Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Letter that got a response!

"Not right for other religions to use "Allah"

And here it is posted at

Reading the letters here on the usage of the word of ‘Allah’, I wish to put forward my comments.( please be reminded..that I dont agree with this person's viewpoint! )

The word ‘Allah’ derives from Arabic word ‘Ilah’. ‘Ilah’ in Arabic means God. But to simply describe ‘Ilah’ would mean that it can refer any god ie, indefinite. As such, in Arabic it is ‘Al’ is added which means ‘The’ in Arabic.

But ‘The God’ is still not accurate because it could mean one or a group. Thus another ‘Al’ was included to make it Al-Al-Ilah, and the short form later become ‘Allah’.

When the word ‘Allah’ is mentioned it means He is the only God. There is no god but Him. Other than Allah, all are creations. This is the fundamental of Islam. Whoever says and believe in these words, they are Muslims.

Allah describes Himself in the Holy Quran (Surah Al-Ikhlas, 112) as:


112:2 Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

112:3 He begets not, nor is He begotten;

112:4 And there is none like unto Him.

From the above explanation, it is not right for other religions to use the word ‘Allah’ because it completely contradicts the meaning of the word of ‘Allah’. People of other religions do not believe and worship Allah and they associate others with Allah. If other religions want to use the word ‘Allah’, it will deceive and confuse both Muslims and the non-Muslims alike.

And this is one of the responses it got - which I happen to agree with!:

I wish to comment on the letter Not right for other religions to use Allah by Mohammad. The issue of ‘confusion’ is a mere excuse. How can a follower get confused about the God he alleges to worship?

From what the writer describes, I understand that ‘Allah’ is derived from Arabic. However, I believe that in every language there is a word or term for ‘God’. Whether it refers to the God of the Muslims or to the God of the other faiths, one thing is certain - they all refer to a supreme and divine being. As such, there is no copyright on ‘Allah’ other than it being the Arabic word to describe the God of the Arabs.

Coming back to the ruse about creating confusion, then there must exist millions of thoroughly confused Indonesians who share the name ‘Allah’ between the Christians and Muslims there. The difference between those in Indonesia and Malaysia is that fundamentally, the Indonesians are confident and secure in their belief.

Of greater cause for alarm and disquiet is the increasing number of people being influenced by such views of the writer above. The roots to such views lie in the equally absurd situation our education system has been in the last 35 years. Children are now taught from very young more about their differences than their commonality and humanity.

A hybrid apartheid has come about with our largely Muslim pupils not being able to mingle with their non-Muslim counterparts as they tend to be transferred to boarding schools and junior Mara colleges by the time they reach their teens.

The institutions that are open to the other races are not seen as palatable to these parents (for providing the type of exposure and surroundings they desire for their children). From such colleges, they proceed to matriculation courses before entering universities locally which are increasingly being avoided by the others who can afford it.

When students such as those described above join the workforce - in particular the civil service - their most formative and 'impressionable' years have seen little of them living outside their community. Hence we have such views as expounded by the writer displayed in all their clarity

Where to from here, Malaysia?

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