Malaysian Court Rules Non Muslims Cannot Use Word Allah

A court in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, ruled this week that only Muslims are permitted to use the Arabic word “Allah” in reference to God. The decision was made unanimously by three judges.

Thailand Lawyer

Chaninat and Leeds specialize in domestic and international law in Thailand 

The ruling was aimed primarily at the Catholic newspaper, The Herald, which used the word in its Malay articles to describe the Christian God, until it was held by the government to be illegal in 2008.

In the Middle East and in many other Muslim countries, Christians are permitted to use the word “Allah.” It is understood the paper will appeal the decision.

Flickr photo credit: Beth Rankin