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Malaysian
Fatwa Prohibiting Names of Allah Being Linked to Crude Language To
Be Issued
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
ALOR
STAR, August 25 (IslamOnline) - A Fatwa (edict) to prohibit the most
holy name of Allah being linked to crude words will be issued soon in
Malaysia, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on
Saturday, August 24.
He
added that this was necessary to prevent confusion among Muslims in
this country after a spate of arguments over whether Allah is also
“terror” or not, Bernama News Agency reported.
The
debate was started after the spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
of the Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) in Kelantan said Allah could also
be compared to being the biggest “terror”.
Badawi
said the move was for the good of Muslims and to prevent them from
continuing to commit sin by linking Allah to terms such as gangster.
“We
are considering the best move so that the PAS action can be
stopped,” he told a media conference.
Badawi said this was to be the government’s response to the
statement by Kelantan Chief Minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat on the
matter.
He also said the government had to do something, even considering if
legal action would be taken against Nik Aziz over the issue.
Nik Aziz said Allah could be compared to be the greatest terror since
the Malaysian government was behaving as a ‘gangster’.
The
chief minister said Allah is the biggest terror since He can destroy
anything at any time and urged his counterparts in the Mahathir
Mohamad government to be careful when they do anything that is linked
to gangsterism.
Independent
commentators have earlier said the Malaysians in general would not
understand the comments made by Nik Aziz, who is an Islamic Teacher
and a refined politician.
The
Malaysian government said the fatwa was necessary because some Muslims
in this country believed that Nik Aziz was saying the correct things
as he was considered an Ustad.
Badawi,
who is expected to be the next Malaysian Premier in 2003, said
religion could bring about unity and strength to its followers but if
it was distorted, many problems could arise.
He
also rejected the claim that the government was secular.
“A
secular government means it will not care about religious matters and
look upon religion only as one's individual right. But we act against
those who break Allah’s laws and safeguard the status and
development of religion and its followers,” he said.
He said the government used its powers in the cause of Islam in this
country .
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