UPDATED !!: The Promise of Prophet Muhammad (pbh) to St. Catherine and to All Christians

For More, Read Following Articles

• "The Promise of Prophet Muhammad (pbh) to St. Catherine"
  
  
• " The Letter from Prophet Muhammad (pbh) to the Assyrian Christians"
  
  

(A) The Promise of Prophet Muhammad (pbh) to St. Catherine and to All Christians

By

Dr. Muqtedar Khan
( Dr. Muqtedar Khan is Director of Islamic Studies at the University of Delaware and a fellow of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.)

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.

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 628 AD, a delegation from St. Catherine’s Monastery came to Prophet Muhammed and requested his protection.

The Prophet 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 Monastery of St. Catherine

St. Catherine’s Monastery has survived 1,400 years largely undisturbed by winning protection from the leaders of the day.

Recognizing the site’s significance to monotheism, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) issued a written promise granting protected status to the monks under Muslim rule, as did the Crusaders, several Ottoman emperors, and, more recently, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Because of its sheltered history and strong ties to Europe, the monastery has amassed a library that scholars say is second only to the Vatican, with 3,000 ancient manuscripts and some 2,000 icons, the earliest dating back to the sixth century. Selections of these treasures are displayed in the gallery, and though entrance to the monastery is free, admission is charged for this particular exhibit.

While the monastic order was dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the monastery itself is permanently associated with St. Catherine. Born a pagan in fourth-century Alexandria, Catherine converted to Christianity and was tortured and executed for her beliefs. Christian tradition says angels transported her body to the peak that now bears her name, for it was there in the seventh century that monks found what they believe are the saint’s earthly remains. The relics are sequestered in the monastery, but you can visit a small ossuary, where the bones of past monks rest in somewhat tidy stacks.

St. Catherine’s is an active Greek Orthodox monastery; out of respect for the holy sites visitors should not wear shorts or tank tops inside the premises. Limited portions of the site are only open 9-11:45am, and the monastery is closed on Orthodox holidays. Those wishing to worship can make special arrangements to attend Liturgy (4am) or Vespers (4pm) prayers. (Read here for more for visitors to the St Catherine Monastery).

The Prophet Muhammad's 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 thought 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.


(B) A Letter from the Prophet Muhammad To The Assyrian Christians

Read here for more

A Letter from the Prophet Muhammad
To the Assyrian Christians

"God has told me in a vision what to do, and I confirm His command by giving my solemn promise to keep this agreement.

To the followers of the Islam I say:

Carry out my command, protect and help the Nazarene nation in this country of ours in their own land.

Leave their places of worship in peace; help and assist their chief and their priests when in need of help, be it in the mountains, in the desert, on the sea, or at home.

Leave all their possessions alone, be it houses or other property, do not destroy anything of their belongings, the followers of Islam shall not harm or molest any of this nation, because the Nazarenes are my subjects, pay tribute to me and will help the Muslims.

No tribute, but what is agreed upon, shall be collected from them, their church buildings shall be left as they are, they shall not be altered, their priests shall be permitted to teach and worship in their own way-the Nazarenes have full liberty of worship in their churches and homes.

None of their churches shall be torn down, or altered into a mosque, except by the consent and free will of the Nazarenes.

If any one disobeys this command, the anger of God and His Prophet shall be upon him.

The tribute paid the Nazarenes shall be used to promote the teachings of Islam and shall be deposited at the treasury of Beth Almal.

A common man shall pay one denar (piece of money), but the merchants and people who own mines of gold and silver and are rich shall pay twelve denars. Strangers and people who have no houses or other settled property shall not have taxes levied upon them.

If a man inherits property he shall pay a settled sum to the Baitulmal treasury.

The Christians are not obliged to make war on the enemies of Islam, but if an enemy attacks the Christians, the Muslims shall not deny their help, but give them horses and weapons, if they need them, and protect them from evils from outside and keep the peace with them.

The Christians are not obliged to turn Muslims, until God's will makes them believers.

The Muslims shall not force Christian women to accept Islam, but if they themselves wish to embrace it, the Muslims shall be kind to them.

If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim and does not want to embrace Islam, she has liberty to worship at her own church according to her own religious belief, and her husband must not treat her unkindly on account of her religion.

If any one disobeys this command, he disobeys God and his prophet and will be guilty of a great offense.

If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbors shall help them. This shall be done, because the Christians have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy.

If there be among the Christians a great and learned man the Muslims shall honor him and not be envious of his greatness.

If any one is unjust and unkind to the Christians he will be guilty of disobeying the Prophet of God.

The Christians should not shelter an enemy of Islam or give him horse, weapon or any other help.

If a Muslim is in need the Christian shall for three days and nights be his host and shelter him from his enemies.

The Christians shall, furthermore, protect the Mohammedan women and children and not deliver them up to the enemy or expose them to view.

If the Nazarenes fail to fulfil these conditions, they have forfeited their right to protection, and the agreement is null and void.

This document shall be entrusted to the Christian chief and head of their church for safe keeping."

The peace of God be over them all!

This agreement is written by Moavijah Ben Sofian, according to the dictates of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, in the 4th year of the Hegira in the city of Medina.

COMMENTARY

From Marina Mahathir

Read here for more

While some idiots are mourning over the 'loss' of the word 'Allah' and therefore basically telling the world that they are people easily confused by nomenclature, and others are predicting riots over what is basically a 'copyright' issue, let me define what I think a confident Muslim should be:

1. A confident Muslim is unfazed by the issue of God's name. God speaks to all of humankind in the Quran and never said that only Muslims could call him by the name Allah.
   
   
2. A confident Muslim has 99 names to choose from to describe that One God. My favourites are Ar-Rahman (The All-Compassionate) and Ar-Rahim (The All-Merciful).
   
   
3. A confident Muslim never gets confused over which is his/her religion and which is other people's. For instance, a confident Muslim knows exactly what the first chapter of the Quran is. And it's not the Lord's Prayer.
   
   
4. A confident Muslim will not walk into a church, hear a liturgy in Malay or Arabic where they use the word 'Allah' and then think that he or she is in a mosque. A confident Muslim knows the difference.
   
   
5. A confident Muslim is generous, inclusive and doesn't think that his or her brethren is made exclusive through the use of a single language. The confident Muslim is well aware that in the Middle East, all services of ANY religion are in Arabic because that's what they all speak.
   
   
6. A confident Muslim knows the basis of his/her faith are the five pillars of Islam and will not be shaken just because other people call God by the same name.
   
   
7. A Muslim believes in only One God. Therefore it makes sense that other people should call God by the same name because there is no other God.

ART THOU NOT aware that it is God whose limit­less glory all [creatures] that are in the heavens and on earth extol, even the birds as they spread out their wings? Each [of them] knows indeed how to pray unto Him and to glorify Him; and God has full knowledge of all that they do:

(Surah Nour, Verse 41) (Asad)

So I would ask those people demonstrating against the Court decision, have you no pride? Are you saying you're easily confused?

And before anyone says I have no qualifications to say these things, read what Dr Asri Zainal Abidin (who does have qualifications no matter what JAIS says) has written about this very subject here.

And here's something interesting.

In 2007, the Majlis Agama Negeri Perlis, which is a large majlis filled with people very learned in Islamic religious knowledge, discussed the question of the use of 'Allah' by non-Muslims.

Their unanimous decision?

They issued a fatwa to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with non-Muslims using the word at all.(This was told to me by Dr. Asri but I cannot find the fatwa anywhere online because all the religious departments' websites are so useless.)

Are we now going to excommunicate the whole of Perlis?

- Marina Mahathir

From One Muslim to Another Muslim on the "Allah" Issue

Read here more in Malaysiakini

Quote:

".... I'm not sure whether these (Muslim) protestors themselves understand the logic of why they are protesting.

I shared this news with a few of my old Muslim friends overseas in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia and Jordan via e-mail.

They could NOT even believe me when I told them that the Malaysian Government BANS the use of this word and that some Islamic groups protested in support.

They thought I was joking!

You know what is the talk of the town now?

That the Court of Appeal will override the High Court decision. This is already expected by the man-on-the-street.

So predictable that many of my non-Muslim friends are betting on the odds that it will be overturned.

This makes our court of appeal a 'kangaroo court'.

Is this how the people should think of our government - of which the majority of leaders are Muslims ?..."
- A. Rahman

Muslim Protest over 'Allah' Ruling is Embarrassing

by

A. Rahman

I refer to the Malaysiakini report Home Ministry applies for stay on 'Allah' ruling.

I fail to understand the logic of some of my fellow Muslims protesting in Penang and the federal government's (our prime minister, the Prime Minister's Department, the home minister and home ministry) stand to appeal over the High Court's decision over this issue.

Why should Muslims get 'heated up' ?

The reasons given were:

1. As quoted by Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary-general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa: 'We fear that the court victory will mean that Christian missionaries will now use the word, confusing (the identity of) Muslims and undermining religious harmony.'
   
   This is the 'confusion theory' that has been given as a reason. There is also a claim by the federal government that it will threaten national security.
2. Due to this 'confusion', it seems we Muslims are not able to distinguish between the 'Allah' of the Christians or that of the Muslims.

Now, when we debate this matter, it has to be done with a sound mind and a clear understanding of whether the ban on the term 'Allah' was done fairly to us Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Consider the facts :

• The word 'Allah' has been used by pre-Islamic Arabs for God. There is evidence that the word 'Allah' existed before the birth of Muhammad (PBUH) for thousands of years. It is probably the oldest name man used to call God.
  
  Prophet Muhammad's father's name was Abdullah (The slave of Allah). This name was common among the Arab pagans and Jews. Abdullah bin Salam was one of the first Jews to convert to Islam in Medina.
• We know for a fact that the Arabic Christians still use the term 'Allah' for their God. The word Allah is used in all Arabic translations of the Bible.
• Our Sarawak and Sabah non-Muslim indigenous people have been using the word 'Allah' for God since the 1800s. I have seen, via the Internet, an 1818 version of the Christian bible, with the words 'Allah'. I am not sure of its origins though but it makes use of the word 'Allah'.
• Other religions too do make mention of 'Allah' as their God.

  a. 'Allah' in Sikhism is one of the names by which Gurunanak Sahib refers to God.

  b. 'Allah' in Hinduism

  i. 'Allah' in Rigveda Book 2 Hymn 1 Verse 2. Even in the Rigveda which is the most sacred scripture of the Hindus, one of the attributes given to God Almighty in Book No 2 Hymn No 1 verse II, is 'Ila' which if pronounced properly is the same as 'Allah'.

  ii. Allo Upanishad. Amongst the various Upanishads, one is named as 'Allo' Upanishad in which God is referred to as 'Allah' several times.

• I remember too that in the Quran, it states that the Christians do call their God as 'Allah', This in Al-Qur'an 5:72-73.

I am not an Islamic scholar but claiming that the use of the word 'Allah' would confuse us Muslims is really rubbish and to go beyond to claim that it will threaten national security is preposterous. Are we so weak in our faith that we cannot differentiate and we would turn apostates easily just because of the works of some Christian missionaries using this word?

Do Muslims in Sabah and Sarawak get confused?

Come on, this is an insult to us Muslims.

• Are we saying we do not have depth in our faith that we can simply convert out of Islam just because of this?
  
• Does our Islamic faith carry such teachings?
  
• Is this more of the work of Man rather than of Allah?

We do not need Islamic scholars to tell us this.

True Muslims do not need the government and self-proclaimed champions such as these Muslim groups to protest on our behalf. Their very act of claiming to protect our faith shows how shallow-minded these people are - both the protestors and the government.

They seem to capitalise on the political aspect of the situation rather than championing for the true cause of Islam.

I'm not sure whether these protestors themselves understand the logic of why they are protesting. This is embarrassing us Muslims - not protecting our Islamic interests.

I shared this news with a few of my old Muslim friends overseas in Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Indonesia and Jordan via e-mail.

They could not even believe me when I told them that the Malaysian government bans the use of this word and that some Islamic groups protested in support.

They thought I was joking!

We should observe fair administration due to the fact that many of our ministers and department heads are Muslims. We should have treated the non-Muslims fairly as well. The government has confiscated 15,000 Malay bibles of the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak even though the word 'Allah' has been in use since 1800s.

This news has been published throughout the world. We impose and claim exclusiveness on the word 'Allah' when such as act is not even found in our Islamic faith while our Holy Quran even says that Christians do, in fact, use the word 'Allah'.

Is this how Muslim leaders act? Is this called fairness to the peoples of other faiths?

You know what is the talk of the town now? That the court of appeal will override the high court decision. This is already expected by the man-on-the-street. So predictable that many of my non-Muslim friends are betting on the odds that it will be overturned. This makes our court of appeal a 'kangaroo court'.

Is this how the people should think of our government - of which the majority of leaders are Muslims ?

We talk so much about this '1Malaysia' and 'People First' (Rakyat di Dahulukan). Looks like this is just more empty talk. We are back to square one as far as the man on the street is concerned .

The Muslim leaders in the government and some self-proclaimed 'champions of Islam' are the ones giving Islam a bad name, sad to say.

All I am saying is let us put this issue to rest with the high court's decision and let us move on as Malaysians.

If this issue of using the word 'Allah' by any other religion is not prohibited by any our Islamic teachings as spelled out in the Holy Quran and the Hadith, then what is the fuss by some misinformed Muslims?

Further appeals and counter-appeals would do more damage to the nation's reputation in the eyes of the international community and to the unity of the various races of different creed within Malaysia.

To the prime minister and the home minister, shouldn't the government act like true and just Muslim leaders and spend more time rectifying the economic situation rather than appealing over this issue?

RELATED ARTICLE

Press Statement

from The Islamic Society of North America

Commends Malaysian Court Ruling that Affirms Religious Freedom of Christians

Read here for more

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) commends the landmark ruling by a Malaysian Court on December 31, 2009, that affirms the religious freedom of Malaysian Christians.

The ruling asserts that Christians have the right to use the word “Allah” to translate “God” into Bahasa Melayu, the Malaysian language. It strikes down a government ban that was placed in 2007 on the use of the term in Christian literature.

The opponents of the use of the word Allah in reference to God have argued that the term “God” is usually translated by Malaysians who follow faiths other than Islam as “Tuhan” in Bahasa Melayu, not “Allah.”

They insist that “Allah” should only be used to refer to God in Islam. This argument is CONTRARY to both Islamic understanding and practice.

The Qur’an is quite explicit that Muslims worship the same God recognized by Christians.

The Qur’an commands Muslims to declare that the God they worship and the one worshiped by the followers of revealed books, including Christians, is one:

"… and say: We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you, and our God and your God is One, and to Him do we submit.”
(Qur’an 29:46)

With regards to actual and historical practices, Christian Arabs have been using the word “Allah” to refer to God in their religious sources since the inception of Islam, and have never been challenged by private Muslims or Muslim governments on this ground.

Islamic law is clear that followers of the Christian faith have the right to practice their religion according to their own religious teachings.

We call on the Malaysian government to uphold the religious freedom of Christians and to let the court ruling stand.

We also urge Muslim NGOs to respect Islamic teachings and long-held Islamic traditions, and to withdraw their opposition to the use of the word “Allah” by their Christian compatriots.

Publish Post

Louay Safi, Director of Communications and Leadership Development

Must Read Article for Malay-Muslims:Why Tuhan CANNOT Substitute Allah in Christian Writings,Prayers and Sermons

Read here for more in Kris & Praxis Blog


Allah can't be substituted with Tuhan in Bible translation

by

Dr. Ng Kam Weng

EXCERPTS:

Muslims in other parts of the world (Arabs, Persians, North Africans, Pakistanis and Indonesians) have no objection and are not worried about getting confused when Christians using the word Allah.

In contrast, some Malaysian Muslims claim to be confused; a strange phenomenon indeed.

This observation lends credence to the suggestion that the Allah issue is an ARTIFICIAL MALAY issue and not a genuine Muslim issue.

The truth is that the current orchestrated protests against the recent High Court decision to allow the Catholic Herald (and Christians) to use the word Allah must be seen to be as cynical manipulations by Malay politicians to gain votes from their community.

Ignorance of Malays in Difference of Meaning of TUHAN and ALLAH by Christians

One major demand from the Malay protestors is that Christians stop using the word Allah on grounds that Christians can find a simple alternative, that is, simply substitute the word Allah with the word Tuhan.

Unfortunately, this demand only betrays the ignorance of the protestors. I would have thought that any Malay would know that the meaning of the words Allah (God) and Tuhan (Lord, Rabb) are not the same.

How can they suggest that Christians simply use the word Tuhan to substitute the word Allah?

To express the issue linguistically, Allah and Tuhan have different senses even though they have the same reference.

1. Both the terms Allah and Tuhan are used in the Malay Bible.
   
   
2. Following the precedent set by Arab Christians, Allah is used to translate el/elohim and Tuhan (or TUHAN in caps) is used to translate Yahweh (YHWH).
   
   
3. The two words are sometimes paired together as Yahweh-Elohim in 372 places in the Old Testament (14 times in Genesis 2-3; 4 times in Exodus; 8 times in Joshua; 7 times in 2 Samuel; 22 times in Chronicles; 12 times in Psalms; 32 times in Isaiah; 16 times in Jeremiah and 210 times in Ezekiel etc.).
   
   
4. More importantly, the word Tuhan is also applied to Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
   
   
5. Thus we read of the LORD Jesus as Tuhan Yesus.
   
   
6. The word LORD was used to translate the word kurios 8,400 times in the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament.It refers to human beings in only 400 times and refers to God 8,000 times. Of these 8,000 times, 6,700 are substitute for the word YHWH.
   
   
7. The transference of the title kurios LORD/YHWH to Jesus Christ is testimony to the belief in the deity of Christ right at the beginning of Christianity.

This simple statistical survey shows clearly that the demand by Muslim demonstrators that Christians simply substitute the word Allah with Tuhan is unreasonable since it renders many Biblical references to God and Jesus Christ incoherent.

• First, the substitution is incorrect since the meaning of Allah and Tuhan are different.
  
  
• Second, it creates an absurd situation when Christians try to translate the paired words Tuhan Allah (LORD God).
  
  Are Christians now required to call the LORD God, Tuhan Tuhan?
  
  This sounds like committing linguistic redundancy. Worse still, the repeated words Tuhan Tuhan come across to Malay readers as suggesting that Christians believe in a plurality of Lords/Gods (since the plural form in Malay is expressed by repeating the noun and setting them in apposition.)
  
  
• Finally, Christians are unable to express the Lordship of Jesus Christ as one who is distinct from the Father and yet shares with the God of the Old Testament, the name that is above every other name--kurios/Tuhan (Philippians 2:9, cf. Isaiah 45:23).
  
  In other words, Christians are rendered unable to affirm the deity of Jesus Christ and teach the doctrine of Trinity without the foundational words that maintain the semantic relationship between the words Allah and Tuhan as they are applied distinctively in the Malay Bible.

Christians in Malaysia would do their utmost to maintain religious harmony in Malaysia. Indeed, the Christianity community has made many concessions to accommodate the concerns of the Malay community.

However, it cannot accept the demand that it abandons the use of the word Allah and adopts the word Tuhan as the substitute simply because some ill-informed Malays take offence at their practice--an offence which would not have arisen if only these people set aside emotions and prejudices and examine the historical and linguistic evidence in a calm and rational manner.

At the very least, Malays (or rather Muslims) should understand that believers are not at liberty to change the meaning of their Scriptures, the word of God, to satisfy the unfounded scruples of man.

TRANSLATING THE NAMES OF GOD:

Recent experience from Indonesia and Malaysia

by

D. Soesilo

(from THE BIBLE TRANSLATOR, Practical Papers Vol. 52, No. 4, October 2001: pp. 414-423)

Excerpts: Read here for more

The Situation in Malaysia

The situation in Malaysia in regard to the use of the divine names is different to that in Indonesia in one important respect, which has more to do with politics than with language. It is that some years ago some states and the federal government prohibited the use of the name Allah by non-Muslims.

It is partly fear of this that has led some organisations to make changes in the rendering of the names of God in Malay and Indonesian, in both their own writing and in quoting of Scripture. (Each time the word Allah “God” occurs, it has been consistently changed to Tuhan “Lord”, with the result that there is no difference between the renderings of the two Hebrew names YHWH and Elohim.)

In response to this situation the Heads of Malaysian Churches met in Kuala Lumpur in 1985 (sponsored by the Bible Society of Malaysia) as well as in the 1989 Kuching Consultation of the Heads of Churches (sponsored by the Christian Federation of Malaysia).

At both these meetings there were unanimous decisions to keep the name Allah; and as the servant of the Malaysian churches, the Bible Society of Malaysia honoured this decision when it published the revised Malay Bible (including the deuterocanonical books), Alkitab Berita Baik, (1996).

There are five reasons why it is legitimate to use Allah among Christians.

They are as follows:

1. The loan word Allah is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew names of God El, Elohim, Eloah in the Hebrew Old Testament.

2. Arab Christians from before the dawn of Islam have been praying to Allah, and Allah was used by Christian theologians writing in Arabic. So the Christian usage of Allah is actually older than Islam.

3. Allah is the word used for “God” in all Arabic versions of the Bible from the old Arabic Bible all the way to the modern Arabic Bible (Today’s Arabic Version).

4. Christians in countries like Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and other places in Asia and Africa where the languages are in contact with Arabic, have almost all been using the word Allah as the Creator God and the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Last but not least, in Malay and Indonesian the word Allah has been used continuously from the time of the first printed edition of Matthew’s Gospel in Malay (A.C. Ruyl, 1629). It was used in the first complete Malay Bible (M. Leijdecker, 1733), and in the second complete Malay Bible (H.C Klinkert, 1879), and has been used in other published Scriptures up to the present day.

The situation in Indonesia

It is worth pointing out that, unlike Malaysia, in Indonesia Allah is accepted as the Supreme Being for all people. Thus there has never been a prohibition such as the one in Malaysia.

The definition of Allah in the Indonesian Dictionary Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia is an all inclusive definition:

Allah Nama Tuhan dalam bahasa Arab, pencipta alam semesta yang mahasempurna; Tuhan yang Maha Esa yang disembah oleh orang yang beriman

“The name of the Lord in Arabic, creator of the universe who is most perfect; the Lord, the one and only God who is worshipped by people of faith.”

Recently, however, 30 000 copies of a translation of the Bible, Kitab Suci: Torat dan Injil were printed by an organisation in Indonesia, where the text of the Indonesian formal translation published by the Indonesian Bible Society has been systematically changed.

This has been done by using some kind of consistency table, so that the name Jesus is written as Yesua, “Jesus Christ” is translated Yesua Hamasiah, the name YHWH is transliterated as YAHWE, and “God” is transliterated from the Hebrew Elohim as Eloim.

This form Eloim is also used for “God” in the New Testament (Greek Theos); thus readers find Eloim all over the New Testament as well as the Old Testament.

The explanation for this use of Eloim given in the brochure distributed by the organisation is that Allah is a pagan god, the god of the Arabs – thus Christians cannot use Allah. (This organisation is working among communities and groups of people that include Muslims.)

Some examples from the text of this Bible are:

• Dengarlah, hal orang Israel: YAHWE itu Eloim kita. YAHWE itu esa!
  “Listen O nation of Israel: YAHWE is our Eloim. YAHWE is one!”(Deut 6.4)
  
  
• Jawab Yesua: “Hukum yang terutama ialah: Dengarlah, hai orang Israel, YAHWE Eloim kita, YAHWE itu esa.”
  Joshua replied, “The most important commandment is: ‘Listen, O nation of Israel! YAHWE is our Eloim. YAHWE is one.’ “ (Mark 12.28)
  
  
• Yesua Hamasiah, anak Dawid, anak Abraham
  “Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham” (Matt 1.1)
  
  
• … di bubungan Bet Eloim
  “… on the pinnacle of the Bet Eloim” (Matt 4.5)
  
  
• Roh Eloim “Spirit of Eloim” (1 Cor 12.3)
  
  
• Yesua adalah Tuhan “Joshua is Lord” (1 Cor 12.3)

After a lengthy discussion with the Indonesian Bible Society Translation Advisory Committee, it was decided that it is important and preferable to preserve the Old Testament usage of YHWH and its translation tradition in the Septuagint.

This has been the long term practice and the established tradition of the Indonesian speaking churches (that is, following the widely circulated Indonesian Bible translations since 1629).

Subsequently the Indonesian Bible Society Board passed a resolution on this matter. Among other things it resolved that:

“… when, in the process of translation, there is any significant exegetical deviation from the standard Indonesian Bible Society (LAI) versions, then LAI will not publish the said Bible, even if the translation/adaptation process has been under the guidance of a LAI Translation Adviser or Consultant.”

The Revised Shellabear Bible: sorting out the issues

As we have just noted, the team responsible for the revision of the Shellabear Bible into Indonesian want to keep the original way of rendering the divine names; that is, rendering the Hebrew name YHWH as Allah and the Hebrew term for “God” Elohim as Tuhan.

I will mention some of their reasons for wanting to continue in this way and discuss them in the rest of the article below.

Upon closer examination it has become clear that the problem is not how to translate YHWH or Elohim, but it is a linguistic problem in the Malay/Indonesian language.

Some of those who favour this Bible and who have some knowledge of Arabic think that Allah cannot be combined with the possessive pronoun even in Bahasa Indonesia.

From the linguistic point of view, it is claimed that the Christian practice of saying Allahku “my God”, Allahmu “your God”, or Allah kami “our God” is quite offensive to Muslim readers who have some knowledge of Arabic.

In Arabic Allah is short for Hah “the God” (as are Hebrew ha eloah and Greek ho theos), so you cannot say Allahku, since it will be awkward to hearers, as is the English construction “my the God”.

Contrary to the different meanings and functions of the general Hebrew word elohim “god” or “God”, in Arabic Allah is the revealed name of God only.

So those who feel more Arabic than Indonesian cannot say “my God” Allahku, “your God” Allahmu, “our God” Allah kita, or “the God of the Philistines” Allah Filistin, and so on.

Similarly it will be offensive to say Allah Ibrahim, Ishak dan Yakub “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”.

You can say Allah Tuhanku “God my Lord”, but not Tuhan Allahku “the Lord my God”.

In the old Shellabear edition, the name YHWH is usually translated as Allah. This is quite acceptable to Muslims among its readers, especially because it goes along with the Islamic creed la ilaha illa Allah which is usually rendered into Indonesian as Tiada Tuhan selain Allah “There is no other Lord besides God” (a more correct translation would be “There is no other deity besides God”, since “the Lord” is the equivalent of the Arabic word Rabb).

Shellabear’s reversal of Elohim and YHWH was most probably an attempt to respond to Malay language usage in the early 20th century. However, as every living language changes from time to time, the present Bible translation in Malay (1996) has reversed the 1912 Shellabear decision. (As already mentioned, this change was based on the recommendation of the Heads of Churches and Biblical scholars in Malaysia.)

Likewise the Anglican Diocese of Kuching, Sarawak, asked the Bible Society of Malaysia for a similar reversal in their Biatah New Testament, in which the first edition had followed the Shellabear early version.

What must be taken into consideration is the distinction between the class word and the proper name for “God”.

In Arabic ilah is the class word and Allah is the proper name. However, in Hebrew the opposite is true. Elohim is the general word and YHWH is the proper name, the revealed name in the Hebrew Bible.

Another important factor is that borrowed terms always change in meaning when they come into another language. Ilah as a loan word in Indonesian no longer has the meaning of the original Arabic.

In Indonesian it means “god”.

Moreover the loan word Allah has been absorbed as a true Indonesian word, and thus it can and should follow the current Indonesian grammatical rules.

There were two linguists (including one with a Muslim readership background) on a team of Biblical scholars and linguists appointed by the Indonesian Bible Society to work on the revision of the Indonesian formal translation.

They both state that in Bahasa Indonesia as a national language, it is grammatical and quite acceptable to say Allahku, Allahmu, Allah kita, and so on. They also state that, linguistically speaking, if a small minority of Muslim leaders who read Indonesian with an Arabic frame of mind are offended by Allahku, Allahmu, Allah kita, and such terms, it does not mean that the accepted current Indonesian usage of Allahku and the rest should be considered wrong.

Over the centuries the Indonesian churches have been translating, teaching, preaching YHWH as TUHAN, and Elohim, El, Eloah and Theos as Allah.

In addition all Indonesian Bible dictionaries, Biblical commentaries, Christian books and theological text books, and scholarly journals have taken this historical position.

Thus the Shellabear team’s request for the reversal of Allah and Tuhan in the over 2000 cases will contradict the current accepted Christian usage and confuse Christian communities. The Indonesian Bible Society is not prepared to accept this, as it serves all churches, not just a minority of Christians.

Along with the issue of following or not following accepted Christian usage is the issue of being accurate and faithful to the meaning and intent of the original (Hebrew) biblical texts. It is one thing to attempt to be meaningful and natural as far as the intended audience is concerned, but it is another to adjust to the theology of the target audience.

Of course Shellabear’s way is closer to the Islamic statement of faith: la ilaha illa Allah “There is no other deity beside God.” However, it has to be recognised that in the process of making the translation more acceptable to the audience, the Biblical text has actually been changed.

As a comment on this criticism, we should take note of the usage in translation of the Bible into the Arabic language itself.

The Septuagint (Old Testament in Greek) was first translated into Arabic during the time of Harun al Rasyid in the ninth century AD.

Since then Arabic Bibles have rendered the names of God as follows:

Hebrew - Arabic

1. YHWH - al Rabb, al Rabbu
2. Elohim (and its variants) - Allah
3. Elohim + pronoun or name - Ilah + pronoun or name
4. Adonal - Saidi and some other terms

I have already mentioned a discussion with the Indonesian Bible Society Translation Advisory Committee about this revision project…

If the revision team were to follow the guidelines of the UBS Statement on Translating Divine Names (see the opening paragraphs of this article), the following options might be considered:

1. Translation as “Lord”: TUHAN Allah kita, TUHAN itu esa, “The LORD our Allah (‘God’), the Lord is one.”
   (This is very similar to the form that is in common use by Indonesian Christians nationwide: TUHAN Ilah kita, Tuhan itu esa.)
   
   
2. Translation of the presumed meaning: Yang abadi adalah Allah kita, Yang Abadi itu esa, “The everlasting one is our God. The everlasting is one,”

3. Yang kita sembah adalah Yang Abadi, Yang Abadi itu esa, “The One we worship is the everlasting. The everlasting is one.” (These are examples of renderings that should be suitable for audiences that include Muslims.)

Thus, instead of revising the existing rendering of Mark 12.29, “God, our Lord is the only God” to Allah Tuhan kita, yaitu Tuhan yang esaTuhan Allah kita adalah Tuhan yang esa “The Lord our God is the only Lord,” that statement could be modified in line with the principle of translating the presumed meaning, as follows:

1. Likewise the rendering of this verse in Today’s Indonesian Version Alkitab Kabar Baik (1985) could be:
   
   Dengarlah, hai bangsa Israel! Tuhan Allah kita, Tuhan itu esa
   “Listen, O nation of Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
   
   
2. Similarly the rendering in the 1996 Revised Today’s Malaysian Version Alkitab
   Berita Baik could be:
   
   Dengarlah, hai bangsa Israel! Tuhan Allah kita, Dialah Tuhan yang esa
   “Listen, O nation of Israel! The Lord is our God, he is the only Lord.”

With changes like these we can be faithful to the biblical texts, and at the same time be acceptable contextually.

Though the concept is different from what is familiar to Muslims among the intended audience (especially regarding the revealed name), the proposed revision is appropriate and should not be offensive because it does not attach the possessive pronoun to the word Allah.

Other names of God can be handled as follows:

• Yahweh TUHAN “LORD”
• Adonai Tuhan “Lord”
• Adonai Yahweh TUHAN Raja “LORD, King” (TMV).
• Adonai Yahweh TUHAN Raja yang Maha Kuasa

Conclusion

To sum it up, Bible translators are called to translate the meaning of the text following guidelines of responsible biblical scholarship, and not following sectarian interpretation.

They must try very hard to keep their personal views and theological agendas to an absolute minimum.

Anything that will distort the meaning and function of the original text must be avoided at all cost. As stated in the working principles and guidelines, the Shellabear revision must follow the most up-to-date biblical scholarship and the most up-to-date usage of the Indonesian language.

Thus, the Bible Society suggests that the Shellabear revision team consider other options, rather than the proposed reversal of Allah and Tuhan in the over 2000 occurrences of the Hebrew words Elohim, El, Eloah and the Greek word Theos when they are used with possessive pronouns – that is, if they want the revised Shellabear edition in Indonesian to be circulated for wider Christian audiences.

As discussed by the ecumenical team of biblical scholars in the Formal Indonesian Old Testament Revision team, and as recommended by the Indonesian Bible Society Translation Advisory Committee, the following are some of the possible options:

1. Following the Arabic transliteration whenever Elohim, El, Eloah (or Theos in New Testament) are followed by possessive pronouns; for example, Ilahi instead of Allahku “my God”, and for the other pronouns, Ilahu, Ilahokom, and so on.

2. Translating the word Elohim with possessive pronouns into Indonesian as Ilah; for example, Ilahku, Ilahmu, Ilah kita, and so on.

3. Though it does not cover all components of meaning, it is still acceptable from the point of view of both interpretation and language to say Allah yang kusembah or Allah sembahanku “God, the one I worship”, which can be shortened into either two words, Yang kusembah, or one word, Sembahanku.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, It is Time NOW to Act Against Your PKR MP Zulkifli Noordin BEFORE More Damage is Done to Pakatan Rakyat

Read here Accusations of PKR MP Zulkifli Noordin Against PAS MP Khalid Samad

Read here Response of PAS MP Khalid Samad to PKR Zulkifli Noordin's Accusation





Ahli Parlimen PKR dari Kulim-Bandar Baru, Zulkifli Noordin menyifatkan ahli Parlimen Shah Alam dari PAS, Khalid Samad itu masih belum matang dalam berpolitik dan hanya sesuai berjuang di dalam DAP.

Ujar Zulkifli dalam posting terbaru di laman blognya:

" Malah saya berpendapat sikap dan tindak-tanduk beliau lebih sesuai untuk beliau duduk bersama dengan DAP.

Saya berani menegur beliau agar rakyat terutamanya umat Islam bangsa Melayu meletak keyakinan dan kepercayaan bahawa PR bukan sahaja akan membela kaum dan penganut agama lain, malahan PR juga komited untuk mempertahan dan membela umat Islam termasuk bangsa Melayu..."

Ramai di kalangan umat Islam dan bangsa Melayu hampir kehilangan keyakinan dengan perjuangan Islam dan bangsa Melayu dalam Pakatan Rakyat kerana adanya karektor seperti ini sedangkan majoriti penduduk dan pengundi Malaysia masih lagi orang Melayu beragama Islam."
- Zulkifli Noordin

Keterangan Khalid Samad Berkenaan Isu "Kalimah Allah".
(Read here for more)

Excerpts:

Ada yang menyatakan saya menyokong malah menggalakkan penggunaan perkataan Allah oleh masyarakat Kristian.

Sebenarnya kenyataan tersebut TIDAK benar.

Saya tidak menyokong ataupun menggalakkannya.

Saya sekadar menyatakan bahawa penggunaan kalimah tersebut oleh masyarakat bukan Islam merupakan satu perkara yang diharuskan berdasarkan ayat-ayat Al-Quran dan kebiasaan masyarakat antarabangsa, khususnya masyarakat Arab.

Kenyataan saya sebelum ini merupakan ‘a statement of fact’ atau satu kenyataan fakta dan soal saya menyokong atau menggalakkannya tidak timbul sama sekali. Ianya dipohon bukan oleh saya tetapi oleh sebahagian masyarakat Kristian tanpa apa-apa dorongan dari saya.

Namun, apabila saya ditanya, saya menyatakan fakta bahawa pada dasarnya tiada halangan untuk orang bukan Islam menggunakan kalimah Allah kerana sudahpun digunakan di banyak negara dan diperakui oleh Al-Quran sendiri.

Hujjah-hujjah berhubung persoalan ini telahpun saya nyatakan dalam tulisan saya sebelum ini.

Apa yang saya hendak tegaskan di sini ialah bahawa yang menentukan Islam atau tidak Islam bukan dengan penggunaan kalimah Allah tetapi kefahaman terhadap Allah sebagai Tuhan yang Esa. Ini disebut sebagai konsep ‘Tauhid’.

Itulah sebabnya mengapa apabila seseorang memeluk agama Islam dia mengucap “Aku naik saksi tiada tuhan (yang disembah) melainkan Allah”.

Ini bahagian pertama dari dua kalimah syahaadah. Ucapan ini berbentuk penafian dan penolakkan akan wujudnya tuhan-tuhan lain selain Allah.

Ianya bukan sekadar mengatakan “Allah adalah Tuhan” tetapi lebih dari itu ia juga menolak wujudnya tuhan-tuhan lain. Kalau kita perhati dan fikirkan sejenak dengan mata hati, maka kita akan memahami sebabnya.

Dari sudut dakwah Islamiah, sekiranya orang bukan Islam menggunakan kalimah Allah maka ia memudahkan kita berdakwah kepada mereka. Melalui penggunaan kalimah yang sama ini, iaitu ‘Allah’ kita sudah mempunyai titik pertemuan dari mana untuk bertolak.

Ini di dalam Al-Quran diistilahkan sebagai “ila kalimatin sawaain” atau ‘kepada kalimah yang sama’ dan metodologi dakwah sebegini yang telah digunakan oleh Rasulullah (SAW) berdasarkan perintah Allah yang terdapat di dalam Surah Al-Maidah ayat 64.

Sebenarnya isu ini merupakan sesuatu yang menguntungkan ummat Islam. Ia mampu menjelaskan kepercayaan Tauhid yang dibawa Islam di kalangan ummat Islam dan bukan Islam. Sambil itu ia membuka pintu dakwah kepada golongan bukan Islam, khususnya golongan ahli kitab.

Namun ianya sengaja dikelirukan oleh pihak tertentu demi kepentingan politik mereka, untuk mencari titik perbalahan menakutkan ummat Islam dan mengelirukan ummat Islam dengan lebih lagi.

Melalui kekeliruan ini mereka akan terus berkuasa, kerana rakyat yang keliru mudah ditipu dan dikuasai.
- Khalid Samad, PAS MP, Shah Alam

RELATED ARTICLE:

PAS MP (Shah Alam) Khalid Samad says PAS Deputy Spiritual Adviser Haron Din Speaks for Himself and NOT for PAS

Excerpts: Read here for more

PAS central political bureau member Khalid Samad, who had defended non-Muslims' right to use the term 'Allah' also noted that Haron's statement is 'not in line' with the party's stand.

PAS deputy spiritual adviser Haron Din was simply “expressing his own view” when he described as kufur (non-believers) those Muslims who have come out in support of non-Muslims to use the word 'Allah'.

According to Khalid, PAS has decided that non-Muslims are allowed to use the term as it is NOT forbidden in Islam.

Khalid said Haron's statement is 'completely reversed' from the party's stand. "Even (spiritual leader) Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has said non-Muslims are allowed to use the word, except that it is not suitable (in the) present situation,” he said.

Haron was not present at the two-hour meeting at the PAS headquarters last night, where party leaders had discussed the issue and arrived at a consensus, said Khalid.

Yesterday, Haron stressed that any Muslim who supports the High Court decision - which allows The Herald to use the term 'Allah' in its Malay-language section - may become kufur.

The High Court decision last week has sparked outrage among several Muslim groups, who have threatened to hold a major protest.

The Home Ministry has appealed the decision and sought a stay of use of the word by The Herald, a Catholic publication.

Kalimah Allah: Apakah Pendirian Para MUFTI dan MAJLIS FATWA? KENAPA DIAM?

Read here for more

PAS telahpun membuat pendiriannya berhubung isu penggunaan kalimah Allah yang diizinkan Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur kepada pihak Gereja Katolik dalam penerbitan majalah The Herald.

Mengapa PAS perlu akur dan mendahului Para Mufti dan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan dalam hal ini.

Yang hairannya mengapa PAS benar-benar diburu media agar membuat pendiriannya.

1. Apakah pandangan ulama PAS itu sebagai indikator utama dalam membentuk pendirian negara.
   
   
2. Kenapa Mufti Perak Tan Sri Harunsani yang kebiasaannya sukakan publisiti mendiamkan diri. Ke manakah mufti dan ulama ini?
   
   
3. Apakah pendirian mesti dikaji dahulu sebelum diputuskan untuk kesesuaian pemerintah atau apakah perlu mendengar hujahan PAS dahulu agar pandangan dan fatwa yang dikeluarkan tidak menampakan kesamaan.
   
   
4. Apakah ini bererti pendirian ulama PAS mengatasi seluruh fatwa mufti dan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan.

Kita tunggu dan lihat apa keputusan kerajaan berhubung perkara ini, kita lihat sama ada perangkap yang dipasang mengena atau tidak. Kita lihat selama mana waktu boleh dilengah-lengahkan.

Alhamdullilah: PAS is on the RIGHT Side of Islam and History

Read here for more





PAS last night decided to back the use of the word Allah by Catholics, saying that it is consistent with the Federal Constitution and Islamic principles.

The decision was made by the Islamist party’s political bureau after a three hour meeting which was chaired by President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Hadi Awang in a written statement which was read out by Information Chief Idris Ahmad said,

“PAS would like to state that based on Islamic principles, the use of the word Allah by the people of the Abrahamic faiths such as Christianity and Judaism, is acceptable.

However, the word Allah must not be misused or abused so as not to affect racial and religious harmony in the country..."

In a statement made after the meeting, Hadi warned, however, that the word “Allah” should not be abused to confuse the public.

PAS strongly objects to any aggressive and provocative approach that can lead to tension in society

Hadi also urged all parties not to politicise the matter for political mileage.

Last week the High Court ruled that the Catholic church had a constitutional right to publish the word “Allah” in the Bahasa Malaysia edition of its Herald newspaper.

The government has decided to appeal the ruling yesterday, bowing to demands from Muslim groups who say they fear the ruling would result in confusion and that non-Muslims would abuse the usage of the word “Allah”.

Various Umno-linked organisations, who maintained that the word “Allah” can only be used exclusively by Muslims, have protested against the court’s decision and police reports were also lodged against the Catholic’s publication.

Related Article

From Harakah Daily Read here

PAS turut menjelaskan bahawa berdasarkan kaedah Islam, penggunaan nama Allah pada asasnya adalah dibenarkanuntuk digunakan oleh agama Samawi seperti Kristian dan Yahudi.

Namun, penggunaannya secara salah dan tidak bertanggungjawab harus dielakkan supaya ianya tidak menjadi isu yang boleh menjejaskan keharmonian kaum dan agama di negara ini.

Turut hadir dalam mesyuarat sebelum itu:

Presiden PAS,Datuk Seri Tuan Guru Hj Abd Hadi Awang,

Timbalan Presiden, Nasharudin Mat Isa,

Naib Presiden, Salahudin Ayub dan Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man,

Setiausaha, Datuk Mustafa Ali dan

Ketua Dewan Muslimat, Ustazah Nuridah Salleh.

Mursyidul Am, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat sendiri melahirkan kebimbangan penggunaan perkataan Allah disalahgunakan biarpun tidak salah untuk diguna kesemua agama samawi.

Tetapi Timbalan Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Dr Haron Din berkata umat Islam yang menyokong keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi membenarkan penggunaan kalimah 'Allah' bagi penerbitan akhbar mingguan Herald-The Catholic Weekly boleh membawa kepada kekufuran.

Haron Din turut meragui niat akhbar berkenaan yang bertegas mahu mendapatkan kebenaran menggunakan kalimah Allah dalam penerbitan mereka. Read here for more

Malay Muslim Groups and UMNO in Mourning: May Run Amok for "Loss" of Monopoly of ALLAH to Catholics in Malaysia

Read here for more

Related News:

Khir Toyo said that he is now in mourning, as a Muslim, for the loss of "Allah" to the Catholics. Read here for more

Malaysian version of Islam vs the Malaysian Federal Constitution

MUSLIM groups in Malaysia have voiced opposition to a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper the right to use the word 'Allah". They said on Saturday they plan to demonstrate.

"The court decision is not right and we are planning to hold a major demonstration to protest this,"Syed Hassan Syed Ali, secretary general of Malay rights group Pribumi Perkasa told AFP.

He and 50 other Malay activists held a small protest over the ruling outside a central mosque Friday.

Malaysia's high court ruled on Thursday that the Caltholic Herald weekly had the right to use the word 'Allah' after a long-running dispute between the government and the paper in the Muslim-majority nation.

"Allah is a MUSLIM God" According to Mamak Reezal Merican

Federation of MALAY Students' Association Advisor, "Mamak" Reezal Merican said although the court decision had to be respected, the government needed to appeal it.

'We want to live in peace with all religions here but the word Allah has traditionally in Malaysia been used to represent the Muslim God, which is different from Christianity, and this must be addressed,' he told AFP.

Northern Perak state mufti Harussani Zakaria was also critical of the verdict, calling it 'an insult to Muslims in this country,' according to the influential Malay-language Utusan Malaysia newspaper.

But renowned constitution law expert Abdul Aziz Bari joined the chorus of voices applauding High Court judge Lau Bee Lan's decision to overturn the Home Ministry's ban on the use of the word 'Allah' in the Malay language version of Catholic weekly The Herald last Thursday. Read here for more in Malaysiakini

The High Court's decision allowing a Catholic weekly publication to use the term 'Allah' must be governed by strict conditions, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Read here for more

Umno Wanita chief/Minister of Family, Women and Community Development, Shahrizat added that Wanita Umno has sought a meeting with Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Jamil Khir to discuss the matter.She stressed that the movement will champion and ensure that the place and position of Islam was not tarnished. "If need be, we will apply to meet the King," she said. Read here for more

The Prime Minister's Department, with the cooperation of the Home Ministry, will appeal against the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision in allowing the Catholic weekly magazine The Herald, to use the word 'Allah' in its publication. Read here for more

Malaysiakini Readers' Comments

• The Christian citizens in Sarawak have been using the word 'Allah' in their worship for ages as the local natives are all schooled in Bahasa Malaysia, thus the churches have to conduct their worship in BM, and the words, 'Allah', 'Maha Esa', etc, are often used. Even the name of the church is in BM - the Sidang Injil Borneo. Please be reminded that the Dayak natives are the majority and Malay Muslims constitute only about 20 percent of the population of Sarawak. I believe it is the same in Sabah. Also East Malaysians provide you 50 percent parliamentary seats, so don't bully us!
  
  
• Umno has only one choice to make: Either they pursue the case in the Appeal Court and which we know they will win, and stand to lose an almost one million votes in the coming 13GE (general election), and most likely the two states in East Malaysia as well, or let the case be and move forward. Put your '1Malaysia' sloganeering where your mouth is. No more no less.

Related Article:

Here's the TRUTH on Who Actually Owns the Arabic word "Allah". Malay Muslims OR Arabs?










WATCH THIS... It is in Indonesian and in Arabic





Must Watch Video: Enchanting and Mesmerising (In Arabic)

No Limit to How Idiotic and Ridiculous Can MACC Become

Read here for more

MACC:
Institusi Yang TAK Berguna
Kepada Rakyat Malaysia

MACC's Response:

Filed a Police Report Against
Thai Forensic Pathologist Dr. Pornthip

Related Article:

Teoh Beng Hock was murdered. Top Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand has sufficient evidence to prove that he was killed.

The Parti Keadilan Rakyat organ, Suara Keadilan, quotes unnamed Health Ministry sources as saying that Pornthip reached her conclusion after a second postmortem at the Sungai Buloh hospital.

The report adds that Pornthip has made known her findings to all relevant groups, including the Teoh family and the Selangor government, which commissioned her services. Read here for more

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has filed a police report against Thai pathologist Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand (picture) over her statement about the possibility that Teoh Beng Hock was murdered.

MACC officer Raub Ghani, who made the report in Shah Alam this morning, claimed Pornthip had leaked the contents of her autopsy report to “irrelevant parties” and was thus in contempt of court.

The inquest into his death is set to resume next Thursday.

VIEWS from Malaysians on MACC's Action

Malaysia-Today Readers' Comments.
Read here for more

• So we are expected to expect positive changes in the MACC after the departure of its top honcho, you know who? The very first day of a new year and a new MACC boss, and you have this happening! Nothing will ever change.
  
  
• I think they should arrest Dr. Pornthip and questioned her in Plaza Masalam. Please do it MACC!
  
  
• A strategy to prevent the renowned pathologist to give her views in court next week?
  
  
• Something must be very very wrong with the POLICE system in Malaysia. Anybody can lodge a report against anybody on anything. It’s happening so frequently that it is not funny anymore. And even the police themselves and now the agency which is supposed to fight corruption are making police reports. Next the IGP himself will make a police report; followed by all the other government agencies including MINDEF, KDN, Minister of Health, Minister of Education and who knows even the PM himself will make a police report.
  
  
• MACC ’s idea of lodging police report against Dr Porntip for leaking her report is really brilliant and surely will stop The Buddhist doctor from appearing in court to testify. Of course the Police must do their part by asking Dr Porntip to present herself at the station where she is told there may a case a against her and probably will be detained for a couple of days for investigation. Wow what a great plan, even though the English Pathologist may not be able to save them, in the light of unrefutable evidence of murder, this will stop Dr Porntip dead in her tracks in revealing the truth. Huray! Dr Porntip won’t be coming…….MACC revels.
  
  
• First there are parties which tries to frighten off the good Doctor Pornthip from attending the second Autopsy. Now it is the time to apply the instrument of the Nation to de-rail the truth from emerging.
  
  
• Disgusting,Pathetic! That’s what we can sum up the stupidest action taken by moron MACC. By the way, she was appointed by Teoh’s family and Selangor govt as part of Teoh’s family (well I can say by all Malaysians except UMNO) as a ‘prosecution’ witness against the MACC and the Govt! MACC is so desperate and trying all their idiotic means to block Dr. Ponthip to testify in court! SICKENING!
  
  
• Hey, MACC, the taxpayers didn’t pay you to make police reports. Get on with your @#$% job, one which you can’t even do professionally.

TG Nik Aziz Perlu Asingkan Hal Ehwal Keluarga Dari Pemerintahan Negeri Demi Kepentingan Parti

Read here for more

Excerpts:

Minta TG Nik Aziz Keluar Rumah Seperti yang Dibuat oleh Rasullullah SAW

Saya mengakui Tok Guru Nik Aziz adalah seorang manusia dan oleh kerana itu, beliau juga mempunyai kelemahan.

Dalam isu pemecatan Annual Bakhri Haron, maklumat yang saya dapat, bahawa dalang utamanya adalah dari kalangan ahli keluarga Tok Guru sendiri.

Keluarga Tok Guru akan menjadi pembantu utama kepada usaha membawa PAS kepada UMNO seperti yang dirancang oleh Task Force 2010 sebelum ini.

NIK ABDUH

Ini bukan cakap kosong. Sila rujuk tulisan Nik Abduh dalam blognya satu masa dulu bertajuk “Kerja Kerja Bodoh Dalam PAS."

Nik Abduh dengan jelas menamakan “pembantu-pembantu ayahanda” sebagai orang-orang yang bertanggungjawab menyebabkan ayahanda beliau menolak gagasan Kerajaan Perpaduan. Nah, sekarang barulah kita tahu siapa sebenarnya pembantu-pembantu ayahandanya yang amat dibenci oleh Nik Abduh ini. Antaranya adalah Annual Bakhri Haron yang baru sahaja terpecat dari jawatannya.

Kita jangan lupa bahawa Nik Abduh adalah penyokong tegar gagasan Kerajaang Perpaduang. Dan beliau dengan jelas menyalahkan “pembantu-pembantu Ayahandanya” kerana mengagalkan usaha kerajaang Perpaduan tajaan Fraksi UMNO dalam PAS.

Dapatlah beliau mengawal ayahandanya lagi sekali sehingga ayahandanya tidak akan menentang usaha membawa PAS kepada UMNO. .Satu-satunya halangan kepada “Perpaduang” telah berjaya di neutralisasikan.

Sepanjang yang diketahui umum, Annual Bakhri adalah kem TOK GURU.

Beliau bukan kem Husam mahupun kem Taqi mahupun kem Nik Amar.

Beliau memberi nasihat untuk menjaga imej TOk Guru supaya TOk Guru sentiasa dipandang mulia dan tinggi.

Dan terbukti sehingga hari ini, Tok Guru dipandang mulia di sisi semua orang tidak mengira kaum atau rasa tau agama. Itu adalah kejayaan Annual Bakhri di dalam menjalankan tugas beliau sebagai penasihat.

Hanya Nik Abduh dan Fraksi UMNO sahaja marah kepada Annual Bakhri Haron kerana Annual Bakhri sering memberi nasihat yang mendedahkan penipuan serta silap mata Fraksi UMNO. Misalnya, dulu dia panggil muzakarah, lepas orang tolak, diorang tukar nama jadi Kerajaang Perpaduang pulak. Benda sama je.

Tapi, nampaknya Mustafa Ali sudah mula berjinak2 menyokong Tok Guru Nik Aziz.

Bagi saya ini petanda yang Fraksi UMNO telah mula meraikan kejayaan mereka. Matlamat mereka kian hampir.

Keluarga Tok Guru akan memainkan peranan penting mengendurkan tentangan Tok Guru terhadap usaha membawa PAS kepadaUMNO.

NIK AMALINA (Isteri kepada Abdul Ariffahmi)

Nik Amalina juga tidak kurang handalnya. Berkokok dalam blog kononnya suami nya dizalimi dan dinista oleh salah seorang anggota exco. PAdahal bukti salah laku suami nya telah terdedah kepada umum dan tiada siapa yang berani mempertahankan tindakan suaminya lagi.

Maka pada hari ini puas hatilah kamu wahai Nik Amalina. Tapi kamu harus waspada akan amaran Nabi SAW: “Takutlah kamu akan doa orang yang dizalimi”.

Kamu ingat PAS ini wujud supaya kamu dan suami kamu boleh hidup senang lenang dan boleh melakukan apa sahaja termasuk menzalimi peniaga-peniaga yang bakal berniaga di bazaar Tok Guru?

Kamu siapa Nik Amalina? Nabi, Rasul, Malaikat? Kelemahan Tok Guru di masa ini adalah keluarga BELIAU.

Untuk itu saya memohon kepada TOk Guru Nik Aziz supaya mengingati kembali peristiwa yang pernah menimpa Junjungan Besar Nabi Muhammad SAW seperti yang saya nukil dari blog Al Bakistani

Ujian yang menimpa Rasul SAW itu sedang menimpa Tok Guru Nik Aziz sendiri. Ujian keluarga terhadap perjuangan Islam adalah ujian yang paling getir. Dan untuk itu saya yang kerdil ini meminta Tok Guru supaya mengikuti kaedah yang telah ditunjukkan oleh Nabi SAW, yakni Baginda telah keluar dari rumah Baginda dan mengasingkan diri dari isteri-isteri Baginda SAW selama beberapa waktu.

Sehinggalah isteri-isteri Baginda berjaya di disiplingkan. Langkah Baginda telah menyelamatkan Islam dan menyelamatkan imej Baginda sehingga hari ini.

Itulah yang saya dapat kongsi bersama Tok Guru Nik Aziz demi perjuangan Islam dan demi amanah perjuangan yang telah diberikan oleh Allah SWT kepada kita.

Perancangan UMNO Melalui Keluarga TG Nik Aziz

Namun ini semua adalah sebahagian dari perancangan UMNO yang akan berakhir dengan Tok Guru diminta oleh ahli keluarga beliau untuk bersara dari politik sama sekali.

Kalau mengikut kenyataan Abu Bakar Chik sewaktu Mesyuarat Khas AJK PAS Pusat, beliau telah menamakan Ustaz Halim Abdul Rahman sebagai PJ menggantikan Tok Guru Nik Aziz.

Kawan saya beritahu, selepas Tok Guru dipujuk bersara oleh ahli keluarga beliau, Ustaz Halim bakal bertanding dalam sebuah pilihanraya kecil dalam Kawasan Pengkalan Chepa sebagai persediaan untuk menjadi MB. Itu kawan saya bagitau la. Tak tau betul ke tidak.

Bersiap sedia PAS untuk menjadi komponen Barisan Nasional dalam tahun ini. Itulah hala tuju yang kita nampak. MElainkan kita sempat buat EGM la dalam beberapa bulan ini.

Wallahualam Bissawab

Tulang Besi

"Allah" Judgment: Catholics Will Lose if the Case Goes Up to Appeals Court and Federal Court, Based on Past Experience with this UMNO Judiciary

Read here for more and HERE

The High Court made a landmark decision in lifting the home minister’s ban against the Catholic church publishing the word “Allah” to refer to the Christian God in its weekly paper.

The decision today means that the 850,000 odd Catholics in this country may go about conducting their religious classes and bible lessons using the term which has apparently been enshrined in the context of the Christian faith in this country for centuries.

But one of Umno’s known hawks, Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, lambasted the High Court judgment on the ‘Allah’ case today, saying that it would not solve anything but only ignite racial and religious tension.

Though it is unclear if the Home Minister will seek to reverse the decision through the Appellate Court but he is likely to do so given the sensitivity of the issue.

However, despite the optimism, people are still wary as some fear that this may not be the end of it all, as the Home Ministry may still bring the matter to the Court of Appeal.

DAP Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua remained somewhat sceptical of the matter, although he initially expressed joy upon receiving the news.

Tony Pua feared that should the case be brought to the Court of Appeal, the Home Ministry would have a strong chance of winning as the “Appeal Court at many times functioned to serve the government of the day.”