THE Kuala Lumpur High Court in a landmark decision today ruled that Sarawakian Christian Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill can use the word “Allah” to practise her religion. 

Judge Nor Bee Ariffin also said that the Home Ministry directive in 1986, banning the use of the word which means “God” as well as other words, is unlawful and unconstitutional. 

The judge said Jill had been deprived of her rights to practise her religion. 

“I do not agree with the government’s argument that the declaration that is being sought is premature. 

“She has been deprived and there is no assurance that it won’t happen again.

“This would eliminate her fear and uncertainty,” said Nor Bee, who is a Court of Appeal justice sitting as a hgh court judge.

In a suit filed in 2008, Jill sought official recognition of her constitutional rights to practise her religion and non-discrimination under Article 11 and 8 of the constitution.

She filed her suit after eight CDs of educational Christian material containing the word “Allah” were seized from her at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on her return from Indonesia.

Nor Bee today said the Home Ministry had “exceeded its power” with its 1986 order banning the word “Allah” on the basis that it was a threat to public order.

“There is no such power to restrict religious freedom under Article 11. Religious freedom is absolutely protected even in times of threat to public order.

“No power can deprive a person of the ability to practice his or her religion. The prohibition is inconsistent with Article 11,” she said.

The judge added that the material of Ireland’s eight CDs was indeed meant for religious education, given no evidence to the contrary.

“The rights to profess and practise a person’s religion must include religious material.”

Historical precedence

The judge also acknowledged the fact that Christian communities in Sabah and Sarawak have been using “Allah” for generations in the practice of their faith.

“The fact that they have been using it for 400 years cannot be ignored,” she said.

Addressing the issue that granting non-Muslims the right to use the word “Allah” would confuse Muslims, the judge said that the Home Ministry should instead produce Muslims to come forward to say that they were confused.

Meanwhile, lawyer Lim Seng Heng, representing Ireland, said that the defence had produced an affidavit from three Muslims who said they were not confused by the use of the word by non-Muslims.

Co-counsel Annou Xavier said the high court’s verdict has guaranteed Ireland’s constitutional right under Article 11, which is the right for anyone to profess and practise their religion, except with regards to propagation of other beliefs to Muslims.

“She can now use and import any publication for religious and educational purposes.

“Under Article 8 (equality before the law and equal protection of the law), she is guaranteed equality to use any materials, including articles on religion without discrimination,” he said.

Xavier added that the judgment today made it clear that the word can now be used in the whole of Malaysia, not constrained to just Sabah and Sarawak.

The Home Ministry’s 1986 order also banned the words “Baitullah”, “Kaabah” and “solat” by non-Muslims.

Ireland’s CDs were confiscated based on this order.

In 2014, the high court ruled in her favour and found that the Home Ministry was wrong to seize the CDs.

Judge Zaleha Yusof ordered the ministry to return all eight CDs and to pay RM5,000 in costs. However, the judge did not address the constitutional points raised in summing up.

Non-Muslims have been fighting in the courts for the right to use the word “Allah” for more than a decade. 

Besides Ireland’s case, the Catholic Church also went to court over the word, which is used in its weekly publication, Herald.

In 2015, the Federal Court dismissed the Church’s application to review an earlier decision of the Apex court not to grant leave to appeal the ban on the word.

Meanwhile, Christian group Sidang Injil Borneo is also challenging the Home Ministry over seizures of religious books brought in from Indonesia in 2007. – March 10, 2021.