Many churches are ignorant of a government ban on the usage of four BM words in non-Muslim publications. They are: Allah, Baitullah, Kaaba, and Solat.

The issue of the forbidden words first arose when the Home Affairs Ministry issued in April 1986 a letter to Christian leaders announcing the proscription (ban) of 16 words, which the Ministry felt were ‘sensitive’ to Muslims. The ban was made on the basis that the words could be a source of confusion among Muslims and Christians.

The letter provoked strong protest from the non-Muslim community and hence, in December 1986, the Ministry wrote to Christian publishers, informing them they could now use in their publications 12 of the 16 words, but the ban on the usage of the other four words (as stated above) remained.

But "the Ministry’s letters do not have the force of law and at best is evidence only of the Executive’s perceptions of the issue at hand," according to a paper Freedom of Religion in Malaysia - the legal dimension written by Philip Koh and published by the Graduates Christian Fellowship in 1987.

Since the ban, Christians leaders have met several times with the Home Ministy (under different leaders) and were given verbal assurance that the four words could be used but only in churches. Bible Society of Malaysia General Secretary Dr Victor Wong recently told Berita NECF: "This (word ban) is a murky matter. It depends very much on which officer in the Home Ministry is in charge," he said.

Should Christians respect the ban and use substitute terms, so that the gospel may be preached unhindered? Or ignore the ban and stick to the argument that language is universal property and should not be monopolised by any one religion or race?

These questions have been debated among the better-informed Christians since the ban first arose. Dr Wong suggested the formation of a group of theologians and those with vested interest – such as lawyers and Bible translators – to study the matter in depth. The conclusions drawn can then be used as the guideline for churches to follow.

Until then, "it’s a touch-and-go situation", he concluded.