Kalimah Allah...

KALIMAH ALLAH ...AGAIN!

I am trying to understand my fellow Christians friends on their bid to use the word Allah in their publications and printings. What I have picked up from news portals, websites from some Christian organizations, picking up from conversations, personal as well as political blogs, these are their “concerns” on why they would want to use Allah in referring to God, in Malaysia:

1)      There are Bahasa Malaysia – speaking Christians communities who want to use God in Bahasa Malaysia, and hence Allah is the transliteration
2)      To narrow the gap between faiths – as well as to promote as much as common ground that exist between religions

On issue no. 1, this has been deliberated academically through theology or historical evidences or in linguistics studies, as well as using logical sense. I won’t be deliberating the readily available paper works on the findings and substantiation of the ridiculous-ness of using Allah rather than Tuhan to translate God. However, the conclusion of my findings is that my fellow Christians colleagues are being dishonest in their appeal. Can’t you be more transparent? Isn’t it true that you would like to use the word Allah to ease your evangelisation struggle to the Muslim community? Malaysian law allows you to practice your religion as much as you please, but please, no effort must be made to preach the Malays, as well as to Muslims of other races. I bet no official statements from any churches have highlighted this, but we have seen evidences that this is one of your original intent of using the word Allah as substitute to God.

I also wonder why Parabrahman, the supreme God of the Hindus is not translated as God in the Tamil Bible, but Kadavul is being used instead?

On issue no. 2, why is it to begin with, the Christian associations file a lawsuit against the government (Home Minister) who banned them from using word(s) / noun(s) that have been preserved for Muslims only in Malaysia? Why did they (the Christians) not request to have dialogues with Home Minister first to begin with? Or request for open talks with Majlis Agama or Muslims’ NGOs on their rationale to use the word Allah as translation to God? Have they ask the Muslims, “is it OK for us (the Christians) to do so?”; “What are your concerns, my dear Muslim friends for not allowing us to use Allah as God?” It seems that these Christians associations who made the claim to use Allah as God are the one who started the hostile move though they claim to narrow the gap between faiths and promoting inter-religion harmony.

It seems their approach is already unfair to begin with. I see my fellow Christian colleagues of various associations have only approach the selected minority Muslim who agree with them to use the word Allah, be them political figures, Muslim religious figures and Muslims’ NGOs who are at present providing patronage to their move. What about the dozens of Muslims’ associations and states’ official Islamic bodies who did not agree? I thought that building a bridge is about bringing closer and connecting those who are distant or of opposing opinions, and not about simply forming alliances with those already with the same idea or on the same side, claiming to be large in numbers and that the 'bridge' has been built and then estraging those who contrasted the Christians demand.

I am proudly saying that, I am standing at the side of the Muslim lawyers’ team for the hearing at Mahkamah Rayuan on the 22nd August 2013, to go against, not Christianity nor the considerate Christians, but the egocentric, arrogant, absent-minded and thoughtless persons who have hurt the feeling of millions of Muslims across the nation with their selfish claim.


Norhidayah Binti Ismail is a senior engineer in a multinational oil & gas company, who serves the community through Ikatan Muslimin Malayisa (ISMA) of Melaka Branch, and also tasked to the  central working committee at ISMA’s Family & Society Development Bureau (Biro Keluarga & Masyarakat) as well as International Affairs Bureau (Biro Luar Negara). She can be contacted through e-mail at ummu.insyirah10@gmail.com