New expansion can hold 250,000 more worshipers at Haram Mosque

Makkah – Dhul Hijjah 29, 1428/ January 07, 2008 – The planned expansion projects in the northern and northwestern courtyards of the Haram Mosque in Makkah will increase the capacity of these courtyards to at least 250,000 worshipers and the total capacity of the holy mosque to 750,000. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has approved a plan for the expansion of the Haram Mosque’s northern and northwestern courtyards, Prince Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs, announced on Saturday. The project also includes construction of pedestrian tunnels and a service station. The royal approval covers expropriation of real estate on the northern and northwestern sides of the mosque, covering an area of 300 square meters.

Malaysian Catholic weekly told to drop use of 'Allah' in order to renew publishing permit

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Catholic weekly newspaper in Malaysia has been told to drop the use of the word "Allah" in its Malay language section if it wants to renew its publishing permit, a senior government official said Friday.
The Herald, the organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church, has translated the word God as "Allah" but it is erroneous because Allah refers to the Muslim God, said Che Din Yusoff, a senior official at the Internal Security Ministry's publications control unit.
"Christians cannot use the word Allah. It is only applicable to Muslims. Allah is only for the Muslim god. This is a design to confuse the Muslim people," Che Din told The Associated Press. The weekly should instead, use the word "Tuhan" which is the general term for God, he said. Religious issues are extremely sensitive in Malaysia, where about 60 percent of the 27 million people are Malay Muslims. Ethnic Chinese, who follow Christianity and Buddhism, account for 25 percent of the population. Indians, who are mostly Hindus with a sprinkling of Christians and Muslims, are around 10 percent.

Publishers in Malaysia are required to obtain annual permits from authorities under a printing law.
Che Din said Christians don't use the word Allah when they worship in English, so they shouldn't use it in the Malay language too.
There are four Malay words that must not be used by other religions, he said: Allah for God, "solat" for prayers, "kaabah" for the place of Muslim worship in Mecca and "baitula" the house of Allah.
The Herald's permit will only be renewed if they stop using Allah in their publication, he stressed.

Editor: The Malaysian government decision not to allow the word "ALLAH" in Malay language section of a Chatolic weekly newspaper is absolutely RIGHT because this word has a particular Islamic connotation. To avoid misunderstanding and confusion to people, Allah shoud refer to Muslim God only. In the Malaysian constitution, all Malays are Muslims and Islam is the official religion. This language policy is not just to protect Islamic religious sanctity but also about national security.... Religious freedom has a limit. Be strong! Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Lailahail lallah, Allahu akbar!