Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria has urged Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom to resign for failing to take action against a Christian leader who is insisting that Christians be allowed to use the word 'Allah' to refer to God.

"The court had already made a decision, what is he (Jamil) waiting for? If he is so weak to be a minister, then my suggestion is to resign," he was quoted as saying in an Utusan Malaysia report.

He was referring to the decision made by the Court of Appeal which overturned a High Court declaration that the Home Ministry's ban on Christian publication The Herald from using the word 'Allah', as unconstitutional.

The Court of Appeal upheld the ministry's ban and ruled that the word 'Allah' was not integral to the Christian faith. The Catholic church is appealing the matter at the Federal Court.

The publication's editor, Lawrence Andrew, has insisted that Christians will continue to use the word 'Allah' in their worship.

In the report, Harussani accused Lawrence of challenging the court's decision as well as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong who is the head of Islam.

'Don't return the copies of the Bible'

Meanwhile, PAS ulama chief Harun Taib has urged the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) not to return the copies of the Malay-language Bible containing the word 'Allah' which it seized from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) on Jan 2.

"I do not agree that all the seized (copies of the) Bible which contain the word 'Allah' should be returned; do not return them. I support Jais' seizure of the Al-Kitabs.

                

"We do not care... if the copies of the Bible do not have the 'Allah' word then it should be returned, but if it clearly uses 'Allah' then there is no reason why they should be returned," he was quoted as saying in a separate Utusan Malaysia report.

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim had ordered Jais to return the copies of the Malay-language Bible containing the word 'Allah' if it complied with the federal government's 10-point solution.

Under the 10-point solution approved by the cabinet in 2011, Christians in Sabah and Sarawak are allowed free use of versions of the Bible which contain the word 'Allah’, however in the peninsula, the holy book must contain a "For Christians Only" stamp.