A Catholic church in Malaysia which prays to Allah has prompted a court case over who can use the word.
Muslim leaders say Islam should be the only faith to use it, saying its use in other faiths could lead to confusion and conversions.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Allah™
A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet . . . but God by another name is a violation of one religion's branding.
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3 comments:
TM, LOL!
Though, Allah was the name of a pagan God in Arabia before Muhamad and the boys came along, but that's a politically incorrect story for another day ;)
And what name, pray tell, do they think Arabic Christians should be using for "God"?
I've heard some traddies get their mantillas twisted about the prospect of Christians calling God "Allah" as an ecumenical gesture (a stupid ecumenical gesture, IMHO), but in the context of, say, a Mass in Malaysia (or any other country where the dominant language and culture have shaped things such that the word for "God" is simply "Allah")...it only makes sense to do it.
And to argue that, in essence, you can trademark a common word just so those pesky Christians can't use it...well, I wish I could be sure the court would throw this case out on its ear where it belongs.
Kasia, it would make sense if the liturgical language in use were Malay, where the word for "god" is indeed "allah".
But the liturgical language being used here is English. Therefore, by using any word other than "god" (such as "allah") during a mass in English the priest here commits an abuse.
With that aside, I think it'd be better for the world if countries with a Christian majority began enacting limitations against Islam, to protect unsuspecting or incompletely formed Christians from confusion and conversion to heresy.
Anthony OPL
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