Word: islamic
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...think that only a small part of those 57% who voted for the ban acted out of pure "extremism and intolerance." The result speaks of a fear not of Islam itself, but of politicized religion. We need to move away from both types of extremism - xenophobia and politicized Islam - and toward real integration. Just as a bad question begs a bad answer, real and sensible dialogue may yield real and sensible solutions. Marlene Ringel Mainz, Germany...
...million people are Malay Muslim, while the rest are mainly ethnic Chinese, Indians or members of indigenous tribes, practicing various faiths including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and animism. Among Christians, the majority Catholics number about 650,000, or 3% of the population. Despite Malaysia's diverse national complexion, political Islam is a growing force, and the country operates under two sets of laws, one for Muslims, the other for everyone else. The authorities regard such compartmentalization as essential to maintaining social stability...
...many Malay Muslims, Lau's ruling crosses the line. Prominent Muslim clerics, lawmakers and government ministers have questioned the soundness of the judgment. A coalition of 27 Muslim NGOs wrote to the nine Malay sultans, each the head of Islam in their respective states, to intervene and help overturn the verdict. A Facebook campaign by Muslims started on Jan. 4 has attracted more than 100,000 supporters. Among them: Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, son of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who also waded into the controversy, saying the court is not a proper forum to decide an emotional religious...
...TIME. In May 2008 the Catholics decided to take the matter to court for a judicial review - and won. "It is a landmark decision ... fair and just," says Andrew. During the intermittent trial in the closing months of 2008, lawyers for the church argued that the word Allah predated Islam and was commonly used by Copts, Jews and Christians to denote God in many parts of the world. They argued that Allah is an Arabic word for God and has been used for decades by the church in Malaysia and Indonesia. And they said that the Herald uses the word...
...Government lawyers countered that Allah denotes the Muslim God, is accepted as such around the world and is exclusively for Muslims. They said that if Catholics were allowed to use Allah, Muslims would be "confused." The confusion would worsen, they said, because Christians recognize a "trinity of gods" while Islam is "totally monotheistic." They said the proper word for God in the Malay language is Tuhan, not Allah. Lau held that the constitution guarantees freedom of religion and speech, and therefore Catholics can use the word Allah to denote God. She also overturned the Home Ministry order prohibiting the Herald...