Political & judicial authority
Lift The Ban On ‘Allah’, Sarawak Christian Leader Urges Putrajaya
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 3:04 pmThe fact that three out of a seven-man Federal Court bench gave dissenting judgments on the recent "Allah" case is an indication there are cogent grounds for the decision to be reviewed by another panel of the apex court, said a Christian leader from Sarawak.
Archbishop John Ha of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuching also said given Putrajaya's immediate statement to assure Christians that the ban was limited to the Catholic weekly, Herald, and that the 10-point solution still stood, shows that the Federal government had the power to lift the ban on the use of the word Allah in the Bahasa Malaysia section of Herald. Read more »
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Latest ‘Allah’ Ruling Gives More Bite For States To Curtail Non-Muslims’ Freedom, Warn Lawyers
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 2:46 pmThe 10-point solution which Putrajaya brokered in 2011 to allow Christians in East Malaysia to use the word "Allah" in their Bibles and religious practices has no legal force in the light of Monday's ruling by the Federal Court, lawyers say.
They said the 10-point solution now flies in the face of the legal principles established in the Court of Appeal ruling which upheld the Home Minister's decision to ban the word "Allah" in the Catholic weekly, Herald. Read more »
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We Will Continue To Seize Bibles With ‘Banned’ Words, Says Muslim Body
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 2:44 pmThe Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) today insisted it will continue to seize Bibles that contained the word Allah in the state, adding that it had every right to destroy the holy books it had already seized earlier this year from the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM).
Its chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said operations to counter the distribution of such Bibles in Selangor will continue and warned that it will not hesitate to arrest those distributing it. Read more »
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JAIS Now Passes Buck On Seized Bibles To Selangor MB
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 2:42 pmThe Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) has pushed the contentious issue of the seized Bibles back to the Selangor Menteri Besar, saying any decision on the holy books lies with Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
An officer from the office of Jais deputy enforcement director Mohd Shazihan Ahmad said that any questions or comments about the Bibles will now have to go through the menteri besar. Read more »
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Lawyers: Federal Court's Decision On Use Of 'Allah' Problematic
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 2:40 pmThe Federal Court's dismissal of the Catholic church's appeal yesterday only serves to complicate matters over the rights of minorities in the country to freely practise their faith.
For one, the Court of Appeal's (CoA) decision last October that the Home Ministry was right to ban the word 'Allah' gives grounds to the State to dictate the way minorities should practice their faith, said constitutional lawyer Syahredzan Johan. Read more »
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Sudan Death Sentence Woman 'Freed'
Submitted by newsteam on Sun, Jun 29, 2014 - 2:36 pmA Sudanese woman sentenced to death for abandoning her Islamic faith has been freed from jail, her lawyer has told the BBC. Meriam Ibrahim's death penalty was overturned by an appeal court, the official Suna news agency reported.
She is married to a Christian man and was sentenced under Sharia law to hang for apostasy in May after refusing to renounce Christianity. Her husband, Daniel Wani, said he was looking forward to seeing her. He wanted his family to leave Sudan as soon possible, Mr Wani, who is a US citizen, told the BBC Focus on Africa radio programme. Read more »
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Putrajaya: Federal Court Decision On Allah Only For Herald, Says Putrajaya
Submitted by newsteam on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 - 9:47 amPutrajaya said that today's Federal Court ruling on the Allah issue applied only to the Catholic weekly, Herald.
Malaysian Christians can still use the word Allah in church and the government remains committed to the 10-point solution, a statement from Putrajaya said.
"Malaysia is a multi-faith country and it is important that differences are managed peacefully in accordance with the rule of law and through dialogue, mutual respect and compromise," it said. Read more »
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Council Of Churches Calls Federal Court Ruling On Allah Issue A ‘Regressive Move’
Submitted by newsteam on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 - 9:46 amMore Christian bodies have come out to criticise the Federal Court decision today to dismiss the church's leave application to appeal the "Allah" ban in Herald, with the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM) saying it was a regressive decision.
CCM general-secretary Dr Hermen Shastri (pic) said the government should realise that it was their own citizens using Bibles in Bahasa Malaysia. "The court decision is a sad day of regress as far as constitutional guarantee for religious freedom is concerned," he told The Malaysian Insider today. Read more »
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Herald: ‘We’ll Wait For Written Judgment’
Submitted by newsteam on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 - 9:45 amThe editor of Herald Father Lawrence Andrew said they will wait for the written judgment of the Federal Court before deciding the next course of action.
The Federal Court dismissed the Catholic Church’s application for leave to appeal the ban on the use of the word “Allah” in its weekly publication. Read more »
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CFM: Christians Extremely Disappointed With Refusal To Grant Leave To Appeal To Federal Court
Submitted by newsteam on Tue, Jun 24, 2014 - 9:42 amThe Christian Federation of Malaysia is naturally extremely disappointed that the Federal Court has refused leave for The Roman Catholic Church to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal in The Herald case.
We continue to maintain that the decision of the Court of Appeal, and its reasoning in arriving at their decision, were so critically flawed in so many respects. Simple justice would have mandated an appeal, to rectify the many incorrect and inaccurate statements and observations of the Court of Appeal that led to its decision. Read more »
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