So much for interfaithing, that idiotic process which attempts to equate the Abrahamic faiths. In Malaysia, only Muslims may legally use the word "Allah." The law is being challenged by Christians:
A MALAYSIAN church and a Christian weekly newspaper are suing the Government for banning them from using the word "Allah", alleging the prohibition is unconstitutional and against freedom of religion.If the courts do not find in favor of the Christians, maybe they can switch to the term "the moon god." Yeah, that'll work even better!
The move follows the Government's declaration that "Allah" — which means God in the Malay language — refers to the Muslim God and can be used only by Muslims.
They are the first legal challenges against the mainly Muslim Government's decision, amid concerns that rights were being trampled on.
The Herald, the newspaper of Malaysia's Catholic Church, filed suit in early December.
The Sabah Evangelical Church of Borneo also took legal action this month.
10 comments:
Wait a minute. The fools are actually and legally declaring that they have their own god? That the Christian and Hebrew God is not the same as their moon god?
What more proof do we need now that Islam is a cult and has no connection whatsoever with the Bible like they claim.
Let's get the rest of the Muslim world to make this legal claim and the argument is over.
I think the writer of this article did not know what he was talking about. He said Allah means God in the Malay language. No, it is an Arabic word.
I guess that's a quibble, but it's stuff like that that bothers me. It shows that journalists don't know shit about Islam.
Pastorius,
Yeah, I noticed that flaw.
But that law in Malaysia seems to indicate that Allah is a god different from other gods.
WC,
I see that you got the point about the "specialness" of Allah.
Oh yeah, Allah is definitely a different God. In fact, he used to go by a different name. His name was Moloch.
And check this out. Excerpt:
Deputy Minister of Insecure Internals, Johari "I find everything confusing" Baharum, recently made it clear that certain words, like A****, are Arabic, and therefore only appropriate for Muslims, or used in the context of Islam. After all, as everyone knows, Islam is Arab, and Arab is Islam, history and reality be damned. Malaysiakini, reporting on this shockingly stupid revelation, quoted the Deputy Minister as saying:
“Only Muslims can use ‘Allah’. It’s a Muslim word, you see. It’s from (the) Arabic (language). We cannot let other religions use it because it will confuse people,” he said when contacted today.
“We cannot allow this use of ‘Allah’ in non-Muslim publications, nobody except Muslims. The word ‘Allah’ is published by the Catholics. It’s not right.”
(source: Malaysiakini - subscription required)
Realizing the impact of this latest governmental herald, HENN correspondents Ben d'Over & Thakit Likaman, recently exhumed, again, for this special report, discovered that a new can of worms had inadvertently been opened. What brand of worms, or if the can had exceeded its shelf life, were not immediately known.
Since Arabic has implicitly been decreed as only useable by Muslims, and in Islamic contexts, there is now the question of whether or not the unauthorized use by non-Muslims of other Arabic words would also become a future thought crime.
Pastorius,
Yes, Moloch.
From Wiki:
Moloch in medieval texts
Like some other gods and demons found in the Bible, Moloch appears as part of medieval demonology, as a Prince of Hell. This Moloch finds particular pleasure in making mothers weep; for he specialises in stealing their children. According to some 16th century demonologists Moloch's power is stronger in October. It is likely that the motif of stealing children was inspired by the traditional understanding that babies were sacrificed to Moloch.
Moloch in Milton's Paradise Lost
In Milton's Paradise Lost, Moloch is one of the greatest warriors of the rebel angels, vengeful and militant,
"besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears."
He is listed among the chief of Satan's angels in Book I, and is given a speech at the parliament of Hell in Book 2:43 - 105, where he argues for immediate warfare against God. He later becomes revered as a pagan god on Earth.
BTW, in the early days of Islam, the tribes did not have to abandon their other gods. Rather, they were required to say that Allah was the greatest of the gods. "Allahu Akbar" means "Allah is the greatest." According to an Arab with whom I spoke a few months ago, that phrase was designed to ease the tribes into monotheism. So, even way back then, the concept of absolute truth was nebulous and to be used for political gain.
We may now declare: QED! :-)
I think you should put up more posts on this subject that the name Allah is only to be used by Muslims.
hi Always On Watch,
thanks for stopping by my post on this subject:
http://juslo.blogspot.com/2007/12/believing-in-islam-would-make-you.html
however, in case u r not aware, the following post is a satire, not real news:
http://asylum60.blogspot.com/2007/12/henn-governmental-cunning-linguists-ban.html
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the common use of the 'A' word by all abrahamic religions is only natural. they all claim to worship the same GOD, they only differ with respect to who is the legitimate PROPHET to the same god.
some have argued that the whole point of this exercise is actually to make it harder for muslims in malaysia (who mainly speaks Bahasa Melayu) to learn about christianity (bcos the government is not confident that islam could survive the competition), n also to make it much more difficult for Bahasa Melayu-speaking christians to learn about their own religion, thereby creating opportunities for islam to come in...
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