Malaysia’s top court: ‘Allah’ for Muslims only

A Muslim man prays during a protest outside the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, June 23, 2014. The Federal Court on Monday refused to grant leave to hear the appeal by the Catholic church over the word Allah in its newspaper. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) A Muslim man prays during a protest outside the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Monday, June 23, 2014. The Federal Court on Monday refused to grant leave to hear the appeal by the Catholic church over the word Allah in its newspaper. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

By Associated Press June 23, 2014 2 min read

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) – Malaysia’s top court on Monday upheld a government ban forbidding non-Muslims from using “Allah” to refer to God, rejecting an appeal by the Roman Catholic Church that argued that the ban failed to consider the rights of minorities in the mostly Muslim nation.

In a 4-3 decision, the Federal Court ruled that the church’s newspaper has no grounds to appeal a lower court decision last year that kept it from using “Allah” in its Malay-language weekly publication.

Although the Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the ruling is expected to reinforce frequent complaints from Christians, Buddhist and Hindu minorities that non-Muslims do not always get fair treatment from the government and courts – accusations the government denies.

“We are disappointed. The four judges who denied us the right to appeal did not touch on fundamental basic rights of minorities?,” said Rev. Lawrence Andrew, editor of The Herald, the newspaper at the center of the controversy.

“It will confine the freedom of worship,” he added. “We are a minority in this country, and when our rights are curtailed, people feel it.”