Religious tensions are rising in Malaysia over the name of Allah. A recent high court ruling, allowing the use of the Arabic word for God, has sparked protests in Mosques and attacks on Christian churches. The issue has highlighted the fate of the minority religious and ethnic groups in the Malay-Muslim majority country.
Read also: Youth leaders from S’pore and Malaysia condemn attacks on Malaysian churches
peace, world peace.
Yusri Mohamad – I don’t get this guy. His argument is not thought through. He is just regurgitating a hazy fatwa. I’m so glad there are moderates like Marina Mahathir and Khalid Samad – these are thinking intelligent people.
Basically, there is no authority for the use of the word Allah only for muslims. That Yusri guy is only quoting the dictionary, not the Quran. Thats what happens when you confuse the religion with race. You can throw all rational arguments at them – the practice of the non muslims in the middle east and Indonesia, historical references pre and post islam, opinions of other muslims in other parts of the world – they wont care. It is very hard to argue with people who put sentiments before logic. Never mind if their position is totally incongruous in the global muslim community or they become a laughing stock. The point is, this whole episode has nothing to do with religion. It is really politics in disguise.
WHat is worse, it is really an insult to the Muslims and the Malays to suggest that they cannot think for themselves and can be easily confused. At the front page of the Kitab Injil is clearly set out – This is for non muslims only. Therefore, it is very patronising to suggest that muslims would still be confused and be swayed to convert into catholicism. As if their law that makes it illegal to convert a muslim is not enough.
Their latest argument that the Malays are different from other people are pure hogwash. Oops sorry. That expression is not halal.
Yusri Mohd is a law academic at the International Islamic University in KL. I like Khalid’s arguement about the entire uproar as a translation issue and that whether one use the word God or Allah, as long as you are Muslim, you will still reject the definition of any non-Islam god(s). It is ridiculous to differentiate God, Allah and Tuhan in Bahasa.
These are the extremists. They don’t knock on your door, they just burn it.
The other upsetting thing is that the people who hv burnt the churches have once again managed to tarnish the image of Islam. On the one hand they say that Islam is a religion of peace and on the other hand, when they don’t agree with something they go out there parading and stamping on a cow head and now burn churches and throw stones at Sikh temples. Make no mistake. These perpetrator do not represent Islam. The religion itself teaches you not to desecrate places of worship. These people are deviants. It is such a contrast to see the reverend for the Tabernacle church in an interview saying that the Christians forgive the perpetrator and contrast it to the so called Muslim demonstrators fiery speeches. One of their leaders actually shouted “burn the churches!”. I am Muslim and Malay and I am shocked and horrified and disgusted by these very unislamic display. And as further confirmation that this has nothing to do with religion the demonstrators are shown stepping on the picture of a Pakatan Rakyat leader from the opposition. Hmmm.
And the Malaysian government has just announced that Sabah & Sarawak can continue to use the word Allah in their Christian literature but the word will continue to be banned in peninsula Malaysia from usage by Christians. Hahahaha. So much for 1Malaysia. SOunds more like China, one country, 2 systems.
It is so obvious this backtracking is necessary to stem any damage that could otherwise result from a mega tsunami of boycott of the Barisan NAtional by Sabah and Sarawak voters in the next general election.
if you take a step back and see through a wider angle of vision, it is as clear as day that this has nothing to with religion at all, it is purely political.
umno will collapse without the support of the majority malay muslim community in malaysia. simple as that. and what easier way to accomplish their agenda than to just create a division of the good ol “us vs them” tactic.
Yusri Mohd’s arguements are flawed. He talks like a clown without any substance.
When Islam is a UNIVERSAL religion then only Mecca or the Grand Islamic Clergy (like the Vatican for the Roman Catholics) can issue a credible and valid fatwa (decree) on who canand who can’t use “Allah”. Right?
And this it has! That’s why the peoples of the BOOK i.e. Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Middle East use “Allah” since time immemorial. Even the world largest Muslim country, Indonesia, has no qualms abt it. “Allah” is used by Indonesians of the Christian and Muslim faiths. What more, the majority of the so-called Malays, except for the aborigines Orang Asli, in Malaysia are themselves migrants from Indonesia!
Malaysian Malays CAN’T patent “Allah”. They DON”T have the copyright. Just like “MacDonald”. In the first place they didn’t invent that word. It’s ARABIC for goodness sake!
The world can help laughing out loud at Malaysia every time UMNO shows its sheer stupidity.
Some information which may be necessary at this juncture;
1) The term ‘Allah’ used by Jews and Christians in the Middle East is in reference to the same, ONE God as believed by Muslims. Christians in the Middle East do not believe in the concept of trinity. Christians in Malaysia do.
2) The Christians in Malaysia generally have used English as their first language. Their bibles and services are in English.
3) The proper Malay translation of God is Tuhan. Allah is the Arabic translation of God.
to 9) Sultan
Just to clarify, in Islam, there is no such thing as a grand Islamic clergy. There is no “Church” or central religious governing system.
In Catholicism, there is the Vatican with the Pope as the highest position who can decide on anything to do with the religion and henceforth, all Catholics the world over will have to follow that decision.
In Islam, no such thing. No Muslim can speak on behalf of ALL Muslims in the world like the Pope can to all Catholics, the same as no rabbi or Protestant can speak on behalf of their respective co-religionists.
Nawaz, you are wrong on two out of three counts at least.
Please google : Council of Nicaea and you will find that christians in the middle east do accept the concept of trinity.
Only in West Malaysia does worship get conducted in English, Chinese, Tamil etc. In East Malaysia, the christians have been using the word ‘allah’ for centuries.
The malay word for god is tuhan is right – the malaysian national anthem uses this word. But the arabic word ‘allah’ is not the property of muslims as the language predates Islam and they have no right to dictate how others use the word. You cant win this argument in any court of law. The only way is violence and the fiat of naked power- is Msia ready to blacken the name of islam further?
I hope that you are not a Singaporean as I find your implicit support for what is happening in Msia worrying.
That said, UMNO has been behind all of the ‘anger’ expressed by the so-called muslim ngo groups and is the hand that is pinching the baby while pretending to rock the cradle.
The developments across the causeway leave me agast. The cow-head protest was shocking enough, but the firebombing of churches is beyond the pale. Never thought that such events could come to pass so easily in Msia.
The key issue is what the Abim spokesman declaims rather fanatically : he flatly refuses the separation between personal faith and government. Secularism is the only protection for keeping the peace in multi-faith societies.
Wow, Marina Mahathir has single handedly changed my impressions of Mahathir, Malaysian Malays and Muslims in general. Props to her – there is hope for Malaysia yet.
Watching what Mr. Wong Kan Seng had mentioned on the need of Singaporeans to integrate with New Citizens and foreigners did reassure the world that the Government is taking measures to ensure everyone in Singapore will live in harmony, regardless of races and nationalities. That is the way to be.
Un-believable. Are we all not children of God and praying to the one Supreme God? Just that different languages have different names for God and different beliefs and practices according to the religion you follow. People need to wake up. When we are in need for help, everyone prays to the one same God.