They were handed to Sarawak Christians and not to the Peninsular-based BSM as part of the condition that such material was not to be distributed in Selangor, especially among Muslims, a statement from the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) later said.
Earlier, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali had tweeted: "An amicable resolution to the issue of the seizure of the Malay language Bibles containing the word Allah."
Along with his tweet, he included a photograph of himself and the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, watching a handover ceremony of a copy of a Bible to ACS chairman, Rev Archbishop Datuk Bolly Lapok.
In a statement issued after the 10am ceremony, Mais said that the Selangor Sultan had commanded that the Bibles be returned to the ACS, after the public prosecutor decided not to prosecute any party over the matter.
Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said Jais had referred the case to the Attorney-General on June 19, in accordance with the sultan's decree.
"The public prosecutor has ordered that the disposal of the Bibles containing the word 'Allah' be made in accordance with the law," said Adzib in the statement.
"Thus taking into account the order and the matter has been conveyed to His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor to discuss the issue, and after consulting the Council of the Royal Court, Mais was commanded by His Royal Highness to dispose of these Bibles containing the word 'Allah' by returning them to the ACS."
He added that the return of the Bibles were made with strict conditions that they were not to be distributed in Selangor, especially among Muslims, and were only for the Christians in Sarawak to use.
"This settlement is to respect each other's religious beliefs and maintain the sensitivity of various religions in the country.
"In addition to the above, His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor expects other faiths to also respect and protect the religious sensitivities of Muslims in the country, especially in the state of Selangor, and hope that the distribution as well as the printing of Bibles that contain the word 'Allah' is no longer done in the state of Selangor, as it is an offence under the Non-Islamic Religious Enactment (Control Development Among Muslims), 1988."
A total of 351 copies of the Malay language Alkitab and the Iban Bible, Bup Kudus, which also contains the word "Allah" were seized from the BSM bookshop in Damansara on January 2.
BSM's then president, Lee Min Choon, and the office manager Sinclair Wong were taken for police questioning and later released.
Jais had said the seizure was done in accordance with the Selangor Non-Islamic Religions Enactment 1988 which prohibits non-Muslims from using the Arabic word for "God".
Jais and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) had refused to return the Bibles even after the Attorney-General said there was no basis to charge BSM as the Bibles were not a threat to national security.
The two religious bodies also defied orders by the Pakatan Rakyat-led state government under former menteri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim to return the Bibles, saying the state administration could not interfere in Jais's and Mais's responsibilities to manage Islamic affairs.
In a statement, Azmin thanked the sultan for his "wisdom and foresight" in resolving the matter and reminded Selangor citizens to respect the status of Islam as the State religion.
"However, as freedom of religion is enshrined in the constitution, extremist sentiments, race baiting and religious fanaticism will not be part of the administration," he said.
He said his administration would pursue "all means possible to enhance and foster communal and religious understanding in Selangor".
Bolly, who is also the Bishop of Kuching, said in a statement later that ACS welcomed the return of the Bibles and thanks the sultan for his intervention.
"It would not have been proper to allow these Bibles to be stored indefinitely or destroyed. In this manner, the Bibles are being delivered to the ACS for distribution in Sarawak," Bolly said.
He said the Bibles would be distributed for use by Christians in Sarawak.
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