SHAH ALAM: The 351 Bibles containing the word 'Allah' which were seized earlier this year from the Bible Society of Malaysia have been returned to the Association of Churches in Sarawak (ACS) this afternoon.
The Bibles were returned during a courtesy call on the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah at the Alam Shah Palace in Klang to ACS chairman Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok, witnessed by Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali, Selangor Mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abd
Wahid, Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa and Selangor Islamic Religious Department director Ahmad Zaharin Mohd Saad.
Mohamad Adzib said the return of the Bibles was in accordance with Sultan Sharafuddin's decree on June 19 to refer the seizure of the Malay language Bibles containing the word 'Allah' to the public prosecutor for the purpose of prosecution in court.
"The public prosecutor has decided that no prosecution against any party will be instituted and no reference will be made to court with regards to the return of the Bibles confiscated.
"However, the public prosecutor has ordered that the disposal of these Bibles containing the word 'Allah' be made in accordance with that law.
"Thus, taking into account the order and the matter has been conveyed to the Sultan of Selangor, and after consulting the Council of the Royal Court, Mais was commanded by the Sultan of Selangor to dispose of these Bibles by returning them to ACS," he said in a statement
today.
Mohamad Adzib, however cautioned that the return of the Bibles was made with strict conditions that they are not to be distributed in Selangor especially to Muslims and that these Bibles are only for the usage of Christians in Sarawak.
Azmin, in a separate statement said expressed his gratitude to the Sultan of Selangor for his foresight and initiative in seeking the best way to resolve the long standing problem.
"All parties concerned in particular the Mais and the ACS have therefore reached an amicable resolution of the Bible issue through sincere efforts and conviction to respect religious sensitivities of all communities," he said.
Azmin, who broke the news of the handover by posting a picture of the ceremony on his Twitter account @AzminAli, said "An amicable resolution to the issue of the seizure of the Malaysia language bibles containing the word Allah".
Jais seized the Bibles in a raid on the Bible Society of Malaysia's (BSM) premises on Jan 2.
The raid followed a complaint that BSM was housing copies of the Malay language Bible, which used the word 'Allah' to refer to God.
The Selangor Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988 bars non-Muslims from using the word 'Allah'.