A lot of my friends here in the UK have been asking me about the recent controversy over use of the word 'Allah' by Christians in Malaysia. I was not actually sure what it was all about myself and did some research.
It all started when the Government of Malaysia banned the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims. Apparently this issue was raised up by a few people who objected to the words being used in Bibles - most of them printed in Indonesia. Then recently Malaysia's high court overturned the ban following a lawsuit filed in 2007 by The Herald - a Catholic newspaper.
It then became a political issue and the debate even spilled onto the Blogosphere. A number of Christian bloggers blogged in support of the court's decision while other bloggers were against it - some claiming it to be a attack on Malay rights.
Following the court ruling, several churches in Malaysia have come under a spate of fire-bombings and vandalism attacks - nine at last count
Initially, I was wondering why Christians would want to use the word "Allah" - which is God in Arabic (not restricted to Muslims) when the Bahasa Malaysia word for God is actually Tuhan. However, I later found the word has been in use in Christian publications and church services for a number of years before this whole controversy and violence.
I totally disagree with people who claim that this would lead to confusion among Muslims and encourage them to convert to Christianity. Burning houses of worship is definitely not a very religious activity.
A lot of people don't see the positive side - everyone in Malaysia regardless of faith should be encouraged to use the word Allah to refer to God. Hopefully people will then come to realise that we are all praying to the same "God". Thus one less reason to fight over.
Just my opinion and you may disagree.
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4 comments:
I have the same point of view with you. It won't lead to confusion as long as your know our own faith.
By the way the media in Borneo have been using the world 'Allah' for quite sometimes in their bulletin [Christian newsletter]
I totally agree with you. The claim saying that the use of the word Allah in Christian publications could cause confusion among Muslims is really outrageous. If a Muslim got confused perhaps he / she should question their own faith in Islam. Denying the right to use the word Allah in Christian publications is the same as denying the existing of Isa a.s. It's ridiculous. The bible also comes from Allah and stating that Christians do not worship the same God as ours thus forfeiting their rights to use the word is the same as going against what the holy Quran taught us about
al kitab. This issue is just another ploy to get people to fight against each other. It's really sad. May Allah shows them the way.
Religion, faith, conflict...
I agree with you.
There is only one God, and that is Allah (s.w.t.).
That's my way of saying I agree with you.
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