Perhaps it is time for another blog post. Today i've been reading a lot about Malaysia's current 'hot' debate about The Herald, a Christian/Catholic publication wanting to use 'Allah' as a substitute word for God in their newspaper and Malay-language bibles. The Malaysian Courts have approved the use of 'Allah'; the reverend is smiling in victory and the government is planning to appeal the decision. The rakyat? Extremely divided; some furious, some preaching to others about how good it is, others say it really doesn't matter. To me, there are two parts to this :
1) Is it legal? YES, i agree with the courts. No need to overcrowd the jails.
2) Is it right? Is this morally correct? NO.
Mostof the arguments (that i've read) against the decision can be divided into 3 :
1) This act is tampering with the sanctity of Islam - I agree with this, and will elaborate later
2) This is an act of the Christians in an attempt to confuse/distort and destroy Islam - bullshit
3) This is a political strategy by UMNO to win the votes of the Malay majority once the court's verdict is overturned, thus they appear triumphant as defenders of Islam - i dont give 2 shits about politics
The people who support the decision give these reasons :
1) God has no objections to what He is called, because He is there for all mankind
2) The word 'Allah' itself predates Islam, and is still currently being used by those of other religions especially in the Arab countries
3) Other religions such has Sikhism also mentions Allah in their teachings, so 'Allah' is not exclusive to Islam
" What's in a name? That which we call a rose; by any other name would smell as sweet " - Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare.
EVERYTHING is in a name. Although the quote rings true but to me, it only works in a private, smaller-scale. The minute you were born, before you even get to develop your own individuality, you've been given a name. Nicknames come and go, they change over time, but your name stays with you till the end. It becomes a part of you, and at a mere mention the people around you know who you are and have a mental picture of what you're like. You wouldn't call you kid 'girl' or 'boy' for the rest of their life; the name is a show of love. Say MAHATHIR and the world knows who i'm talking about. Say Prime Minister of Malaysia, and it could be one of many. Similarly, you say God, peeple relate it to who you pray to, 1 or many, trancending religion. You say ALLAH, anywhere in the world and they know you are referring to Allah in association with Islam. Common sense.
To Muslims, Allah is not just a word. It is an entity, the diety to ehom we pray to, who we come from, who we return to, The One and Only God. In Malaysia, most of the Christian subgroubs believe in The Holy Trinity; whereby God exists as or is a combination of 3 forms/entities, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost/Spirit. In Nomine Patri, et Fili et Spiritus Sancti. The Father is God; Jesus Christ is The Son (of God) and is God's presence on earth, it is only through Jesus can they find God and salvation; The Holy Spirit is somewhere between the two...i dont know much, i aint Christian nor am I a theology major. Catholicism adds another prayer for the Holy Mother Mary.
In Netherlands back in 2007, Bishop Tiny Muskens wanted people to start referring to God as Allah. A survey in Netherland's biggest-selling newspaper De Telegraaf found 92% of the over 4000 people in the poll disagreed with the bishop, who also drew ridicule. One man wrote "sure. Let's call God Allah. Let's call a church a mosque and pray 5 times a say. Ramadan sounds like fun". Read the full article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/.
Naturally, the Christian community would respond :
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070823/is-calling-the-christian-god-allah-wrong/index.html
In this article, they concluded that it is fundamentally WRONG to say Allah and God are the same, because of what i mentioned earlier (the different concept of God in both Islam and Christianity).
So I really don't see why Reverend Lawrence Andrew insists on using 'Allah'. Yes it WILL be confusing, but not to fully-practicing Muslims. What about new converts a.k.a muallafs? What about children? He insists that there is no suitable word to use for translation, that Tuhan or Lord is inadequate, that it does not convey what they wish to deliver. Let me ask you another question. You translate the bible to Tamil and Mandarin as well, but do you attempt to equate God to Krishna/Vishnu/Shiva/Murugan/Saraswathy or Buddha/Confucius? is it really a language barrier? Does it mean that much to you to use 'Allah', which is just a word to you, as a tool while on the other hand Allah is the centre and the holiest of our religious teachings? Does it really mean that much to you as it does to us?
The arguement that the word 'Allah' predates Islam, yes i agree. Yes, it is still being used in Arab countries by people of other religions to mean God...I say, SO WHAT? It is their culture, it doesnt bother them. Are we to absorb every single piece of foreign culture that remotely brushes against ours? Also, a simple Wikipedia search would tell you that in the Arab countries, when Christians use 'Allah', they use at as Allah al-'ab or Allah al-ibn to denote God the Father and God the Son, respectively. They have their own Arabic 'Bismillah' to say "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost", their translation to In Nomine Patri, et Filli et Spiritus Sancti; whereas the Muslim 'Bismillah' translates as In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious and Most Merciful.
Is this just another political ploy? God I hope not (pun intended). If it is then it's just too much. It is a very delicate issue; everything is when it comes to any religion. Is it really the age-old conspiracy theory about Christians or Jews trying to destroy Islam? if you ask me, you'll find a conspiracy theory anywhere about anything if you look hard enough.
I guess that's it. I've said enough. At the end of they day, when you walk into a Christian house you're not gonna find an embroided 'Allah' on the wall, it's still a crucifix hanging up there.
Give it up.
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From Hannah Patrick @ Facebook,
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
I tried to steer clear of the subject but i couldn't help reading this.u made ur point pretty well. But (and I say this with much respect to my Muslim frens) only consider this: we're talking bout BM publications and Bibles here.
Back when I was in Kuching, I used the Indon Bible and we used 'Allah' to refer to the Almighty God. Now, I dunno why would the Bishop want to refer to God as Allah...the English language is abundant with names for God. But to the BM/Bahasa Indon native speakers...this is the word to call upon the name of God with reverence. How else can they call God?
Perhaps what the linguists can do to ease the tension is to suggest an ALTERNATIVE to the name 'Allah'? I dunno... ... See More
This is really irking me...the politicising of the matter.we should hear from both sides and not start fighting.
From Mior Faiq @ Facebook
ReplyDelete6th January 2010
Thanx for sharing this with us, Dima. Here's an opinion by the previous Perlis' Mufti regarding this issue. It's worth a read.
http://drmaza.com/home/?p=566
From Sabrina Kamaruddin @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
“if you ask me, you'll find a conspiracy theory anywhere about anything if you look hard enough.”
Agree, hands down.
That’s the bottom line. The way I see it. ;)
Shouldn’t be an issue? I believe it is not an issue if you were to live in an Arabic speaking country and Indonesia. Apparently, it is used without any predicament... As how kak am has beautifully described, the general and specific usage of the word Allah by human being IS scripted in the Quran. Now to understand how the issue IS EVEN AN ISSUE in MALAYSIA, i believe ida had also briefed us about it. yes, i understand the "confusion" part.. the concept of trinity and oneness...
but..What we tend to forget is the fact that we cannot deny how this non-issue has been brewed into this chaotic level for no apparent reason except to create conflict in one’s view of a political interest. These politically-tainted mortals manipulate this issue for the good of what? 1malaysia? The next GE?zzzzz
To me, as a humble servant to the Al-mighty, it is not the prominence of a name, yet the EMPHASIS ON INSTILLING the true principle of Islam into our souls in order to still be able to stand tall even after being intimidated, persuaded or humiliated...(and to create less people like me... the'jahil' ones...;) )
From Lisya Ramly @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
a post so timely.. i was definitely keen on knowing your take on this one, dearest dima.. well as for me, i have no intellectual input or opinion on this one.
all i have to say is: i'm not a religion expert neither am i a language guru, but i do know that i know my religion enough to not be shaken by multiple usage of a name so holy- and ... See Morewhatever the reasons are, like the wise marina mahathir had said confident people do not get confused. and to begin with this is a non-issue, only and only if our leaders had snipped the problem at its budding phase. oh well, then again i guess this gives more freedom of speech to the rakyat, no?
anyhow, interesting post this one is!
From Ida Mariana @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
Depends on which way you see it... Allah as a word... or Allah as a God. Each different way will dictate how you view the subject. I'm calling God... Mr Love Supreme... Since those too are words. Tired of the bickering.. what about hunger, poverty, rape, wife beaters, child molestation, orphans, the-stolen-jet-engines, environmental degradation, a-... See Morecertain-bombed-asian-lady, bad administration in our government offices, corruption, money siphoned to the rich from our rich oil resources, healthcare for the poor, bought datukships, mat rempits, snatch theft.. I'd rather not ponder on this issue much more coz it's what some heads of government want. Shalom.
From Attib Siddiqui @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
Good dima. Haha..leceh kan skali dah mula tulis bnda camni.
“If Allah has no Son by definition, Allah is not the God who revealed himself in the Son. How then can the use of Allah by Christians lead to anything but confusion …and worse?”
I think from what that Dr. Albert has said, it's clear enough for the non-muslim about Allah to Muslims while Dr. Asri is not really explaining the issue here although i agree with what he says as well.
(i already typed a long comment but suddenly the connection went dead!) i dont have an intellectual opinion on this i kinda agree with how u conclude *or rather, how you did not conclue*. im just curious, of all the available terminologies that is associated with s/thing human worships, why did they pick Allah? i think, this further proves nothing but the fact that Islam is d only true religion...*Hey i think Islam is actually the holy religion on earth so lets make our religion looks more or less like it so that people who have been hesitating to join Islam will join instead...mmm as a start lets copy Islam's way of calling their God"....
ReplyDeleteFrom Nazima Mohamed Suip @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
this is a topic of interest to everyone as it involves Christian and Islam. in my humble opinion, i back the use of Allah in Christian. this is because in Islam, the use of Allah in Abrahamic faith such as Christian or Judaism is acceptable. but they must not misuse or abuse the name Allah because this may give a very big impact to racial and ... See Morereligious harmony in country like Malaysia. what Muslim in Malaysia really afraid of is they think the idea of Christian using Allah may mislead Muslim into converting. but this is just an opinion.
From Amriana Amirulla @ Facebook
ReplyDelete5th January 2010
God before Islam is not only Allah, there is a lot of god during the jahiliyyah period. Allah was a general word. The specific names for their god are al-lata, al-uzza, al-manat etc. when Islam came it give new meaning to Allah. Islam did not introduce new word so that it will be easier to teach people about God. The word Allah before Islam is no ... See Morelonger the same compared to the one used after Islam has been established in the Arab country. Allah became the proper name and official name of the true God. Like the word Islam, literally it is submission but it become the official name of a religion.
Every word that has been "Islamized" is understood in the framework of Islamic worldview. Words such as Allah, masjid, salat, wahyu, rasul, ulama, are some words that cannot be used by other religious community and vise versa. Therefore we cannot call our ulama as paderi and masjid to become temple. In masjid you don... See More’t just ask from God, and you don’t worship idol in it. So what we do in a masjid is substantially different from what they do in their holy place. The main reason that you came to masjid is to submit yourself, to obey Him. Therefore, sujud (prostation) is a symbol of submission, this is what sujud means of which the name masjid is derived from.
for musleem, just sharing my opinion. We cannot equate 'God' (as what the christian want to translate it to Malay as "Allah" in this case) with Allah. ALLAH is not equal to GOD. Because the word God is generic and the word Allah is a proper name. Therefore when we say "la ilaha illallah" - it is not there is no god but God, this does not make sense... See More, rather it means there is no god but Allah.When we analyze the use of Allah in the Qur’an there are two forms: general and specific. The verse in surah al-Tawbah: 30 only tells that Christians say messiah is the son of God or Jews say that Uzayr is the son of God. Other oft-quoted verse regarding this issue is..”if indeed thou ask them who it is that created the heavens and the earth, they would be sure to say, “Allah.”(al-Zumar, 39:38). Here the word Allah cannot mean the true God because they don’t know who Allah is simply because no prophet was sent to them. Therefore, the use of Allah here is to mean God in general. Therefore there are two usages of Allah in the Qur’an, the general one and the specific one. The spesific use such as that “verily the religion before Allah is Islam” (innaddina indallahi al-Islam), (Ali Imran: 19). Allah here is not just god but the true God.
have to go now..but what i want to point out here is the spirit behind this issue is religious pluralism. They are saying that Muslim God is the same as God in other religion. They wanted to convey that we, Christians and Muslims, have the same God. This is against Islamic creed. Our Aqidah tells us that other god is not the true God (La ilaha ... See Moreghayruh). When we renounce religious pluralism, it does not mean that we also reject religious tolerance and religious diversity. In fact Muslims are the one who introduce these concept to the world. The charter of Madinah is the conclusive evidence on this.
before i leave, maybe this talk by Prof al-attas can give us some answers for this polemic usage of the word ALLAH: check it out! http://rausyanfikir.com/2010/01/prof-al-attas-view-on-polemical-usage.html