A. More than I’d have thought.
Or maybe I should not be surprised, given the caning episode. (How did that go down, by the way?) In Malaysia, four Christian churches in three days have been firebombed as protest against a Catholic newspaper’s use of the word “Allah, ” and the court system’s support of that usage. CNN reports that Muslims believe non-Muslims should not use the word at all. Here’s where I get bewildered and need your help:
- Does that apply to all Muslims? Or maybe just some of the fundamentalists? Is there a Koran directive or commandment or documentable dogma for this, or is CNN generalizing here?
- According to Wikipedia, that word is used by Arabic-speakers in general, and that is the word used for God. Non-muslim speakers of Arabic, wherever you are, do you face your Muslim neighbors’ wrath for using the word?
So, what are the odds that I’d accidentally offend a Muslim, perhaps while on vacation in Malaysia (sure looks nice, Truly Asia and all) talking about God (not that I do that much, except in a historical, philosophical, or cultural context)? Or be misunderstood, talking about something that sounds like “Allah”? (Challah, Valhalla, Lalala, Margot‘s chow Nala, Alexei Lalas, the list goes on…)- The Tourism Malaysia e-brochure on customs and etiquette has lots of tips about Malaysian culture — particularly interesting was the section on naming conventions on page 2 — and useful contact information, but sadly no hints for what to do if you should find yourself in a church on fire.
Tags: allah, christianity, islam, oops don't firebomb me please, politics, religion
I wouldn’t trust CNN to get anything right on the details of Arab culture (or the details of much else). From what I understand from some religious studies classes and discussions with some theologists is the Allah is the name of God (THE one true God; blessing be upon him :-). Repeating his name over and over is a form of Mantra similar to Rosaries in Catholicism because His name is sarced. That’s why, for example, repeating his name is still a form of nightly protest from the rooftops in Tehran – people can’t get punished by the religious police for simply yelling God’s name. There are some Christians and Jews who believe that one should never write the name of God as well. It sounds like the prohibition of writing Allah may be an extension of this line of thinking.
Some ‘normal’ Iranian friends (not fundamentalist Muslims) have no issue with people saying the name of God. From what they have told me about their country, the loudest voices the small group of the most extreme. I think that goes for most places in the world – how many times have people asked you if you believe the same thing as some nut job back in the US who did something to get in the news? CNN seems to give a lot of airtime to those nut jobs too…..
Well, fortunately, zero times, at least in recent memory, regarding religion or related issues. Does it happen to you? They do ask me about other cultural differences they have heard about or experienced directly, occasionally — but never about religious beliefs.
I guess what bugs me the most about the wordy aspect of ithis is that it’s (apparently) OK to refer to God by other names, if you’re not a Muslim. Just as long as you don’t use the Arabic word for God. What really steams me is when ignorant people talk about Muslims praying to Allah, ostensibly as opposed to “the real God.”
Beyond that, firebombing churches because you’re mad at the court system is a big problem for me, too. And CNN is reporting that two more churches got firebombed today over the same issue, but the newest article I’ve read says
…which made me wonder if they were stepping back from their earlier assertion that
…which is a blanket statement, like “Muslims don’t eat pork” or “Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t say the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of the schoolday,” and seemed dubious to me, so thanks for the anecdotal evidence.
A blurb in both articles that struck me:
This struck me for two reasons:
1. They referred to him in one article by his first name, and one by his last name. Not so surprising, actually, if you read the e-brochure on customs and etiquette linked above.
2. Looking for the silver lining, I guess it’s nice to see other religions pick and choose which aspects of their precepts they get nasty about. Here’s a reminder:
I always thought it was the visual depiction of Allah/Muhammed that sent them into a tizzy, hence that infamous flap over the Danish cartoonist. Because don’t they say Allah in the term Inschallah, as in: Your son will be a doctor one day, Inschallah – something like If Allah wills, or God willing.
Presuming the person who utters the Arabic word for God is not an infidel, I don’t see a conflict there.
But that reminds me: in Castilian Spanish, that is also a hold-over from the Saracen days:
Have a good week!