The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia is to take the Government to court to try to overturn a ban on the use of the word "Allah" to refer to God in the weekly publication The Herald, writes Ellen Teague. The Minister for Internal Security of the increasingly Islamist nation wrote to the paper last month, ordering a ban on the Malay-language section of the paper, which has sections in four languages, because of its use of the word "Allah" to refer to God.

Authorities last Sunday allowed The Herald to continue to print, having threatened last month to revoke its licence if it continued to refer to God as "Allah".

The Minister in Charge of Islamic Affairs, Datuk Abdullah Mohd Zin, re-stated on 3 January that "Allah" could be used only by Muslims. "The use of the word by non-Muslims may cause confusion among Muslims," he said. Deputy Security Minister Mohamad Johari Baharum said: "We approved the permit, now the weekly should comply with the Government."