MOSCOW, June 23 (RAPSI) – The Federal Court of Malaysia, the country’s highest court, has upheld a ruling to prohibit the Catholic newspaper The Herald from using the word “Allah” to denote God, ending a years-long conflict, AFP writes.

The dispute began in 2007 when Malaysia’s Home Ministry said it would revoke the Herald’s publishing license over the use of the Arabic word in its Malay-language edition.

In 2009, a lower court ruled in favor of the church, lifting the government’s ban, which also included the Malayan translation of the Bible. It should be said that there is no other word for God other than “Allah” in the Malayan language. In 2010, the Home Ministry contested the court’s ruling.

An appeals court reinstated the ban last October, saying that the word “Allah” is not an inalienable part of Christianity and its use could provoke social tension.

Muslims were angered by Christians’ using the word, which they described as overstepping religious boundaries. The Christians, in turn, felt that their rights were being infringed upon.

The Herald appealed the lower court’s decision in the Federal Court. The lower court ruling was upheld by the seven judges on the court’s board.

Islam is the state religion in Malaysia, where Muslims are mostly ethnic Malay and constitute 60% of its 28-million-strong population. About 9% are Christians, mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians.