Epigraph: Say, ‘O People of the Book! come to a word equal between us and you — that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partner with Him, and that some of us take not others for Lords beside Allah.’ But if they turn away, then say, ‘Bear witness that we have submitted to God.’ (Al Quran 3:65)
Kuala Lumpur: Petronas Twin Towers
Source: Zeenews
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities have asked Vatican’s ambassador to the country to retract his support for the use of the word “Allah” among Christians, saying it can threaten unity among Malaysians.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom said the statement by the ambassador Archbishop Joseph Marino should not be made by any quarters, out of respect to the sensitivities of Muslims in the country.
“The religious tolerance in this country should be taken into account when issuing statements that could be interpreted as disrupting racial harmony in Malaysia,” Jamil said in a statement yesterday.
Marino had on Thursday expressed his support to the Christian Federation of Malaysia’s stand to allow the use of the word “Allah” among Christians while referring to God.
In 2009, Malaysia’s High Court ruled that the word was not the exclusive right of Muslims. The Home Ministry had since appealed to reverse the decision.
To read 40 different English translations of the verse quoted in the epigraph, click here
Categories: Asia, CHRISTIANITY, Islam, Religion, Separation of Church and State
This is a very unfortunate development, where a majority is trying to monopolize a word, ‘Allah,’ the use of which will actually help them in the long haul to introduce Islam to the non-Muslims.
They should rather try to tell the Trinitarian Christians that you can use the word, but, in our understanding Allah is God the father of your tradition and not the Triune God of the Christian tradition. This gives a Muslim an opening to discuss about Trinity, which is a self inflicted wound of Christianity and only exposes its vulnerability.
It seems the Malaysians in their short sightedness are turning their strength into a weakness. What a pity.
Consider searching the word Trinity in Islam for the West and you will see that an informed Muslim should be ready to open dialogue with fellow Christians and not close it.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said his government will continue to uphold Islam and protect its sanctity, including protecting the use of the word “Allah” with the mandate given by the people.
But, in my opinion the issue is not of protecting Islam but the sanity of the Malaysian Muslims.
For example, if someone is named Sameeh Ullah, then a Christian will have to call him Sameeh ul Masih, as a Christian cannot utter the word Allah or all its derivations like ‘Ullah’ and he thinks of Jesus as God and Arabic for Jesus is ‘Masih,’ and a Hindu may call him Sameeh Bhagwan.
What an irony? What insanity?
May Allah guide us to better ways of thinking.
Yes, quite sad. None has copyright on the word “Allah”.
This is just the start it will end with What Zia Ul Haq did InPAKISTAN with his infamous Ordinance banning Ahmadies. Using Islamic words etc.
“The religious tolerance in this country should be taken into account when issuing statements that could be interpreted as disrupting racial harmony in Malaysia,” Jamil said in a statement yesterday.
My dear brother Jamil, how ironic, your goverment should lead by protecting her very own citizens of their own rights to practice their beliefs.
Religious intolerance is rife, well documented and condone by your goverment.
May Allah enable Malaysia to abide by fundamental principle of ABSOLUTE JUSTICE. Ameen
These present day Muslims are bigger enemy of Islam than any other one. They are not leaving any opportunity to give bad name to Islam and Holy Prophet Mohammed SAW. Religion is more than use of words, it is a believe and character. No body can harm your religion if you have good faith and practice it to its fullest meaning. Then you have high morals.
In every Muslim country every possible crimes are more than every other country of the world. But the are worried about the use of words. They are not worried about their overall condition on world map.
Totally senseless and daft!!! I very much doubt if these so-called Muslims have any religious knowledge about their professed faith of Islam.
They seem to be following a ‘fashion’ from other equally ignorant followers of Islam without giving any thought to whether it is right or wrong.
Jahiliyya is back among the majority of ‘Muslims’!!!!:(
There are more than hundred names mentioned for God in the Holy Qur’an. Will Malaysians next ask everyone else to stop uttering all those names of God.
What a tolerance! subhanAllah.
What is the solution? The Vatican do not back up the use of “Allah”. The Sultan decreed non-Muslim cannot use “Allah”. The Menteri Besar Kedah declared non-Muslims cannot use “Allah”. Is Malaysia becoming an Islamic state soon? Will only Muslim police be allowed since the police emblem use “Allah”? Will non-Muslims be severely persecuted and get worse punishment like beheading as this is the punishment for apostates? Are we becoming like Egypt? Syria? Libya? Iran? Afghanistan? Pakistan? Will they start to rape and kill non-Muslims like in Indonesia in 1998 massacre? Will Malaysia continue to blame it on the poor Malays for the repeat of May 13 riots? What is the solution?
Allah is used in the region from Syria, Babylonia, Israel/Palestinian and Arabia in the early days. To monopolize it and say it is and can only used by Muslims is not correct. Only Malaysia has this problem among all the Muslims countries.