On May 11, 2008, Jill Ireland, a member of the Melanau tribe in Sarawak, landed at the low cost carrier terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, carrying with her eight compact disks containing Christian educational materials in the Indonesian language and intended for her personal use.
The CDs were confiscated by customs authorities on the basis that they contained the word Allah to denote the Christian god. It has become the third of three cases the government would probably like to forget.
Six years later, Ireland is still trying to get her CDs back. It is one of three major cases involving the Allah controversy. The case was supposed to come before Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Zaleha Yusoff on May 15. Yusoff, however, went on leave, raising questions whether the government would prefer that the case stay on the back burner. The case now has been deferred to June 30.
The Allah issue has earned the country widespread international ridicule and is tearing apart the multi-racial and multi-religious fabric of Malaysian society. It is the only Muslim country in the world, including all of the Arab nations and Indonesia, that bars Christian use of the word. Language scholars point out that it was used as a Christian name for God in the Middle East before Islam came into being.
The High Court actually granted Ireland leave for judicial review on May 4, 2009 – five years ago. But the hearing for the legal battle has yet to begin. It is a particularly thorny one for the government because as Ireland has said repeatedly, the compact disks, which are perfectly legal in Indonesia, where they were made, were for her personal use. Full story...
Related posts:
The CDs were confiscated by customs authorities on the basis that they contained the word Allah to denote the Christian god. It has become the third of three cases the government would probably like to forget.
Six years later, Ireland is still trying to get her CDs back. It is one of three major cases involving the Allah controversy. The case was supposed to come before Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Zaleha Yusoff on May 15. Yusoff, however, went on leave, raising questions whether the government would prefer that the case stay on the back burner. The case now has been deferred to June 30.
The Allah issue has earned the country widespread international ridicule and is tearing apart the multi-racial and multi-religious fabric of Malaysian society. It is the only Muslim country in the world, including all of the Arab nations and Indonesia, that bars Christian use of the word. Language scholars point out that it was used as a Christian name for God in the Middle East before Islam came into being.
The High Court actually granted Ireland leave for judicial review on May 4, 2009 – five years ago. But the hearing for the legal battle has yet to begin. It is a particularly thorny one for the government because as Ireland has said repeatedly, the compact disks, which are perfectly legal in Indonesia, where they were made, were for her personal use. Full story...
Related posts:
- Malaysia's Allah issue seen from afar...
- Malaysian church attacked amid Allah dispute...
- Allah: Malaysia's God problem erupts, tarnishing moderate image...
- Call to burn Bibles heightens Malaysian election tensions...
- Christians in Malaysia to be banned from using the word "Allah..."
- Malaysia seizes 15,000 Bibles...
- Malaysia bans Erykah Badu show over 'Allah tattoos'
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