Renowned constitution law expert Abdul Aziz Bari joined the chorus of voices applauding High Court judge Lau Bee Lan's decision to overturn the Home Ministry's ban on the use of the word 'Allah' in the Malay language version of Catholic weekly The Herald last Thursday.

"I have yet to see the written judgment by the judge. But in a way, I think it is in line with the constitution; I believe human right provisions must be read in a liberal way whenever possible to facilitate freedom."

NONE However, the UIA law professor cautioned that as the right to religious freedom under the constitution is not absolute, all parties should remain calm and avoid making unnecessary statements and celebrations which could provoke anger and stoke contentious sentiments.

He added, "This issue involves more than just constitutional provisions. It also involves some delicate points concerning theology and the very precepts of religions."

As such, Abdul Aziz ( right ) called upon religious scholars or ulamas qualified to discuss and talk on the issue to come forward and give the correct and proper explanations to the public.

This, he said, is so that the people would have the "benefit of an informed and mature discourse".

In any case, he said that it is good to see some Muslims applauding the decision of the High Court.

"In my view, it appears that this has some basis in the Quran; especially in the literal reading of the relevant verses."

Baggage of the past

However, he admitted that this would require further clarification from religious experts and Islamic scholars.

Whatever the case, Abdul Aziz stressed that the decision in particular, and the controversy in general, ought to be seen and placed in the proper context.

"We are carrying a certain baggage of the past and this is another aspect that we ought to remember," he said, cautioning that there are sensitivities that we must consider".

On Thursday, Justice Lau Bee Lan of the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the judicial review application by the Catholic Church to set aside the Home Ministry's blanket ban on the use of the word 'Allah' as a direct translation for the world God in its Malay language version of church published weekly, The Herald .

She said that Catholic weekly can use the word 'Allah' and that the term is not exclusive to Islam, citing that "even though Islam is the federal religion, it does not empower the respondents to prohibit the use of the word."

The Home Ministry had invoked concerns of national security and said that the ban was to avert any confusion that could ensue should non-Islamic publications use the word 'Allah' as a substitute for 'God'.

The ministry asserted that 'Allah' was exclusive to Islam as a term for the 'one true God'. Hence, other religions could not use it as a generic term.

missionary school 241207 church The Catholic Church, in filing the judicial review, however, disputed this and argued that the word 'Allah' predates Islam as a generic term for 'God' and has been in use in many places, even in the Middle East.

It added that in Malaysia, the term 'Allah' is widely used among indigenous Christian tribes in Sabah and Sarawak.

The Herald , circulated among the country's 850,000 Catholics, nearly lost its publishing licence last year for using the word 'Allah'. The paper is printed in four languages, with a circulation of 14,000 copies a week.