COMMENT | If hearing a non-Muslim say “Alhamdulillah” will mislead Muslims, and to imply that the speaker should then convert, Malaysia would be drowning in a bureaucratic nightmare, all caused by ordinary words.

In Parliament, PAS’ Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Yusoff warned that Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming’s use of phrases such as "Alhamdulillah" and "sujud syukur" (prostration of gratitude) could “confuse” Muslims and that he was “toying” with Islam.

She demanded directly: “Are you a believer?”, thus turning Nga's ministerial speech on public housing into a theological interrogation.

The real danger isn’t Nga saying “Alhamdulillah”. The real danger is thinking Muslims are so fragile that hearing it from a non-Muslim could mislead them.

It’s telling that only...