are all gods the same?, an al-jazeera article

[greentreee]

this is a few weeks old, figured i'd share it.

i have been reading some other interesting articles too, i'll just post the links below.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pac...4123668106.html
Malaysia ban on 'Allah' upheld

Malaysia's ethnic minorities say their constitutional rights are being threatened [GALLO/GETTY]
The Catholic church in Malaysia has failed in a bid to suspend a government ban on the use of the word "Allah" in its weekly newsletter after the court rejected its application.

The high court ruling on Thursday effectively upheld the federal government's 2007 ban, which has become a symbol of religious tensions in the country.

The government directive bars non-Muslims from translating God as "Allah" in their literature, saying it would confuse Muslims in this plural, Muslim-majority country.

The Herald, which reports on Catholic community news in English, Malay, Tamil and Mandarin, tried to get the order suspended while waiting for a court decision on the ban's legality.

The court will hear the newspaper's original bid to review the administrative order on July 7.

'Status quo'

Lawrence Andrew, a Catholic priest and the editor of The Herald, told Al Jazeera they had asked to suspend the ministerial directive until the court rules on whether the ban is legal.

"Since the status quo remains we will not use the word "Allah" in our publication. In fact we have not been using it since our January edition."

"We'll wait for July when the court will hear the parties and decide on the matter once and for all"

S Selvarajah, lawyer for The Herald

The government had previously warned The Herald, which has a circulation of 12,000 limited to Catholics, that its permit could be revoked if it continued to use the word "Allah" for God in its Malay-language section.
The section is read mostly by indigenous tribes across the country who converted to Christianity decades ago.

In 2007, the government issued a warning over The Herald's use of the word "Allah", which officials had said could only be used to refer to the Muslim God.

Christian groups say the ban is unconstitutional, arguing that the word "Allah" predates Islam.

Print publications in Malaysia require a permit which is renewed every year, and is subject to conditions set by the government.

State laws

In multi-racial Malaysia, the government considers religion a sensitive matter and often classify related matters as a security issue.

S Selvarajah, a lawyer for The Herald, told Al Jazeera the court said about 10 Malaysian states had similar prohibitions on non-Muslims' use of the word "Allah".

He said the judge explained that suspending the ban "would tantamount to the court aiding the infringement of those provisions".

"But it [the ruling] has no real prejudice as such because The Herald, in compliance with the ban, had stopped using the word since January," he said.

"We'll wait for July when the court will hear the parties and decide on the matter once and for all."

About 60 per cent of the country's 27 million people are Muslim Malays, with one-third of them ethnic Chinese and Indians, and many who are Christians.

The minorities have often said their constitutional right to practice their religion freely has come under threat from the Malay Muslim-dominated government.

The government has repeatedly denied any discrimination against the country's ethnic minorities.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies


(something one doesn't read very often, if at all)
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleea...7377106909.html



on the economy.

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/05...2451540149.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06...5715625752.html

[greentreee]

i just thought i'd add to the Al-Jazeera articles here instead of posting a new thread.

this is one is interesting!

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas...5507105433.html

Canada to consider settlements suit


Canadian court is to consider a lawsuit brought by Palestinians from the West Bank town of Bilin who say two Canadian firms have committed war crimes by assisting in construction of Israeli settlements.

Activists filed the suit against Green Mount International and Green Park International - two Canadian companies contracted to build in the settlement of Modiin Illit, in a Montreal court, where the companies are registered.

In the three-day hearing at Quebec Superior Court in Montreal beginning on Monday, they will argue Bilin's land is subject to the rules and obligations of international law because the West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967.

Halt and demolish

The suit asks the court to halt all construction and to demolish the homes the companies have reportedly built in the settlement.

The suit is said to mark the first time a private company has been sued for investing in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

Bilin, a small village of about 1,700 inhabitants east of the West Bank city of Ramallah, has been the centre of protests against the Israeli separation wall.

Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh in Ramallah says that many in Bilin hope the petition will add momentum to growing international calls for a complete Israeli freeze on settlements.

Nassir Samarah from the Popular Committees Against the Wall organisation told Al Jazeera that the suit was aimed at stopping "international occupation" of the territory by the two companies.
"We are aiming that all these companies stop the illegal construction – to withdraw all their investment in the land of Palestine because they are working in Palestinian land. They are the same as the [Israeli] occupiers," he said.

However, Ronald Levy, the lawyer representing the two companies, told the Canadian Jewish News last week that he considers the suit "a media exercise intended to besmirch Israel".
"The fact that the companies are registered in Quebec is irrelevant," he said.

 Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

more on land issues:

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06...1323361453.html

Post January 2009 issues:

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06...8352694327.html

more on the economy:

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06...1243654538.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/06...1059292378.html

take care
be well