If Muslims are so careful about choosing halal food, how could they possibly be confused over the use of the word ‘Allah', argues Asri Mohd Zainal Abidin.

Speaking to Malaysiakini , the maverick former Perlis mufti said, "For Muslims, when it comes to nasi lemak prepared by non-Muslims, they would not buy it because they are sensitive about their food."

"If it' NONE s just nasi lemak and they would not buy it, they would certainly not use Allah to refer to the Christian God, they would refer to the Islamic God," Asri ( left ) added.

Last Dec, the Kuala Lumpur High Court quashed a three-year Home Ministry ban against the use of the term 'Allah' by the Herald , a weekly Catholic publication.

The ruling sparked anger in Muslim NGOs, protesting that the word is exclusive to Islam and that the ruling would sow confusion among Muslims.

Among those holding such views is Malaysian Muslim Consumer Association (PPIM) president Ma'amor Osman who believes that 'Allah' should only be used in the context of the God for Muslims.

"We feel that this (use of ‘Allah' by non-Muslims) will cause confusion and worse still if it has a motive to provoke or propagate (their religion)," he said.

protest israel penang 020109 teras president azmi abdul hamid Sharing similar sentiments, Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid ( right ) from Malay NGO Teras said the ruling will cause more confusion and could trigger disagreements that could undermine the harmony among people of all faiths.

However, departing from these views, Asri has taken the stance that non-Muslims should be allowed to use the word 'Allah' but with guidelines.

"The issue is not in the use of the word ‘Allah' but rather in the misuse of it," he stressed.

Allah in words or in writings?

On suggestions that Christians be allowed the verbal use of the word ‘Allah' , both Ma'amor and Azmi expressed disapproval.

Drawing an analogy of the difference between a real gun and a toy gun, Ma'amor said: "Anyone who uses the word ‘Allah', has to abide by its real meaning. Be it verbally or in writing."

Similarly, Azmi stressed that regardless of where it is used, Allah cannot be linked to the trinity concept.

NONE "If the word ‘Tuhan' (God) can more accurately reflect the concept of trinity, why use ‘Allah' which will create dispute with Islam?" he offered.

However, Asri feels that verbal usage is not a problem but had some reservations over its use in publications.

"Basically, when they (Christians) say the word ‘Allah' they are referring to the supreme being," he said.

Elaborating on publications, Asri said: "If its just their prayer books, I don't think we should prevent how people pray."

Acknowledging the grey area in publications, he stressed that usage such as the use of the term ‘Allah' to refer to idols would be unacceptable and urged guidelines in this regard.

Deciding on how to discuss

When asked about the need to set up an inter-faith council, the three men had similar views but their reasons differed.

"The mechanism (for dialogue) already exists, be it formal or informal. Therefore , there is no need for an Inter-faith Council (IFC)," said Azmi.

However, Ma'amor has a less than favourable perception of the proposed council.

"I don't quite agree... about IFC, they used to make a lot of demands and most of the demands were fulfilled by the government... What more do they want?" he said.

"Maybe we can have a council but it should not have any authoritative powers," he added.

For Asri the format of discussion is irrelevant.

"I think if we put too much emphasis on the official format, nothing will come out of it. Tomorrow people will oppose the format, about the name. Let's just come and discuss first."

Drawing an example with the recent muzakarah (discussion) at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim), he pointed out that many people were emotional, but after hearing PAS president Hadi Awang, the PKR bureau of religious understanding chief Muhd Nor Manuty and also his arguments, they were more calm and understood why they did not oppose the use of the word by non-Muslim and instead wanted guidelines.

VIDEO | 8 mins