Allah Is Just Alright With Me
Malaysia's highest court has finally ruled that Catholics (in particular a Catholic newspaper) has the right to use the word "Allah" to refer to God. The government had attempted to stop the long running custom of Catholics in Malaysia saying that it could cause confusion.
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's high court ruled Thursday that a Catholic paper had the right to use the word "Allah" after a long-running dispute between the government and the weekly in the Muslim-majority nation.Now you may be asking yourself "Patrick, sure I am happy for those Malays, but what does this have to do with us here in the good ol' US of A?" Well I will tell you. I have considered that perhaps we should adopt the same practice here. Well, if we do and then when all these radical atheists and secularists mock God (Allah), our Muslim brothers and sisters might just express their, um, dissatisfaction.
The ruling overturns the government's controversial threat to cancel The Herald's annual publishing permit.
"The applicant has the constitutional right to use the word 'Allah'," Judge Lau Bee Lan told a packed courtroom, declaring the government's ban on the paper's use of the word "illegal, null and void".
The weekly used the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section but the government argued "Allah" should be used only by Muslims.
"Hey Aftab, did you hear what this PZ Meyers guy and Maureen Dowd just said about Allah? Just thought you should know."
Then just sit back.
21 comments:
Hitchens has many abiding sins, but cowering in front of Islam is not one of them.
But, yeah, that would certainly stop your average college smart-a** in his tracks.
Dale,
You are correct. Perhaps I should choose someone else.
Sit back and do what? Esp. in this time of Christmas, shouldn't we be trying to discourage people of faith from declaring a fatwa, ie, to literally kill anti-God ("Allah")people (I assume you were implying this)?
Instead, shouldn't we stand up and proclaim that Jesus is the Truth and Life to the Muslims and Atheists? (BTW, I think that a Muslim is a brother or sister insofar as they share common humanity.)
gbm3
gbm3,
I will translate this into humorless if it helps. My point is that these brave souls would not be so brave if they had even the slightest inkling that there might be consequences for their religious ridicule.
Malaysia is like many countries in the region. The Muslims are becoming more conservative and nationalistic, and the minority religions begin to lose their rights. In Malaysia, you have an added racial dimenision, since most Christians are Chinese, and Hindus Indian.
But GBM3, Islam is a religion of PEACE! I'm sure Patrick was just implying that Aftab would show up with one of his buddies and try to give Meyers a copy of the Koran, a prayer card, and an invitation to attend the local mosque!
And then Meyers could invite them in, offer them some lemonade, and have a nice little chat about their beliefs.....
right?
We call this "fatwa envy".
I had to chuckle at this.
If PZ Meyers were someone of any actual consequence, rather than a relatively minor annoying and occassional blip on the radar, I would agree.
I'd rather like to sit Aftab down with Richard Dawkins.
"...when all these radical atheists and secularists mock God" (call Him "Allah"). Brilliant!!!!
Deirdre Mundy LOL! Now THAT was funny!
I need to clarify something, "Allah" when used by Christians of any linguistic group (mostly Arab-speakers) simply means "God" generically. Mohammedans take "Allah" to mean God's proper name, i.e. "Yhwh". Allah in old Arabic is actually the same as "Elohiy" in old Hebrew ("Eloi" in our bibles since neither Greek nor Latin had an "h"), which means "the deity" in both cases. But FYI, if the Mohammedan ever engages you and says "Allah has always been the name for God, even among Christians!" then you can scoff and say, "Only after the Mohammedan conquests. Before, the word was "Aloho", which came from Syriac/Aramaic and is still in use during the liturgy."
So, should English speakers start substituting "Allah" for "God"? The precedent is there, so there is really no theological issue at stake for us as Catholics. And as we are all taught in school, English is a bastard language and has countless loan-words to begin with. Will I be doing it? No.
That's really interesting, Early Riser.
What do we need with Muslim hitmen when we have the inquisitors, the crusaders, the KofC "army of oppression," the mafia, the jesuits.....
Thanks Allah
William - LOL. Sorry if I got long-winded. It's just a special-interest subject of mine : )
Since God is One, then one would refer to the same Person regardless of invocation. But the distinction lies in how an institution perceives God and Allah denotes the Muslims' view. The closer people get to God, no matter from what direction, the closer they will get to each other. So, Salaam akelum or shalom akeilem. The peace of God will feel the same.
Rick, excuse me, but that is New Agey tripe. There is only ONE true path to God. "no one goes to the Father, except thru the son." Ring a bell?
BTW, it's As-salaamu aleikum. "Salaam akelum" is gibberish.
Anon - "The KofC Army of oppression?!?!"
Yeah--- they're awfully pushy with those tootsie roll sales......And why do they insist on propping up 'the man' by funding the Special Olympics? What's up with THAT?
Deirdre LOL. Another swing and a homer.
Early Riser: I agree about the One Way and how the fullness of truth and goodness subsists in the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, as proclaimed in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Muslims and Jews are related to that people and as such contain elements of truth and goodness. It may sound New Agey, but that is what is taught by the ecumenical council that has gone under 3 popes.
Rick, I am VERY familiar with Lumen Gentium. It reads, specifically to your statement "But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Mohamedans, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind."
This does not say they are "close to God". It says they BELIEVE they are following the faith of Abraham and adore with us the one God and who will judge mankind. Why? Because that is what their Qu'ran specifically says. The Qur'an is greatly a work of plagerism from Jewish and Christian texts. So, when they say that Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead, we cannot argue with this truth. But when they say, "Jesus the penultimate prophet of God will come back to judge the living and the dead" then you can see they are WAY off on their theology. A half-truth is a full lie. Lumen Gentium is making the case that they may have a leg up on say Pagans theologically speaking, but if the Mohammedan cannot make the leap from their faith to the true faith, then it doesn't matter if they were Mohammedan or Volcano worshiper in the end.
The God of Abraham told Moses to call Him "I am who am."
That remark became translated into Jehovah, Yaweh, and I'm certain some other words, perhaps including "Allah."
The name of the Father is unpronouncable.
We Catholics should simply stick to calling our Lord by the name given him by the angel. "Jesus"
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