Malaysia renews Catholic newspaper's permit - media

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has renewed the publishing permit of a Catholic newspaper, reversing an earlier ban forbidding non-Muslims from using the word Allah after the move stoked fears of a rise in hardline Islam.

The government earlier this month ruled that the term Allah, long used by Christians in Malaysia to refer to God, could no longer be used by non-Muslims.

The ban meant that the publisher of the Kuala Lumpur-based "Herald - the Catholic Weekly" could lose its publishing permit if it failed to drop the word Allah in its publication.

The row had threatened to further strain race and religious relations in Malaysia, where many non-Muslims believe their rights are being trampled by the Muslim majority.

But newspapers on Monday reported that the country's internal security ministry had renewed the permit of the Catholic paper, with no restrictions, quoting its editor, Father Lawrence Andrew.

Andrew could not be reached for comment but an assistant from his office confirmed the report. An internal security ministry spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Politically dominant ethnic Malay Muslims form about 60 percent of the population of roughly 26 million, while the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities include Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians.