PAS today stated its stance that the Malay version of Bible should replace the word ‘God’ with ‘Tuhan’ and not ‘Allah’ to embody the true meaning of the Bible’s original text.

“As the Malay version of Bible is the direct translation of the English version, thus the word ‘God’ does not mean ‘Allah’ because the precise translation would be ‘Tuhan,” said PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in a statement today.

The same stance has been stated by the party’s secretary-general Mustafa Ali in a report in Malay daily Sinar Harian today.

Tuan Ibrahim said that the translation of the word ‘God’ into ‘Allah’ would confuse the Christians and Muslims and raise dissatisfaction among the latter.

“It has to be remembered, that for the Muslims, the word ‘Allah’ is a specific name in which its sanctity should be preserved. It is not to be thrown all over the place, or used in unworthy situations...,” he elaborated.

Tuan Ibrahim stressed it is inappropriate to use ‘Allah’ in the Malay version of the Bible, arguing that even the westerners do not use ‘Allah’ to depict God but instead use the term ‘Lord’.

“Although the use is not against the knowledge and cultural tradition among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians), it would be best to avoid blunder or any confusion and polemic,” he added.

This official party stance is contrary to DAP’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s statement on Monday in which he urged the federal government to allow the Christians in Sabah and Sarawak to use the word ‘Allah’ in their Malay version Bible.

Hadi: Term is not restricted only to Muslims

However, the Islamic party’s president Abdul Hadi Awang reportedly said in 2010 that the use of ‘Allah’ is not restricted only to the Muslims, and that Christians and Jews are allowed to use the term.

He was also quoted as saying that the word should not be used in any wrong or irresponsible manner that may jeopardise racial and religious harmony in Malaysia.

Catholic weekly The Herald in 2009 got into trouble with the Home Ministry when its Malay edition used the word ‘Allah’ to refer to God in Christianity.

However in a landmark judgment in December 2009, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that the Home Ministry’s blanket ban on the use of the word ‘Allah’ is illegal.

The ruling, which triggered a series of arson attacks on churches nationwide in the following month, was then suspended pending an appeal from the BN government that argued that the word ‘Allah’ was exclusive to Muslims.

The appeal is still pending in the appeal court.

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