July 20, 2012
Making a Big Fuss over Allah is a sign of Insecurity
by Susan Loone@http://www.malaysiakini.com
While use of the Arabic word for God, ‘Allah’, has been a hot topic between Muslims and Christians in the country, a renowned contemporary thinker and philosopher sees discussion on the matter as having been “too simplistic”.
Speaking at a lecture in Penang on Wednesday, Prof Tariq Ramadan said that
for someone coming from the Arab world, arguments as to whether a non-Muslim could use the word ‘Allah’ were “completely out of touch with reality”.
Tariq – who lectures at the University of Oxford in England – said Christians were using the word ‘Allah’ much earlier, before the Muslims in Egypt did because, in Arabic, the term means ‘God’.
“When I speak about God, I use the word Allah. It means one God and no other God,” he said in the lecture organised by the Penang Islamic Foundation in George Town.
“So, suppose we say you cannot use this word because it is ours, we would be monopolising the word,” he told the 500-strong crowd at the two-hour session.
“It also means we are not confident in our language,” quipped the influential Islamic scholar, who is a Swiss citizen of Egyptian origin.
In January 2010, Catholic weekly The Herald won its suit in the High Court, which overruled a ban by the Home Affairs Ministry on the weekly’s use of the term ‘Allah’ in its Bahasa Malaysia edition, -which had prompted fiery protests from certain quarters nationwide.
On a three-day tour
The Federal Government has since appealed the decision of the High Court, which also granted a stay in favour of the Home Ministry to stop The Herald, from using the word ‘Allah’, pending an appeal by the Ministry.
Tariq – who is the grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood – was on a three-day lecture tour of Penang and Kuala Lumpur, from July 17-19.
He also spoke before a well-attended crowd at the home of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur last night. Tariq also said in Penang on Wednesday that some liberals believed that even when speaking in the English language, one must use the word ‘Allah’. However, this was not the reality.
Muslims believed that diversity of languages was a sign of God’s presence. Not allowing others to use the word ‘Allah’ showed “inferiority complex and that we are not confident” about our principles, he added.
I guess they want a piece of the 72 virgins on offer. It is unilateral offer. All you have to do is perform the other half of the bargain. But then God will have to seek out everyone who has read the offer if He wants to revoke the offer. A notice along Jalan Setia Kasih Satu will do. There is no need for UMNO to goyang their buntut.
… using their surrogates.
Malays and Malay Muslims from Malaysia are insignifcant race of people in the global scene, in a boarerless world. It is a pity though how a handful of political thugs in the ruling Umno has enslaved minds of the Malay muslims from embarrasing a global outlook. Sadly it their own doom if the Malays do not break from loose from the shackles of this mind entrapment .
In Australia the Malays have intergrated well into the mainstream society withouid demanding any special privalages.
The internet will facilitate a mind change and Islam in Malaysia will loose its grip for the liberty of the individual .
All thinking Malays must know that there is nothing in the country’s Federal Constitution that says religious freedom is limited only to the non-Malays. What the Federal Constitution says is that proselytizing of Muslims (and therefore Malays as defined under Article 160(2) under ‘definitions’) is forbidden by state law.
Religious freedom for the Malays is one hot potato even DAP has avoided like a plague. It is viewed as an issue for the Malays to resolve among themselves fearing that it will be seen as interferance by non-Malays with the religious freedom of the Malays. Now that is one hard act to follow. For a small minority of Malays who want to exercise their constitutonal right to freedom of religion their loss is a price they will have to pay so they could remain free.
If you can follow that then old Frank has turned the clock of time and is about to spank Hyacinth Goddard. And Kathy is about to mount Sir Lancelot.
It Is a conversation that the Malays have to address themselves: “What/Who/Whence is a Malay?”
Just leave Allah out of it.
For those who differ, the price is never too high to pay, as per yourself, my brave, conscientious friend. It is a matter of conscience, the heart and for personal renewal – and for those reasons, no one can make Laws.
Very soon we can no longer exclaim Alamak, alahai, and the old folks have to do away with tuan alah tau. It’s like the Malays invented Islam or a Malay is the prophet of Islam saying that the word Allah is exclusive to Malay Muslims. Jauh perjalanan luas permandangan.
The PhD student in neuro science and graduate of University of Colorado, who fired at random in a movie theater told the police afterwards that he’s the Joker in the movie Batman. This joker killed no less than 14 students and wounded scores was not even interested in the 72 virgins on offer.
ooops …. movie goers, fans of Batman.
What’s the harm….let people seek Knowledge everywhere….anywhere, b’coz knowledge of the Qura’n is not the exclusive ‘property’ of only Malays.
Conversely, Malays too should gather knowledge from other religious traditions to broaden their knowledge by comparative studies.
You see, people like Maurice Bucail who researched the Qura’n for Thirty years, came into the fold of Islam, not by mere utterances of ” Allah ” ” Allah”, but became convinced of its eternal truth by proven Scientific facts….
The Prophet’s message was : seek Knowledge even as far as China….was simply an analogy…
The PhD guy’s wiring was anti-social, much like the Narcissistic behavioral patterns of the Die-Hard ‘Allah’ purists. What is mine is mine, what is yours is also mine – including the Name. Ignoramus consolidated, and their inviolable sense of false ontology.
The paradox is this:
In order for contemporary man to free himself from fear of himself, of the world, of Others, of earthly powers, of oppressive systems/regimes and to set him free from every manifestation before that ‘prevailing fear’, which believers call ‘God’ – it is necessary that he cultivates in his heart, that true fear of God – which is the beginning of Wisdom.
But then, who said these morons are wise?
http://islamonline.com/news/articles/2/Prophet-Muhammads-promise-to-Christians.html
Prophet Muhammad’s promise to Christians
02/01/2010 11:30:00 AM GMT
St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery.
Dr. Muqtedar Khan
Muslims and Christians together constitute over fifty percent of the world and if they lived in peace, we will be half way to world peace. One small step that we can take towards fostering Muslim-Christian harmony is to tell and retell positive stories and abstain from mutual demonization.
In this article I propose to remind both Muslims and Christians about a promise that Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) made to Christians. The knowledge of this promise can have enormous impact on Muslim conduct towards Christians. Muslims generally respect the precedent of their Prophet and try to practice it in their lives.
In 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection. He responded by granting them a charter of rights, which I reproduce below in its entirety. St. Catherine’s Monastery is located at the foot of Mt. Sinai and is the world’s oldest monastery. It possesses a huge collection of Christian manuscripts, second only to the Vatican, and is a world heritage site. It also boasts the oldest collection of Christian icons. It is a treasure house of Christian history that has remained safe for 1400 years under Muslim protection.
The Promise to St. Catherine:
“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”
The first and the final sentence of the charter are critical. They make the promise eternal and universal. Muhammed asserts that Muslims are with Christians near and far straight away rejecting any future attempts to limit the promise to St. Catherine alone. By ordering Muslims to obey it until the Day of Judgment the charter again undermines any future attempts to revoke the privileges. These rights are inalienable. Muhammed declared Christians, all of them, as his allies and he equated ill treatment of Christians with violating God’s covenant.
A remarkable aspect of the charter is that it imposes no conditions on Christians for enjoying its privileges. It is enough that they are Christians. They are not required to alter their beliefs, they do not have to make any payments and they do not have any obligations. This is a charter of rights without any duties!
The document is not a modern human rights treaty but even though it was penned in 628 A.D., it clearly protects the right to property, freedom of religion, freedom of work, and security of the person.
I know most readers, must be thinking so what? Well the answer is simple. Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad’s promise to Christians are invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders good will in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.
When I look at Islamic sources, I find in them unprecedented examples of religious tolerance and inclusiveness. They make me want to become a better person. I think the capacity to seek good and do good inheres in all of us. When we subdue this predisposition towards the good, we deny our fundamental humanity. In this holiday season, I hope all of us can find time to look for something positive and worthy of appreciation in the values, cultures and histories of other peoples.
– Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.
Wishing all Moslem readers and the bloghost “Selamat Berpuasa” on this holy month of Ramadan Al- Mubarak…Hopefully through fasting we have a chance to purify ourselves, and practiced self-control over desires and temptations…Let us then rely instead on qualities like intellect and conscience…And remove the darkness from our lives, the darkness of hate, ignorance or arrogance…
Yes its always the form with them , never the substance.
“Muslims believed that diversity of languages was a sign of God’s presence”
Tariq Ramadan.
I f you have read the Koran , it commands that ” I have made different nations….”.
So what is the implication? The implication is there are different languages because of different nations and they are all from God ( Allah) and therefore they can call Allah and use the name Allah , anytime.
So stop imposing your prejudicsms on Allah and start imposing Allah’s command on yourself and anyone can call His name.
“According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where they resolved to build a city with a tower “with its top in the heavens…lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the Earth.” God came down to see what they did and said: “They are one people and have one language, and nothing will be withholden from them which they purpose to do.” So God said, “Come, let us go down and confound their speech.” And so God scattered them upon the face of the Earth, and confused their languages, and they left off building the city, which was called Babel “because God there confounded the language of all the Earth.”(Genesis 11:5-8).
That is one view as to how we came to have different nations and languages.
My son says “We” in the passage refers to Aliens who came down. This has been explained traditionally as due to translation from Hebrew, to Greek and later English. And singular is synonymous with the plural God “We”. But my son believes that we were created by aliens using a model that has gone not quite the way they wanted and they came down to destroy their creation and made a new one. That happened more than once. The world has ended more than once. And so with the Mayan calendar we are about to see another one?
All I know is that Malaysia is an example of a model of democracy that is constitutionally flawed and carries the seeds of its own destruction.
Hey, i like the ‘Alien’ hypothesis!
Then we can ascribe the Nephilim and their descendant Anakites to Alien-Human hybrids, like those folks in Jabatan this and that – the “Strong Ones of Renown”, like Heracles (Hercules). Most of them are indeed Aliens or rather ‘Pendatangs’.
Problem with the DNA though, as the chromosome 2 from the chimp/bonobo seems to become miraculously fused in the human genome.