Malaysian PM calls for calm - Protests over 'Allah' ruling

http://www.heraldmalaysia.com/news/storydetails.php/Malaysian-PM-calls-for-calm-after-protests-over--'Allah-'-ruling/3711-1-1

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has appealed to fellow Muslims to remain calm as 13 non-governmental organisations protested against the use of the word 'Allah' in a Catholic weekly, the Herald.


http://news.yahoo.co...alaysia_allah_1

The Catholic Church, which publishes a Malay version of its newspaper, The Herald, says that it uses the word "Allah" for the Christian God to meet the needs of its Malay speaking worshippers on the island of Borneo.

"There should not be a cause for concern because some people have got the idea that we are out to convert (Muslims), but not at all, there is no question of this," Father Lawrence Andrew, the newspaper's editor, told Reuters.

http://www.heraldmal...lah’/3703-2-1

... Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat has come out in support of the Catholic weekly Herald use of ‘Allah’ to describe the Christian God in the national language, saying it was permissible for those following the Abrahamic faith.

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The government has said it will appeal against the ruling. A group has already started a Facebook group to get the government to reverse the ruling.

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However, others including influential cleric and former Perlis mufti Dr Asri Zainal Abidin, have supported the ruling, saying all are encouraged to follow Allah.

I read somewhere a while ago that to greet a Malay (by legal definition he is a Muslim) with Salam aleikhum when you're not a Muslim yourself, was something that wasn't appreciated. More offensive than an actual offence.

Salam aleikhum is just an Arabic greeting that means "peace be upon you". It's not a religious greeting. Non-Islamic Arabs would use it.

Uncle Gweilo, on 04 January 2010 - 10:05 PM, said:

True, in Malaysia it is used mostly among Muslims generally. But it depends on you and depends who is living/working with you etc. and how good you know these people. etc. if you are not a Muslim.

I myself never used this greeting in Malaysia either, I am not a Muslim, and I am a foreigner, and I see no reason why I should use Arabic phrases.

Also the widely used 'Apa Khabar' (what's going on?) is Arabic (khabar/Arabic = news).

There are neutral forms in Malay language existing without any relationship to Muslim/Arab, like Selamat pagi (good morning) selamat malam (good evening) selamat tidur (good night) selamat jalan (have a good trip etc. etc. -

The Chinese businessmen in Malaysia with me all were not Muslims at that time, and nobody of them felt comfortable even to use Malay except for the workers on the plantation (who could not speak enough English), not to talk about Muslim/Arab related words.

So in case of doubt, just try straight in English first, was the advice given to me and it's still a good advice in Malaysia for a foreigner I think. Who is who? Indians might be Muslims too sometimes, or Christians, Chinese might be Buddhists or Chistians, and some people are mixed, and I had no idea, if they are Muslim or not etc. etc.
Why to make it complicated, if not necessary?

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About this thread/articles - I personally never would use the word 'Allah' in Malaysia (or elsewhere) in relation to the Christian God, I never would even think about that. - I think, this is really the language of proselytism.

This post has been edited by yohan: 05 January 2010 - 02:46 AM

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But there are those who may wish to appear to be culturally "in the know" and say things like that, though, however incorrect they may be. Kind of like westerners in Thai restaurants that insist on showing off their skills with chopsticks- even though the Thais don't use them to eat their own cuisine!

Selamat tidur means more along the line of "good night" only when you're going to bed, as tidur means "sleep".

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I don't know if it was me or not, but when I was in Malaysia back in 1991 very few of the ethnic Chinese I met wanted to speak Malay. English was the tongue of choice. Not only with me and other orang putih, but with Malays as well.

That had changed in 2001 and 2003- the last two times I was there. More and more I saw instances of things like ethnic Chinese and Indians using Malay instead of English to communicate with each other.

With a bit of luck I'll be back in Malaysia some time this year (cross fingers) and will see if this was just an aberration, or if it's a true cultural shift.

And still more: http://thestar.com.m...2259&sec=nation

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And now the King's involved. SHEESH!:

http://thestar.com.m...3802&sec=nation

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Next time I think, I will visit Indonesia. It seems, it is turning out for the better, and Malaysia surprisingly to the worse.

Malaysia is going down slowly but more and more into religious issues, and openly I am not interested in that at all.

Luckily I am neither a Christian nor a Muslim.

yohan, on 07 January 2010 - 05:22 AM, said:

Ditto. And like me you're white. There seems to be a lot of forgiveness for the foibles of orang putih shown by most Malaysians- at least in my experience. As I plan on going to Malaysia in a couple of months i suppose I'll find out first hand how much the place has changed since I was last there in 2003.

And the tension in this situation is starting to ramp up:


http://www.todayonli...-church-attacks

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