minister will get away scot-free as he is a top Umno leader.

From the religious perspective, I do not understand why the fuss over the ban in the first place. As a Muslim, the use of such words by other religions does not impact my faith in Allah.

Is our faith so shallow that we can succumb to other religions just because those religions use this word?

In Malaysia, other religions cannot have their dakwah ( preaching ) activities for Muslims but in other countries, there is no such law. Are we saying that many Muslims have been converted to other religions worldwide because they are confused over the use of the word ‘Allah’ by other religions ?

Do we see these very high conversion rates? Islam is the fastest-growing religion around the world and this testifies that Muslims can identify between Islam and other religions no matter what words are used.

Even in Arabic-speaking countries where this word is used, we do not hear of mass conversions or apostasy but instead, we hear of more people coming into the fold of Islam.

Having faith in Allah should be our fundamental. I've heard that this word has been used by Christians in other Arabic countries, in Indonesia and in many parts of the world.

If this is true, what is the real issue then for Malaysia? Is it just the ‘language’ used? Do we need the government to help us as Muslims to protect our faith? I find this insulting as a Muslim.

Though I'm a Muslim, I'm not an Islamic scholar and am not in the position to make theological comments. However,

1. It is claimed that the word ‘Allah’ has been used before the coming of Islam and predates the Islamic era.

2, It is claimed that the word ‘Allah’ is used by non-Muslim Arabs and is still being used up to the current time by them.

3. It is claimed that the word ‘Allah’ has been used by our Christian Orang Asli all the while since colonial times.

If the answer is ‘yes’ or true to all the above questions/statements and that other religions in Malaysia are not using this word to spread their religion to the Muslims, I find that the ban is not necessary logically.

In fact, it paints a bad picture that Islam is not a tolerant religion. The problem does not lie with Islam but with the people who act unwisely on the behalf of Islam, with the false perception that they are protecting Muslims or Islam.

This is why Islam is so misunderstood by the non-Islamic world, especially in the West.