The government of Malaysia has reversed a decision to ban a Christian newspaper from using the word “Allah” to refer to God.
Earlier, the government had threatened to refuse to give the Weekly Herald a newspaper publishing permit if it continued to use the word “Allah,” saying only Muslims could use it.
"The word 'Allah' had long been used by Christians to refer to God in the Malay language," argued the Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the paper, according to the British Broadcasting Corp.
"And we are of the view that we have the right to use the word 'Allah'."
Not long after the Weekly Herald filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian government at the beginning of December, the government back-tracked.
In a fax to the Herald's editor, the government said the newspaper will get its 2008 permit with no conditions attached, according to BBC.
Upon hearing the latest development, Lawrence said, "I am delighted, our prayers had been answered."
The editor blamed politics and a general election expected there in 2008 year for what he said were the actions of a few over-zealous ministers in the Muslim-dominated Malay government.
The Herald is the newspaper of the Catholic Church in Malaysia with a circulation of around 12,000. It publishes in four different languages.
Meanwhile, there is no update on the battle being waged by the Sabah Evangelical Church of Borneo, which also initiated legal proceedings after it was banned from importing Christian books with the word “Allah” in it.
Jerry Dusing, pastor of Sabah Evangelical Church of Borneo said that the word “Allah” had been used for generations by Malay speakers at Sabah and noted that it is used in the Malay Bible.
"The Christian usage of 'Allah' predates Islam. 'Allah' is the name of God in the old Arabic Bible as well as in the modern Arabic Bible," he said, according to the Associated Press.
Dusing also noted that the word “Allah” is commonly used by Christians in countries like Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Indonesia.
Malaysia, a country of around 25 million, is around 60 percent Muslim, 19 percent Buddhist, 9 percent Christian and 6 percent Hindu.
Although the constitution of the country officially allows freedom of religion, minority groups have often accused the Muslim Malay majority of trying to increase the role of Islam in the country.
Comments
Interesting follow-up article:
http://au.christiantoday.com/article/allah-was-used-by-arab-christians-before-islam-was-founded/3707.htm
RBB-I should not have presumed you to be American, but your comments sounded as such. I have lived in three countries among 15 or more cultures, myself.
Usage determines meaning for a word. In some places and contexts it has one meaning, whereas in others, it use is different. Despite usage in English, Allah is simply a generic term with specific connotation as referring to the one and only true God. Islam characterizes that God in a different way than does Judaism and Christianity. It does, however, claim Allah as the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is a significant bridge for conversation with a Muslim about the Christian understanding of God. Don't confuse the word and reference to an interpretation system.
I particularly would prefer to use Yahweh, as that is the only personal name for God in the Bible. Even Paul refers to the failing concepts of other peoples in order to create a bridge for sharing the fuller message of the gospel. It seems to me this is what the Malaysian believers are seeking. As the article states, they have been using the term Allah among themselves for generations. Now they are allowed to use it publicly.
xizwyck - So what you are suggesting is that every time they use the word God they put some kind of disclaimer, just not maybe that one?
You (and theoteck) have no idea what my cultural bias is, so it makes no more sense when you say it.
When I use the word God, Dios, Gott, or Dieu I am using a generic word for God, not the specific name of a false god. By the way I'm not "condemning" anyone, I'm simply stating my opinion, and isn't that what we are supposed to be doing here?
You don't think that the world over, the name "allah" isn't recognized as the specific name of the false god that muslims worship, you're kidding right? If you are serious please take a look at CNN, MSNBC, FOX NEWS, BLOOMBURG, the internet, any newspaper in any country such as the Times (London), The New York Times, The Ottawa Citizen, the Jerusalem Post, etc... Arabic Christians also know, they are living on the front lines. Those in Malaysia are having to fight to keep using the word, so they are sure to know, it's just that they are being encouraged to fight the wrong fight.
So you think that calling God the name allah, or molech, or beelzebub, or ganesha is pleasing to Him?
RBB - "You are suggesting that every time muslims refer to God they include that they are referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?"
- No but that was just an example of context.
www.theotrek.org is right. You are inserting your bias into their cultural and linguistic context.
Your wrote - "Can it please Him for those who worship Him to call Him by another "god's" name?" - You do it every time you say the word God. That word once applied to false god(s) but was adopted for Yahweh because it was a word that people understood, as in their own language. You are doing the very thing that you are condemning.
You wrote - "The problem is that in this day and age, allah is the name of a specific false god." - For you it apparently does, not for those who speak Arabic (including Arabic Christians of course).
www.theotrek.org - The point would be......God knows it means false God. It is Him that matters here. They are calling Him by another "god's" name. They may not know, but it is the job of those that do, like the Reverend and Pastor listed in the article to tell them instead of pushing to continue the practice.
What makes you think I'm an American?
RBB-To believers in Malaysia, it does not mean false God. To them it means that they are now allowed to publicly claim they serve the one and only God. You are inserting our American English bias into their cultural and linguistic context.
maranatha7593 - Thanks for the great site. I printed it out.
xizwyck - You are suggesting that every time muslims refer to God they include that they are referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Ambiang - The question isn't whether they use this as their generic name for god. The problem is that in this day and age, allah is the name of a specific false god. A name which there is no doubt means a false god that "teaches" what is completely counter to what is taught by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Can it please Him for those who worship Him to call Him by another "god's" name?
I hate to reduce this to a level of just discussing a plain word, but it reminds me of my dear mother. Till the day she died she was very upset that the word "gay" had been hijacked to mean something she believed was an abomination. To her it was a lovely word, from her youth, that denoted being happy and joyful. Of course in this day and age it means something extremely different. Sometimes you just have to accept things aren't as you wish they would be and change your behavior.
Maranatha7953--Yes, I know Ergun Canner, and I know Muslim background believers who have no use for him. He expresses one slant of Islam as though it were all-encompassing.
I believe your friend refers to the character of God as presented in the traditions, not the term itself. For her, there may be a specific identification with the term Allah, but it is the generic term for God in Arabic. Do you think of Yahweh and God as synonyms? I know Christians who have no use for the term "Yahweh," even though it is God's personal name (the only one given in the Bible, all else being titles). The Hebrew behind the term God (Elohim) simply means "gods", having a specific reference when used with the singular form of a verb (God). It is generic, but understood as specific in its tradition. In English, we distinguish with our generic "God" and the Arabic transliteration, Allah. In terms of language, there is no real difference. In terms of traditions, associations, and theology, there are worlds of differences.
Ergun Caner (former Muslim, now a Christian) distinguishes between Jehovah God and Allah.
http://www.erguncaner.com/home/resources/images/Jehovah_vs-_Allah.pdf
A sidenote: I read a book a couple years ago, called _I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Womans Encounter with God_, by Bilquis Sheikh. (It's available at Amazon)
She definitely distinguished between Allah and the Christian's God. Since she lived in Saudi Arabia, I would think she would be a reputable source.
maranatha7593--"Allah" means "God" in Arabic. "Islam" means submission, with the intent of submission to the will of God.
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/Allah
I read somewhere that 'Allah' means 'submission', which does not correspond with the meaning of the Christian's God.
See my postings on the earlier story at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071228/30662_Malaysia_Christians_Challenge_Ban_on_'Allah'.htm
I explain the linguistic usage of Allah as the common language word for God used by Malay and Indonesian speaking peoples. Also I mention that Arabic speaking Christians have used Allah for centuries before the Koran was written.
The oldest Bibles in Malay and Indonesian which were translated 400 years or so ago used "Allah" because they had no choice other than borrow a foreign language term; but why borrow when the word Allah exists already, just as Christians in the Englosh speaking word used the existing word God (which had been used by pagans in pre Christian times in some form or other).