Malaysian court upholds 'Allah' ban

Malaysia's highest court has reject a challenge from the Catholic Church seeking to overturn a ban on non-Muslims using the word "Allah" to refer to God, CNN reported.

But after the Federal Court announced its verdict on Monday, the government released a statement saying that the ruling would only apply to the Church's newspaper, which has been at the center of the court battle since Malaysian authorities ordered the publication to cease using the Arabic word in 2007.

Malaysian Christians will still be able to use the word "Allah" in church, the government's statement said.

"Malaysia is a multi-faith country and it is important that we manage our differences peacefully, in accordance with the rule of law and through dialogue, mutual respect and compromise," the statement said.

The conflicting interpretations of the ban have only added confusion to a debate that has inflamed religious tensions in the Muslim-majority country in recent years.

The editor of the newspaper, the Herald, said it remains unclear what the implications of the court's verdict would be for the Christian community.

"We are in limbo," Father Lawrence Andrew told CNN.