The Allah Issue: Do Muslims Have a Monopoly on the Name of God?

When it comes to a matter of religion, it's hard to say who's right or wrong. Some things may be pretty straightforward, but others may require deep theological thinking and discussion. The latest clash, however, seems to be one that is nothing more than a childish squabble, blown out of proportion for political purposes.

How did all start?

For many years, Christians in East Malaysia who use Malay (Bahasa Malaysia), the national language, in their worship have been calling God "Allah". Most Bibles used in Malay language services are actually Indonesian bibles, which call God Allah. One of the main reasons for this is the fact that Malay shares linguistic roots with Indonesian, and bible translators from centuries past have structured the holy text's lexicon in such a way that the Malay word for God, "Tuhan", is used for interpretation of the word "Lord", whilst "Allah" is used for God. Examples of usage would be such as "Allah Bapa" for "Abba Father" and "Tuhan Allah" for "Lord God".

To say that the whole problem could have been diffused by these East Malaysian Christians use a Malay Bible that does not use the Allah is impossible - there's a Printing Act in Malaysia that prohibits Bibles to be translated into Malay. (If you happen to find a Gideon bible in any of the hotels, you will find that both the Arabic and Malay / Indonesian translation of John 3:16 found in the front pages have been blanked out.)

Despite all this, things still went smoothly along (as much as it could) until the Home Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, banned the Malay version of Herald, a Catholic publication, because it too made use of the word. As the publication clearly abided by all existing publication rules, i.e. it was for private circulation only (in the church!) and denoted as a Christian publication / not for Muslims, the publishers took it to court - and won.

Who does it affect?

If things had been left alone, the only people that this would affect would be the Christians in East Malaysia who regularly use Malay in their worship services. And they have been doing it for years without any disruption from the Muslims in their area. However, since it has been brought to court, and reported (and widely exaggerated) in the news, Muslims in the Peninsular (West Malaysia) are up in arms about it - which really doesn't make sense as the majority of church services in the Peninsular are carried out in English, where there is no reason at all to use the word Allah.

The whole situation is unique to Malaysia. Nowhere else in the world is there a big fuss over whether Christians can use the world "Allah" to describe their God. In fact, Christians in the Middle East have been using Allah, which is the Arabic word for God. In that context, saying the Christians cannot use the word Allah for their God would also mean that Muslims then cannot use the word "God" for well... God.

Why don't Malay Muslims want Christians to use Allah?

One reason often bandied about is the fear that it will confuse the Muslims. Allowing Christians to use the same name for God will make it easier for them to proselytise to them, as if that action isn't already illegal in the country. Furthermore, Muslims won't know who is being prayed to if they should come across a Christian praying to Allah, thereby undermining their faith. Moderates however, dispute this, contending that the faith of those afraid of this must be pretty weak.

Another argument, a very theological one, is that the Christian God isn't the same as the Muslim God, as some are trying to reason - the Muslim God, Allah, is one, whereas Christians pray to three gods - the Trinity.

What do the Christians say?

Malaysian Christians themselves are divided over this issue. Those who have been brought up in English speaking areas find no need to use the word Allah at all and most do not understand why the East Malaysians need to use it. Some would argue that "Tuhan" can be used instead, or that they should find some other name of God to use instead. Taking that stance however, would mean that (in an extreme example) Christians should then not use the name "Jehovah" for God, as that is the name of the Jewish God!

East Malaysians who regularly worship in the national language, find it impossible to believe the fellow believers do not understand their plight. How can one suddenly change the way you have been worshipping your God?

Current situation

The government has allowed East Malaysians to continue with their current practice using the name 'Allah' in their prayers and religious services according to tradition. However, the ban is still in force in the Peninsula. Several states in the Peninsula however, including Malacca and Pahang, have come up with an additional ruling by their respective Islamic Councils that ban non-Muslims from using more perceived Islamic terms in Malay, including wahyu (revelation), masjid (mosque), nabi (prophet), ibadat (worship), ilahi (divine), mufti and iman (faith).

Sources:
Hai Hiung Lo, The Christians are the sacrificial lambs in Allah issue. Malaysiakini.
Dr Ng Kam Weng, Allah can't be substituted with Tuhan in Bible translation. The Malaysian Insider
Melaka larang 32 perkataan selain kalimah 'Allah'. The Malaysian Insider
Phyllis Wong and Francis Chan, 'Allah' allowed in East M'sia. The Borneo Post
Syed Jaymal Zahiid, Tenth church hit, attack in Seremban. The Malaysian Insider