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.
RSS
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).
RBB,
Similar to what believers need to do in English when we need to differentiate between Christianity and Mormonism (don't intend to create a tangent) - especially when Mormonism claims to be mainstream. Or just like how we read in the Old Testament, for example, Exodus 3:6: "Then he [God] said, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.'"
You have to define the context so that people know who you are talking about.
xizwyck - You say.... "Arabic Christians would need to do the same to distinguish from the 'Allah' of the Muslims."
How would you have them do that?
There is no doubt that whoever the Muslims worship, it is not God but we can't ignore one's language. I guess, when all is said and done... all I'm saying is that 'Allah' is simply an Arabic word for God, but just as we need to preface that we are talking about Thee God, Arabic Christians would need to do the same to distinguish from the 'Allah' of the Muslims.
maranatha7593,
Obviously Christian Arabs do distinguish between the God who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is revealed in the New Testament... ummm... that is what makes them Christians... but do you honestly believe that they need to use the English word for God in place of their own language? Obviously, they are not meaning Allah as how a Muslim would use the word.
The thing is, this could conceivably cause problems for other Christians around the world.
I have to admit that i believe this argument to be one of the most rediculus that I have read on CP, we need to concentrate on worshiping and living for Jesus rather then worry what everyone calls their heavenly father...
On an obelisk in front of the main Muslim mosque in Mecca are inscribed these words:
"There is one God, and he has no Son."
Pretty clear, isn't it.
xizwyck, do you think Arab Christians do not distinguish between the God who is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who is revealed in the New Testament, and the Muslim god?
xizwyck - I'm pretty sure that what I've just written answers you, but if not let me know. Sorry but I gotta get up really early, so if there's answering to do, it'll have to be tomorrow.
jsgdenver - Jesus called God Father, I call Him that as well. The problem is not what the generic term for God is in another language. The problem is that "allah" has ceased to be simply a generic term, if it ever was one. It is the proper name of a false god. A god that is not the same as the God of the Bible.
The God of scripture is not simply known as "God". Here is a website on the names of God...there are links to others at the bottom. You will notice that EL is listed first and it states that "El is linguistically equivalent to the Moslem "Allah," but the attributes of Allah in Islam are entirely different from those of the God of the Hebrews". The God of the Hebrews is the God that we as Christians worship. Allah is the false god that Muslims worship. I would object just as much if there was a group of people calling god "moleck", or "beelzebub".
RBB,
Have you ever translated text from a foreign language into English? Or vice-versa? Do you understand that the English word 'God' has no meaning for anyone who does not speak English? In Spanish, God is Dios, in German, God is Gott, in French, God is Dieu, and in Hebrew, God is Elohiym (transliterated).
If we take your position of using the correct name, terminology, title, etc... for God (meaning the one true God - for the context, I'm a follower of Christ), then we should not be using English as it pertains to God.
Note: I don't post this to insult anyone but to edify any reader.
RBB - What did Jesus call God? Was it God, spelled G-O-D? Why do you use a different name than Jesus? Just curious why your distiction of how Christians refer to God matters when it seems you are committing the same mistake?
There may be Christians that call God by the the name allah. What is being said is that it is wrong. Even if they used the word before they became aware of Christianity, and even if they meant it in a generic way, it isn't a generic name any longer. Now it's a specific name for a specific false god. One who's followers teach more than just falsehood about this non-god, but also false teachings about the real God.
These people no longer live in a closed off atmosphere with no contact with the outside world. They should be taught that what they are saying is very, very wrong. It is unconscionable that the Reverend and the Pastor named, or anyone else that knows the truth of this matter, should continue to allow this situation to continue. To actually fight for believers to call God by a false name is beyond belief.
I too googled this situation and what I found was site after site naming the differences between the teachings and commandments of our God and this false god allah. Those that know the truth need to teach the people making this mistake to correct it. All it does is blur lines that need to be make very plain, especially in the days we live in. All religions are not the same. " As long as you believe in something" is wrong. There is one God the Father, one Jesus Christ, one Holy Spirit and they are One. There is no other way to be saved then through the Son. To allow these poor confused people to continue in there error is simply wrong.
maranatha7593 & RBB,
What do you think Arab Christians call God? Do you think they all speak English? Check out the following link (all I did was google, I can't answer for the rest of the website).
http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/allah.html
RBB, you are right.
Allah is the proper name for a false god. It isn't a generic of any kind. It is the same as saying that God should be called by the name ganesha, the hindu elephant god.
Allah is Arabic for the name God.
The real issue is that Muslims do not have sole rights to language nor words.
The literal name for God is taken from the Old English (and German before that)... so it is also an issue of translation... so to use 'Allah' for 'God' is simply translating the noun into another language. Of course, everything needs to be in context for the proper use and translation to apply.
HP, you need to say that to the Muslims in Denmark.
What difference does it make? Zeus by any other name.........
One has to wonder how this happened in the first place. Was it that muslims made it to this country before Christians, and then when missionaries got there they just let the locals think that Allah was the same as Jehovah?
They might as well think His name is the same as a false hindu god. Instead of fighting to call God by a false name, this Reverend, Pastor and the others should be fighting to make the Christians there understand they are calling God by the name of a false god.
WOW. Can one imagine what would happen if a Muslim newspaper - say, in Denmark - was forced to call Allah by the name of "Jehovah"???