The Malaysian Insider

An arab but not a muslim is not allowed to use his own language only in Malaysia. So non-muslim arabs please do not use the word ALLAH (GOD) while visiting Malaysia.

fight for out human rights under UNDHR and if necessary take the stupid govt and all the moronic umno to court

If Umno wants to play the race and religion card then practically everything can be seen from a racial and religious viewpoint even an arabic word.

so MalayBoy.. are you trying to point out that only Muslims have the exclusive right to use the word 'Allah"?
One must not be ignorant to the fact that the usage of "Allah" predates Islam...

Can someone here please let us know WHY the word Allah is exclusive ONLY to the muslims, and thus cannot be used by others, including the "People of the Book" (i.e. Christians and the Yahudi)? What MalayBoy writes is true, but doesn't provide any reason that the word "Allah" should be only used by Muslims.

Another point to consider, if the Arab Muslims do not mind their non-muslim counterparts naming God "Allah", then why are the muslims here so scared of Christians calling God "Allah"?

The word Allah had been used before the beginning of time and has been used by the Prophets from the time of Adam A.S till Mohammad S.A.W. and till today.

[Ankabut 29:61] And if you ask them (non-believers), “Who created the heavens and the earth, and subjected the sun and the moon?”, they will surely say, “Allah”; so where are they reverting?

[Ankabut 29:62] Allah eases the sustenance for whomever He wills among His bondmen, and restricts it for whomever He wills; indeed Allah knows all things.

[Ankabut 29:63] And if you ask them (non-believers) , “Who sent down the water from the sky, and with it revived the earth after its death?”, they will surely say, “Allah”; proclaim, “All praise is to Allah”; in fact most of them do not have any sense.

I trust what malayboy wants to conyey is that muslims uses the name "Allah" in a monotheistic sense i.e. prescribing no partners whatsoever to the one almighty God (Allah).

Malaysian government is the most superficial and narrow minded people in the world.

Indonesia with a population of over 200 millions is the largest Muslim country in the world (not all are Muslims) yet they have no problem with the issue. The Arabs who are the originator of Islam and Quran have no issue with it. Yet Malaysia who doesn't own the Arabic word try to monopolize its use.

Malaysia Boleh!!!

So ironic ... Malayboy, refer your Quranic translation in English and you will notice that the quote showed "God" as "God" and not 'Allah' as per your argument. Shouldn't you go and tell the Quranic translators that they have made a grave mistake that your God has a specific name? Let them give you the answer.

The word Allah is also used by the pagan Maccans before and during Prophet Muhammad's time for a specific moon God. And you can also see it from the point of view onf linguistic.

Personally, i am ok to not use the word Allah. It will then show that the God of Christianity and Judaism is the same and different from the God of Islam. But then, it would contradict the line that Islam is the pinnacle of these Abrahamaic religion. Isn't that the argument used to win conversion?

How can people of the book have different Gods? Is God of Ibrahim different from God of Esa and different from God of Mohammad?
Who first called allah in worship?
Really everyone pray to the same God even if they see their God differently, unless of course if you are an atheist.
Will God cease to exist if you don't believe or see him differently?
Maybe the atheist is the best if he care not what you believe and is at peace with everybody.

If I had a dime for every time someone says 'Why Bother' just as BackAlleyKid said above, I would be rich.

Malaysia is in this hole precisely because people just couldn't be bothered. This attitude has allowed BN to step willy nilly all over our rights as Malaysian as provided by the Constitution.

And before someone tries to pin me as a Christian or a Muslim, let me clearly state that I am neither - though why I should even have to state the above is a sad sad statement that speaks to the ills of our country and our countrymen.

What change that the government is talking about?. Learn from Indonesia they do not have problem with this.

This problem is created by Umno who is always over worried or try to protect the muslim for what?. Beieve in oneself is the most important.

I'm all agree with malayboy... n mr confused, especially in this country, the word Allah should always refer Muslim god, Allah. If any attempt such this be allowed, it may jeopardise later muslim generation since there's Allah in Islam n christian. They might be confused or somebody might misused the term. We don't want it to happen or would you?

Confused: "One must not be ignorant to the fact that the usage of "Allah" predates Islam..."

Another facts that u r confused is that Islam do not started since Prophet Muhammad S.A.W, but, actually started since Prophet Adam, the first person on this world. This on the contrary of what u said, or what people like you think about Islam.

Let's ask Obama to sort this out!!! He'll now what to do...

Yes, Arabs have been using the word Allah whether they are Muslims or Coptic Christians for centuries and I as a believing and practicing Muslim see no problem with it and do not find it offensive in anyway ....when this whole issue on using the word Allah by Catholics in Malaysia came about, initially I sided with the right of the Catholic Church, I mean my faith is strong enough to understand the difference but as the debate progressed, now i'm starting to have doubts. Firstly, Allah is not a Malay word, its use only came when Islam came. We had different terms, Tuhan being one of them before Islam. If this debate is to suffice then how would one translate God in Tamil or Mandarin then? where the predominant religion and culture is Hinduism and Buddhism....and above all, why now? why suddenly now do the Catholic community want to use Allah and lets be frank, it can get confusing. So there...i have my serious doubts on the honesty of this whole thing......

Now, the Herald print for the Malay section is in Bahasa Malaysia, therefore the right word for GOD in Bahasa Malaysia is TUHAN and not ALLAH. If there are no other words or any other alternative, then use the Arabic word ALLAH. I can go on for ages, for three generations, just answer these questions:

* Can we change our Rukun Negara from KEPERCAYAAN KEPADA TUHAN to KEPERCAYAAN KEPADA ALLAH? If it is okay, then you have my support.
* If you find no wrong in using the ALLAH word, I suggest you walk the talk, next time, tell you kids “Pray to Allah for the food on your table.” or “Oh my Allah!” or “In the name of Allah, stop cursing!” Use it in your wedding vows too!
* Since mixing Arabic word with the Malay language is acceptable, why not go all the way, change all the bible in English that uses the word GOD for ALLAH.
* During Sunday prayers, tell your kids :”Pray to Allah” not “Pray to God”

I really cannot comprehend the actual purpose of all this hoopla.

Our country has more pressing issues to be taken care of; like the current global economic downturn leading to unemployment and how these group of people who lost/about to lose their jobs are going to survive with the rising costs of living, how remote places still lacks the basic necessities such as water and electricity, how those children living there still have troubles going to school either because their places are flooded or muddy because of the non-existence of tarred roads, and while we're at it, what the powers that be can do to reduce traffic congestion..My point is, there are real issues out there which needs to be resolved.

And yet, here we are. 'Fighting' and draining our energies to 'fix' something that need not be fixed in the first place. It baffles me how the simple word "Allah" can be dragged into this whole mess. Its use in the Herald was a non-issue until someone highlighted it. Why can't we leave it alone? Why must there be a right or wrong (in terms of who can or can't use the word)? Sharing is caring..

With due respect, i personally think that the word doesn't belong exclusively to any religion. It should be a mutual understanding that the word has a very deep and common meaning for both religions, and based on that ground, we should respect that fact and each other instead of fighting. Only God knows which is right and wrong.

At this time when the Government are trying their very best to foster unity among the different cultures in Malaysia (and the rejection of the idea for Race Relations Act), there should be a fair and just conclusion to this issue. We portray ourselves as a nation where people with different beliefs/cultures live together in harmony (Malaysia Truly Asia, everyone?) and we will certainly become a laughing stock if our country is nothing like that.

The powers that be try so hard to bring us together, and yet they are also the ones who manage to disunite us, time and again...

Herald is not being pig-headed!. Your pain in your arse is typical intolerance by the Supreme fanatics groomed by Dr Mad & his big farm members.
The point Herald is heralding is that we are all children of the Omnipotent and are therefore all equal. There is really no such thing as your God and my Allah.
Do pray sincerely to Allah for forgiveness for your shallow and narrow attitude to your fellow brothers.

in reply to wise,

"it may jeopardise later muslim generation since there's Allah in Islam n christian. They might be confused or somebody might misused the term."


One can only be confused when one's faith is weak, or when one has no understanding about his/her own religion. it's as simple as that.

Both sides are pig-headed.

Allah is a proper noun, and it's not equivalent to the Hebrew words like Elah, Eloha, Elohim, etc. although they sound phonetically similar.

The Nabateans even named one of their deities "Allah", in contrast to the many gods that they worshipped. This shows that historically, the world "Allah" hasn't always meant a singular supreme God, but it's a name of a divinity, whether for polytheists as one of their deities or for monotheists as their singular God.

Christians can use the term, but it might be un-Christian to so as they are attributing a name not related to Yahweh but instead has its origins in various pre-Christian religions and later used by Muslims. They should remove all doubt and refer to God as just God or Yahweh which is the way it should be. "Allah" could be also be a polytheist's deity although it's more widely used by Muslims to refer to their god.

don't talk about give and take please. this has nothing to do with give and take, and your inability to comprehend this issue brings shame to muslims and malaysians.

don't ask the church to reconsider or to change the words. these words have been in use many years, and it doesn't belong exclusively to muslims. even the malay language has stolen words from other languages, so what's the big deal here? why not ask the government to reconsider and stop acting like facist bastards? what's next after this? christians have to stay in the ghetto? buddhists need to work in the factory?

What the heck man,Mr.Home Minister and whoever the stupid minister is in charge of the
ministry approving the printing permit..

Why argue and quarrel over the word Allah..the word alone and the usage does not make
one less holy..religious connotations should not be monopolised by any one group,after all,
all religions preaches goodness,compassions etc.etc..I would be more worried if one has no
religion or does not believe in any religion..man of little faith,why do you doubt...you can
indoctrinate me in anyway you want,if my faith is strong,you can use any words for that matter.

That is why we say,the ruling Govt and UMNO must changed in the manner we think,the action
and example we demonstrate to voters and finally,the compassion and humility coming from the heart..

The wow factor is not enough lah..

This like someone registered a company named Computer Inc and then after that forbid others to use the word "computer" claiming that it's their trademark.

Why other religions in msia are not fighting the use of "allah" in their publications or in their religious affairs. Why is it only christians. What are your true intentions in fighting for this cause. In our constitution, malays are muslim and malays are ok with this apart from one or two lina joys. The Herald wants the use of the word allah to confuse the malays in converting them to christianity. No ones faith is 100% strong especially when your are young. Sorry but I think there is something else then just the usage of the word allah......ada udang disebalik batu.

Why in indonesia, the world allah can be used but still the churches there uses the world "lord" and "god" and not the use of "allah". Why? Why? Why? Can someone answer this question? Why? Why? Why?

I agree with Calvin Ngan. I was in jakarta recently to attend a chrristian friend's wedding and I was supprised when they did not use the word allah in the wedding ceromony or in their wedding vows. Pls someone answer my question..........why, why, why???????????

Pls stop this nonsence.

We Catholics in Sabah have been using Bahasa Malaysia in our our masses (church services) for years and we have always used the word Allah. This is nothing new. What is new is the corrupt BN Goverment trying to control the other religions. And we cannot allow that.

Hello MalayBoy,
Looks like you don't realise the Muslim's ALLAH and the Christians ALLAH are the same GOD.
You mentioned GOD can be plural and feminine, I agree on this but it does not apply to Christianity at all!

Please do more research before you comment on anything relating to Christianity or Islam, it also looks like you do not know your Holy Koran well enough.

A man invited some friends' families to his house for dinners.

During the dinner, some of the invited families' children as usual ask to their dads, saying:" Dad can I have this... that... the other" "Dad, can I have the potato chips...this .. that ..and the other..." The usual stuff that happen during meals with children.

The man got very upset and said to the guests:" Please stop your children from using the word "Dad" "

The guests ask:"Why?"

The man: " Because my children call me "Dad", they may get confused if your children also call you "Dad". They may mistake you to be their Dad."

The guests: "But they have been doing that since they were born. And everybody do that everywhere!"

The man: "Well, not in my house!!!"

Actually all religion are good. Problem only arises when there are smart asses trying to play God and defining the rights and the wrongs in their own Godly-way.

for heaven's sake, can everyone please compromise? There are more important things than the use of 1 word.

Calvin brought up 3 scenarios that could put some sense into the Herald's flawed insistence of using the word "Allah". If "Allah" is to be a veritable substitute for the word "God", which "Tuhan" ostensibly isn't, then our fellow Malaysians of the Catholic faith should feel no undue discomfort with the three situational anecdotes suggested by Calvin. Only by seeing it in the context as Calvin did, can one truly see the absurdity of it all.

As I am a christian from East Malaysia, and have been using the word 'Allah' for all of my life. Using Dayaks Bible too, the words 'Allah Taala' has been there even before our independence days.
Do you all suggest to ban this wonderful book from the Dayaks people in future because of "Allah' word.? What did the dayaks people do that can hurts others? Most people know we were once great warriors and has defended our country from outside intruders. In my heart, I am very sad as brotherhood in human being living on this wonderful created planets have been polluted by men itself due to pride. Yes it is pride, which cause first man Adam to fall.
By the way,this wonderful book, with word "Allah" has tamed the Dayak's people from Sarawak.

Christians in india never use term Vishnu, Siva to call GOD. Why Heraly wants use Allah?? Please respect other religon. If you want called god in Bahasa use Tuhan. No issue at all...

For Christians, "Allah" is not the name of God, but it is the generic word for God as appears in the Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia translations of the Bible. The word has been used in worship songs, in prayer, in Christian literature for a long time, and its use is established in Malay- and Indonesian-speaking churches. I suppose the protest of the Catholic church is that the sudden prohibition by the government on the use of the word is unacceptable - all the Malay Bibles have "Allah" in print as the word for God, as do their songs and existing church publications. Is the government telling the church to reprint all their Bibles, purging the word "Allah" wherever it appears, and changing church terminology so that no one should say "Allah" anymore? I am quite sure that if there was not already an established use of the term in the church, we would not see Catholics insisting on the right to use the term in their publications. But since its use has been established over time, surely the church must be heard in their protest over a sudden ban for its use. The appeal to Arab and Indonesian churches using the same term is merely to show that there is no issue in other Muslim-majority countries over the use of "Allah" by the Christians to refer to God, and that the Malaysian government is alone in her pronouncement that "Allah" cannot be used by Christians. More critically, her protest is against government interference in church affairs - if The Herald accepts the directive that it may not use the term, would there be anything to stop the government from taking the next step to prohibit the use of the term during Bible- reading, worship and prayer in the Malay-speaking churches? Will the government police the activities of churches; will they persecute those who persist in using the term that they had been brought up with; will they next prohibit the worship of Jesus because Islam says he is not God?? What will happen to religious liberty in Malaysia, if The Herald doesn't take the stand it has taken today? In standing up against government tyranny and unreason, The Herald is also standing up for the right of all religious minorities to determine their own affairs.

To all who thinks that only Muslims have the right to freely use the word "Allah", then someone should patent that word. Have it registered, or trademark, or any form of copyright.

Otherwise, the word is universal and all are free to say or use it. I hate to see the day when some nonsense group or government come up and says that the word "apple", "adam" and "eve" are forbidden for use to all except "us".

The Christian Arab is true in using "Allah" to signify God but the problem is...you will have Allah the Father, Allah the Son and Allah the Spirit.

And Bible is not a direct translation of Injil.

When the War Against Terror was going on, Muslims (including those in Malaysia) ask why must Muslims be persecuted by the Christians when they're worshipping the same God. It's okay for Muslims to tell Christians that the Christian God is same as the Muslim God.

But when Christians do the same, they're condemned by the Muslims for attempting to lead Muslims into apostasy, and for attempting to deceive Muslims.

Allah is a proper noun, and just because it's commonly used does not make it a generic term for God. Maybe gradually it does, like how Nescafe has become a generic term for coffee although it's a proper noun, but certainly it still doesn't refer to coffee beans.

Indeed, ALL religions are good. By this blanket statement,

(a) Shintoism, the Japanese state religion that drove Japanese militarism, is good.

(b) Aum Shinrikyo, the apocalyptic new age cult that carried out the 1995 Sarin attack on Tokyo's subway, is good.

(c) The Aztec religion, which practiced ritual human sacrifices, is good.

As for the Abrahamic or fake Abrahamic faith... of course they are good. Just as good as the three above.

The govmen is desperate. Wants to stir things up and win Malay/Muslim support. I am not Catholic. I support their right to use the word "Allah." It is mischievous of the govemen to ban its use. Shows how ignorant it is about religion. I suggest all Catholics should vote for PAS or Keadilan or DAP. Teach those govmen imbeciles a good lesson. This ban by govemen is very un-Islamic.

I would like to respond to Cik Siti. You are very accurate in your question "why now?" However, your question is going in the wrong direction. Perhaps the impression you get from the government's move to ban the word is that it has RECENTLY been used by the Catholics to confuse Muslims. This cannot be further from the truth. I, personally visited a Catholic friend who showed me a song book they used, printed in the 1960s, with the word "Allah" in the songs. That is 40 years ago; Was the word used by Catholics or other Christians, whether in print or spoken form much much earlier than that? I am sure it was. Why was it not an issue then??? WHY ONLY NOW??? Because the government did not make it an issue then. Those were the days I, myself cherished - when my "gang" in school was made up of a Nazrin and a Baljit and a Fook Looi and a Joyce. Look at the schools and the public football fields and basketball courts now. . . look carefully! Do you realize how the government has managed to sow mistrust among the different races. Now, look at yourself. You started strong - you did not have an issue about the Catholics using the word "Allah" for GENERATIONS. . . but now you are concerned. Now you begin to doubt. Before you said your faith was strong, but now you say it "can get confusing." Who confused you? Was it the Catholic church? Nothing has changed on their part for donkeys years. But WHY NOW? NOW. . . because the government is trying to sow mistrust among the races. . . and when an intelligent, fair-minded Muslim girl lets go of her common sense and allows suspicion, fear and insecurity to influence her, then the government has succeeded. I would like to hear from many Malays and Muslims who can speak from their heart fairly and courageously. Do you really feel that the non-Malays and non-Muslims are so threatening -- have they treated you badly?

The stupidity of the people who are in power are staggering. As a boy i grew up in Egypt, as my father was a Malaysian diplomat there. So Malay Boy, get this, my father took me as well as i saw a television broadcast, in Cairo of a christian coptic church service, where the sermons used the word Allah liberally and consistently. Try if you can, to separate Arab culture from Islam. There are Christian Arabs all over the Mid East, particularly in Egypt, Lebanon and countries along the North African coast, as well as Syria and Iraq... while most Arabs are Muslims, the definition Arab and Islam is not synonymous...

Just heard the news this morning that this ban was the decision of the Government and not that of the Ministry. If this is the decision of the Government, does this mean it was also agreed by the BN MPs whom are of the Christian faith especially those MPs from Sabah/Sarawak? It looked more likely the decision of Umno trying to stir up the sentiment of Muslims-Malays whom Umno is trying to gain back support after the defeat in PP and KT. This also proved that the MPs of Christian faith are more concern of their political position within BN instead of lending support to the Chrstian community.

Malayboy,
you are out of topic. We are talking about the word "Allah". Not Trinity.

Peace,
Maybe we can change the 1st rukun negara to "kepercayaan kepada Allah"? How about that?

Any muslim who mislead by this word "Allah" used by Christian are so weak in their faith. You need to read more your Holy Book.

Malayboy,
you are out of topic. We are talking about the word "Allah". Not Trinity.

Peace,
Maybe we can change the 1st rukun negara to "kepercayaan kepada Allah"? How about that?

Any muslim who mislead by this word "Allah" used by Christian are so weak in their faith. You need to read more your Holy Book.

I don't care whether you call Him Allah, Tuhan or God. There is only one God. For those who sincerely believe in God, they should have better things to do then trying to stop others from using the word Allah.

There's no way we'll achieve it, if this goes by as an example. I've stated this before, if you read the Malay paper, or even their tabloid - this is a sensitive matter. I even saw an article once where the malay took offence of Nike Air shoes where the writing look like Allah in Arabic. It might have been used for a long time, but I'll tell you this, malays in Malaysia don't really know that Christian uses Allah in their language (and I'll bet they won't agree if they found it out earlier) - and suddenly the issue being thrown out proportion. I think the Catholic Group is taking the mickey out of the situation, a weak government. Now, PR MPs - please say something so we can put the issue to bed!!

Thing happens for a reason.
Why the herald wanted to refer god as Allah?
I am not being paranoid here.
But do you think they wanted to change it for no reason?
Do you think they wanted to change it just because they carry the same meaning?
Why wouldn't they use the word god in Chinese or Indian or other languages perhaps?
Or just said it as Tuhan?
Yes the word of Allah is exclusive to the Muslims in Malaysia. (Keep that in minds)
We refer Allah as "Tuhan yang satu".
If you ask young Muslim children who is Allah, what do you think they'd answer?
DBP should add Allah in Bahasa Melayu vocabs just to avoid confusion.
So every time we said Allah, you'll know what it means.
Period.

Has anybody researched how the word Allah came to be used in Malay version of Christians Books? Despite the fact that word Tuhan is already well know as translation to God. I can only suspect there were ulterior motives to confuse the readers, especially Malay readers.

The following is extracted from Wikipedia :

Allah (Arabic: الله‎, Allāh, IPA: [ʔalˤːɑːh] pronunciation (help·info)) is the standard Arabic word for 'God.'[1] While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God".[2][1][3] The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia.[4]

The concepts associated with the term Allah (as a deity) differ among the traditions. In pre-Islamic Arabia amongst pagan Arabs, Allah was not the sole divinity, having associates and companions, sons and daughters, a concept strongly opposed by Islam. In Islam, the name Allah is the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name. All other divine names are believed to refer back to Allah.[5] Allah is unique, the only Deity, creator of the universe and omnipotent.[2][1] Arab Christians today, having no other word for 'God' than Allah,[6] use terms such as Allāh al-ʼAb ( الله الأب) "God the Father". There are both similarities and differences between the concept of God as portrayed in the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible.[7]

I am surprise at the reaction of many readers. This is a newsletter for church members. Its an internal publication, meant for members and also specifically for non Muslims only. I don't think any of you who are objecting so strongly have even seen a copy of the Herald. To accuse the church of having an ulterior in using the word to confuse the muslims is really way out. Is the church distributing the herald to muslims? Are the muslims so weak in faith that if they are aware of others using the name of their God that they will be confused or led to apostasy? Way to go man.