Malaysia - Malaysian police seized Catholic hymnals off a priest for containing the word Allah, the non-denominational word for God in the Malay language, but prohibited for use by non-Muslims in the country, an officer said on Monday.
The 31 photocopied books were seized on December 5 in a copy shop in the town of Tangkak in Johor state, 135 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur, said Hasnan Hassan, police chief of the state's criminal investigation department.
Hasnan said they also questioned Father Cyril Mannayagam and his companion, who were carrying the books. The public prosecutors will decide what happens next, he said.
The priest said the hymnals were for Christmas celebrations by local Catholics, and have been used in the community for decades without any problems from the police.
In June, the Federal Court upheld a ruling barring a Malay-language newspaper from using the word Allah in a Catholic context.
But a government spokesman said the ruling applies only to the Herald newspaper and Catholic Malaysians can still say “Allah” in church.
He also said the government is committed to resolving the controversy.
Christians in the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak currently have a special dispensation to use the word Allah in Malay-language Bibles.
The permission has drawn criticism from the Muslim majority, but the support of Christians in those states is politically important for the government.
Sapa-dpa