Huge victory for press freedom in Malaysia: Catholics can use the word 'Allah'...

Are there going to be huge demonstrations???

Muslim groups in Malaysia have voiced opposition to a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word "Allah", and said Saturday they plan to demonstrate.

Malaysia's high court ruled Thursday that the Herald weekly had the right to use the word "Allah" after a long-running dispute between the government and the paper in the Muslim-majority nation.

The Herald has been using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section, but the government argued "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.

The court ruled the Catholic paper had the "constitutional right" to use the word 'Allah', declaring the government's ban on the word "illegal, null and void". Government lawyers have not yet decided whether to appeal.

Muslim groups have opposed the ruling.

"The court decision is not right and we are planning to hold a major demonstration to protest this," Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa told AFP.