Literature
As a Muslim majority country, opinions on whether the Indonesian-language Bible and Malay-language Bible, both known by the name al-kitab, should be banned, are polarised. The word rendered ‘Lord’ in English translations is given in Malay as ‘Tuhan’ while the word ‘God’ in English is translated as ‘Allah’. It was claimed that there is no closer translation from the original Hebrew since both Arabic and the Hebrew word for God come from the same Semitic root. Other Christian materials in the Malay language have been banned at various times for similar reason. However, the Prime Minister clarified in April 2005 that there was no ban on Bibles translated into Malay, but they must be stamped with the disclaimer "Not for Muslims".
The Iban Bible named Bup Kudus was also banned for using the term Allah Taala for God. Eventually it was explained to the government that there was no other comparable term in Iban. As such the ban was not enforced further but it was neither officially repealed. The ban was later lifted only for Iban people usage, after protests from the Christian leaders.
Read more about this topic: Christianity In Malaysia
Famous quotes containing the word literature:
“The literature of the poor, the feelings of the child, the philosophy of the street, the meaning of household life, are the topics of the time. It is a great stride. It is a sign,—is it not? of new vigor, when the extremities are made active, when currents of warm life run into the hands and the feet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Views of women, on one side, as inwardly directed toward home and family and notions of men, on the other, as outwardly striving toward fame and fortune have resounded throughout literature and in the texts of history, biology, and psychology until they seem uncontestable. Such dichotomous views defy the complexities of individuals and stifle the potential for people to reveal different dimensions of themselves in various settings.”
—Sara Lawrence Lightfoot (20th century)
“Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press but the sealing up of a nation’s heart, the excision of its memory.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)