Malaysia: Non Muslims not permitted to use the word “Allah”

A Christian newspaper in Malaysia may not use the word “Allah” to refer to God, a court has ruled, in a landmark decision on a matter that has fanned religious tension and raised questions over minority rights.

Monday’s unanimous decision by three Muslim judges in Malaysia’s appeals court overturned a 2009 ruling by a lower court that allowed the Malay language version of the newspaper the Herald to use the word Allah – as many Christians in Malaysia say has been the case for centuries. Read Article