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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Landmark Malaysian 'Allah' ruling | Landmark Malaysian 'Allah' ruling |
| (about 18 hours later) | |
| A court in Malaysia has ruled that Christians have a constitutional right to use the word Allah to refer to God. | |
| The High Court said a government ban on non-Muslims using the word was unconstitutional. | The High Court said a government ban on non-Muslims using the word was unconstitutional. |
| The court was ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Herald, a publication of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, in 2007. | The court was ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Herald, a publication of the Catholic Church in Malaysia, in 2007. |
| The authorities had insisted that Allah in the Malay language refers only to the God in Islam, which could only be used by Muslims. | |
| The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur said some Muslim groups suspect the Catholic Church is seeking to encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity - a move which is illegal in Malaysia. | The BBC's Jennifer Pak in Kuala Lumpur said some Muslim groups suspect the Catholic Church is seeking to encourage Muslims to convert to Christianity - a move which is illegal in Malaysia. |
| 'Glorious new year' | 'Glorious new year' |
| The issue had become a symbol of a growing number of religious grievances among minority groups, in a political environment often divided along racial and religious lines, our correspondent adds. | The issue had become a symbol of a growing number of religious grievances among minority groups, in a political environment often divided along racial and religious lines, our correspondent adds. |
| The Herald filed for a judicial review after it was ordered in 2007 to stop referring to Allah in its publication. | |
| The publication said it had been been using the word for decades, and had a constitutional right to do so. | The publication said it had been been using the word for decades, and had a constitutional right to do so. |
| The Herald welcomed Thursday's ruling, saying it would be a "glorious new year for some 850,000 Catholics in Malaysia". | The Herald welcomed Thursday's ruling, saying it would be a "glorious new year for some 850,000 Catholics in Malaysia". |
| More than half of Malaysia's population is Muslim but the large Chinese and Indian communities are mainly Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. | More than half of Malaysia's population is Muslim but the large Chinese and Indian communities are mainly Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. |