Six state Islamic councils and a Chinese Muslim group want the Roman Catholic Church’s appeal over the ‘Allah’ issue at the Federal Court to be dismissed, citing that the Court of Appeal had made a finding of fact.

In affidavits obtained by Malaysiakini , the group said that the questions of law posed by the Catholic Church in its leave to appeal application had failed to meet the requirements set by the apex court for it to grant permission to hear the appeal.

The Federal Court, they argued, should look at the unanimous judgment by the Court of Appeal as they have made a finding of fact, namely the Home Ministry had from 1986 to 2009 consistently told the Roman Catholic archbishop that the use of ‘Allah’ in place of ‘God’ in Catholic weekly The Herald would result in “uneasiness” among Malaysian Muslims.

"This in turn will affect the security and safety of the country. It would be a waste of time for the court if permission is allowed to hear the appeal,” they added in their affidavits to oppose the church’s appeal.

“Furthermore, the applicant (Roman Catholic archbishop) had failed to prove the usage of ‘Allah’ in Bahasa Malaysia by the Christian community here for generations instead of ‘God’ used in the English language,” they said.

The state Islamic councils comprising those of Terengganu, Kedah, Johor, Malacca, Federal Territory and Selangor, as well as the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association, are opposing the church’s appeal.

26 questions of law

They also claimed that the questions raised by the archbishop do not cover the principles of a judicial review.

It was reported that the Roman Catholic Church has filed 26 questions of law in its leave to appeal application.

The 26 issues raised fall broadly into three categories:

  • Constitutional questions regarding Article 3 on the position of Islam, and Article 12 on freedom of religion.

 

  • The minister had acted beyond its powers in limiting fundamental liberties.

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  • And whether the court can decide on comparative religious issues based on Internet research.
    • In civil cases at the Federal Court, leave or permission has to be granted before an appeal can be heard.

    On Oct 14, the appellate court overturned the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision in not allowing the use of ‘Allah’ by The Herald , where it ruled the court had to protect Islam and the Malays in disallowing its usage in Peninsular Malaysia.

    The Federal Court has fixed Feb 24 next year to hear the Roman Catholic Church's application to appeal the case in the country's highest court.