Church Group Under JAIS Investigation For Using 'Allah' On Facebook
The verdict on non-Muslims using the word 'Allah' to describe their God remains a question mark, but the 'Allah' and bible-burning issue heats up again, this time on Facebook.
The issue: Church group used the word 'Allah' in its Facebook post on May 9
JAIS is investigating National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) for using the word Allah in a Facebok post.
Image via themalaymailonline.comJAIS is investigating National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF)
An evangelical church group is now being investigated for posting a Facebook message urging Christians to pray for the blessings of “Allah”, a word still in the center of a tug-of-war battle that has been threatening religious harmony in multiracial Malaysia.
malaysiandigest.comSelangor PAS commissioner Dr Abd Rani Osman confirmed with The Malay Mail Online yesterday that the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) is investigating the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF), despite the state government’s earlier attempt at intervention.
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“The state government doesn’t want to make this a big deal. But... according to JAIS, a complaint has been opened, so the investigation is on,” the Selangor PAS chief said.
Muslim groups say it is criminal blasphemy for non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah'
Jalur Tiga (Jati), a group formed by former Selangor state lawmaker Datuk Hasan Ali who purports to champion Malay rights, had filed a police complaint against NECF on May 14, accusing the Christian group of attempting to convert Malays in a Facebook campaign.
The Muslim Lawyers Society of Malaysia (PPPMM) accused the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) of committing “criminal” blasphemy against Islam by misappropriating the name of the Islamic god for their purposes.
yahoo.com“It is an offence for any party to deliberately and continuously use Allah and a few other words with roots from Islam in the context of a non-Islamic religious for any purpose.
“The NECF poster that has clearly misused the sacred name of Allah is obviously a criminal action and breaches the Schedule of (Section 9) Part I of the Enactment that forbids the use of the name of Allah as well as other Islamic terms by non-Muslims,” PPPMM president Datuk Zainul Rijal.
NECF says the Facebook post was only meant for Christians who are bumiputras
The NECF said in a response last month that its Facebook prayer campaign, which is called Malaysia MyHome, was just meant for Christians.
malaysiandigest.comHe said NECF used the word “Allah” only in its BM version of the poster campaign so as to include its East Malaysian Bumiputera congregation, who make up about 60 per cent of the country’s Christian population and are more familiar with the national language.
yahoo.comUnder a project it called “Malaysia My Home”, the NECF urged believers in the faith to put prayer and action together for God’s blessing to institute “real and lasting change for our communities”.
How it all started: Of Christians, Allah, bible burning and Ibrahim Ali
Dec 2012 - Pada Hari Natal, Lim Guan Eng menggesa kerajaan persekutuan untuk membenarkan penganut Kristian mengguna kalimah 'Allah' dalam Kitab Suci Bahasa Malaysia. Sekali lagi isu sensitif ini diungkitkan di pentas politik. Adakah seruan Setiausaha Agung DAP ini akan dijawab atau dibidas?
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