(Pic by Kriss Szkurlatowski / sxc.hu) TWO weeks ago, I could not help feeling that there was little difference between the Catholic Church and the Barisan Nasional (BN)-led federal government. Both these powerful institutions have one thing in common — both have cultivated a long-standing culture of secrets. With the church, the damage has been […]
Catholic Church
Why secularism? Learning from Ireland
By Shane LeavyPICTURE a former British colony where the majority of people practise a religion that has become closely tied up both with national identity and with bitter anti-British sentiment. After a violent war for independence, the new state’s earliest leaders align themselves with the religion by censoring anything that upsets its hierarchy. A group of religious […]
Khairy: Al Islam “un-Islamic”
By Deborah Loh(Background pic by Petter Hermoza G / sxc.hu) PETALING JAYA, 16 July 2009: Appalling, offensive, unethical, and un-Islamic. These words used to describe Al Islam magazine’s undercover story of attending Catholic mass and insulting the holy communion have come not from Christians, but from Umno Youth leader Khairy Jamaluddin. Khairy, the Rembau Member of Parliament, […]
Indira Gandhi’s search goes on
Translation by Sharmila Valli NarayananBETWEEN 27 April and 3 May 2009, the Tamil papers continued to devote space to M Indira Gandhi’s quest to get her daughter back from her estranged and Muslim-convert husband. The absence of Tamil-language classes in a local university, and land right issues involving the Catholic Church were also highlighted during the week. Hunt for […]
Church can challenge “Allah” ban
(Archbishop’s ring image source: archway.org.my) KUALA LUMPUR, 24 April 2009: The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur was given leave by the High Court here today to quash the Home Ministry’s decision prohibiting the use of the word “Allah” in the Herald Catholic Weekly. Archbishop Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam was also granted leave to apply for […]
Handling of “Allah” usage disappointing
By Daniel ChaiCOUNCIL of Churches of Malaysia (CCM) Youth is disappointed and deeply regrets the Home Ministry’s lack of order and clarity in its handling of the restriction over the usage of “Allah”, involving the Bahasa Malaysia edition of the Roman Catholic Church’s publication Herald. The lack of order and clarity is obvious from the earlier prohibition […]
Scholar: Don’t restrict “Allah”
By Shanon ShahPETALING JAYA, 17 Feb 2009: Use of the word “Allah” among Catholic churches should not be restricted unreasonably, said leading Islamic scholar Prof Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali today. Hashim Kamali“In Islam, there is one God for all humanity. Therefore, one should not monopolise or personalise ‘Allah’ as belonging to only one sector of humanity,” he […]