What's in a name? Malaysia's "Allah" controversy and the judicial intertwining of Islam with ethnic identity

Abstract

This article examines a recent Court of Appeal judgment upholding the government's prohibition of a Catholic publication from using the word "Allah" against the backdrop of Malaysia's public discourse on Islam and its role in Malaysian state and society. I argue that one can situate and comprehend the judgment as appealing to and realizing a conception of Islam as ethnic identity, which departs from the conception of Islam as a universalist religion. I show how this conception has been gradually constructed in Malaysia's public discourse, by identifying a (until now) marginal line of judicial precedents that foreshadowed the Court of Appeal's judgment. Lastly, I highlight the ways in which the judgment affects minority rights and prospects for integration in Malaysia, even as it raises critical questions about Malaysia's proclaimed status as a moderate and modern Islamic society.