The decision of the judicial review filed by the Roman Catholic Church over the Home Ministry's blanket ban on the use of the word ‘Allah', which was to be announced today, has been put off to tomorrow.

According to The Herald editor Father Lawrence Andrew, he was informed about the postponement earlier.

He told Malaysiakini that the reason given for the delay is because the judge "needed more time" to deliberate on the issue.

Earlier this month, High Court judge Lau Bee Lan set today as the date for her decision on the landmark case.

The Catholic Church is seeking to set aside the Home Ministry's blanket ban on the use of the word ‘Allah' in any non-Islamic publication used in context other than to refer to ‘Allah' as in the Islamic name for the one and true God.

The church contends that the word ‘Allah' is a generic term for God and is seeking the right to use the word in its weekly Herald publication which is distributed to Catholics at churches in Malaysia.

It argued that the word ‘Allah' is not exclusive to the religion of Islam and it is widely used by indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

To avoid confusion

The Home Ministry has issued a blanket ban in 2007 on the use of the word ‘Allah' in all publications that does not pertain to Islam or if it is being used to refer to God in the context of other religions.

The government ban has seen various books, including several translations of the Bible, being banned from the country.

The home minister had justified the ban on grounds of national security and to avoid misunderstanding and confusion among Muslims.