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If Allah is the name of God in Islam, can Christians also call their God Allah?

By N H Chan

The nomenclature of God

If you look up the word “Allah” in any English dictionary you will find this definition: Allah noun the name of God among Muslims; or Allah n. the principle Muslim name for God. In fact all English dictionaries are definite about the meaning of the word Allah; it is the name of God in Islam. Surprisingly the dictionary does not say that it is an Arabic word. Actually it is not strange at all. As I have already explained before, this Arabic word has become an English word since the sixteenth century when it was spelt using the English alphabet to represent the speech sounds of the Arabic word. It is only an Arabic word if it is written in the original Arabic text as distinct from the phonetic spelling in English.

If Allah is the Islamic God then, since Christians are not Muslims, could or should Christians call their God Allah?

The answer will depend on whether, as a fact, Allah in Arabic was first coined by the founder of Islam or that this Arabic word Allah had predated Islam and had been in existence as a name for “The God” – “The” meaning “the only one of its kind”, as in “the only God” – long before Prophet Mohammed’s Call, the legendary revelation of Allah in 611 AD. As a matter of fact, even before there was Jesus Christ, “Allah” meaning “the only God” was already a word in Arabic a Semitic language spoken by the ancient Arabs who belonged to the ethnic group of peoples known as the Semites.

Historically, therefore, the Arabic word Allah was not coined by Islam’s founder at all. According to the Bible, God made Abraham, his two sons Ishmael and Isaac and their descendants His people. Since then monotheism – a religious belief that there is only one God – was founded. The descendants of Abraham from the line of Ishmael (the Arabs) and Isaac (the Jews) worshipped the only God named Allah in Arabic and Eloah in Hebrew. In Arabic, Allah was derived from Al – Ilah meaning Al (The) + Ilah (God). In Hebrew God was Eloah with a capital E. Continue reading “If Allah is the name of God in Islam, can Christians also call their God Allah?”

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Chua SoiLek should not have too inflated an ego about himself or MCA

It should be the front-page headline news of the MCA newspaper The Star today, but it was tucked away in page 4, regarded as less newsworthy than Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding (entire front page with pic and headline‘You look beautiful’), “PM – Innovate to compete: Relying on foreign labour a threat to economy, SMEs told” (p 2), “A sea tunnel, after two bridges – Penang’s proposed third link in the pipeline” and “Hostile witnesses an obstacle, says MACC panel” (p 3).

It finally appears in p 4 of Star “Party will give up posts – MCA presidential council backs Chua’s stand” beneath another Chua SoiLek story “Stop fanning racial flame, SoiLek warns opposition”.

This is what even journalists in MCA’s own newspaper, the Star, think of the newsworthiness and importance of Chua’s “shock announcement”.

Many Malaysians thought that MCA leaders are finally taking a political stand because they are moved by the latest World Bank report entitled “Malaysia Economic Monitor: Brain Drain” and adverse news headlines like “Malaysia’s brain drain getting worse, says World Bank” and “NEP, brain drain holding back Malaysia, says World Bank” which said among other things: Continue reading “Chua SoiLek should not have too inflated an ego about himself or MCA”

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What offence has Anwar committed? Why is he being hounded?

by P. Ramakrishnan
29th April 2011

The scandalous porno tape, used in desperation to implicate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim allegedly engaging in sex with a prostitute in order to turn the tide in favour of the Barisan Nasional during the Sarawak election, refuses to fade away even after the Sarawak election.

It was a widely publicised news item and – according to some reports – the tape was even distributed in the longhouses in Sarawak to disparage and demean Anwar and present the opposition in poor light to gain political mileage for BN.

The police declared that the tape was genuine. The people were made to feel that very soon the sordid episode would be unravelled and the person in the tape exposed.

The various statements in the public domain created the perception that it was Anwar in the porno tape. The police conveyed the impression that it was a matter of time before Anwar was exposed as the owner of the Omega watch stolen by the prostitute. The Omega watch seemed to be the most important missing link to establish Anwar’s identity.

But to their utter disappointment there was no record of the purchaser in Taiwan, where the watch was apparently bought. The missing link went missing and they were no nearer the truth. Continue reading “What offence has Anwar committed? Why is he being hounded?”

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Sue gov’t, PAS urges dead gov’t officer’s family

By Hafiz Yatim | Malaysiakini

PAS central committee member Mohamad Sabu has urged the family of late customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed’s (below) family not to give up in seeking justice for his death.

Mohamad or better known as Mat Sabu, said he had visited the family of the Royal Customs Department’s senior assistant director last week where he gained the impression that they seemed resigned to his death with the possibility of not pursuing the matter further.

“This is the difference between the Chinese and Malays. The Chinese when this thing happened like Teoh Beng Hock, they will continue to fight to clear his name and seek justice. Now after two years, the issue is still hot.

“For Malays we should not leave it to fate but continue with the struggle. We should not be satisfied that yes, we have already received the body, and that is the end of the matter.
Continue reading “Sue gov’t, PAS urges dead gov’t officer’s family”