Arabic-speaking Christians have been using the word "Allah" for God from time immemorial, and these Malay Christians, influenced by this in their non-Arab but Muslim society, have been doing so for decades. The whole idea of making this an issue at all was just another expression of Islamic supremacism. Or maybe an excuse to firebomb churches.
"Ninth Church Vandalized in Malaysia as Tensions Rise," by Seth Mydans for the New York Times, January 11 (thanks to James):
BANGKOK -- A ninth church was vandalized Monday in Malaysia in a series of arson attacks that have raised religious tensions surrounding a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians in this mostly Muslim nation."Allah" is the common term for God in Malay-language Bibles, but the government and many Muslim groups insist that the word should be reserved for use in Islam.
The attacks, which began on Friday, came after a court ruling on Dec. 31 that overturned a government ban on the use of "Allah" by Christians. That ruling has been stayed while the government appeals.
Only one of the churches has been seriously damaged, and some of the attacks were minor. In Monday's attack, the Sidang Injil Borneo Church in the central state of Negeri Sembilan was slightly damaged when its door was burned, according to local reports.
Government officials condemned the violence Monday but defended their position, saying conditions are different in Malaysia from those in neighboring Indonesia or in Arab nations where "Allah" is the common term for God....
Allah, Allah, Allah. I await a vengeful lightening bolt.
Only one of the churches has been seriously damaged, and some of the attacks were minor. In Monday's attack, the Sidang Injil Borneo Church in the central state of Negeri Sembilan was slightly damaged when its door was burned, according to local reports.
...................
By all means, let's minimize the horror of attacks on churches, most of them *firebombings*. Good God.
it's ridiculous how thin skinned muslimes really are...
it is tragic that Muslims believe they are eliminating matters blasphemous by doing these acts of intimidation and ruin.
their knowledge is limited. they know not that their lack will prove damning.
It seems like our ally and friend, the Malaysian government is either powerless or complicit it this Islamic genocidal frenzy. I wonder if Obama is ignoring the PDBs every morning? Its only been going on for over a week.
What now, copycats?
Protestant church burned in Algeria
So much for the unclenched fist BO was hoping for. Islam is what Islam does. The behavior of Muslims is the best example of what Islam is all about.
Political and theological domination is what Islam is all about, all methods are to be used to achieve this goal.
I will say this once again:
Allah is the Pagan Arabian Moon God. He is married to the Sun Goddess and they have three daughters. Allah was worshiped at the Kabbah by Mohamed and his ancestors. Allah was and is the principal father deity of the Arabian people.
Mohamed, when he attempted to appropriate the Jewish and Christian religions, told the people that their "God" was the same as his "God", except now that "God" is now called "Allah".
It is a real miracle that Mohamed somehow convinced anyone that "Allah" the very deity the Pagans of Mecca worshiped, was now some generic name for a father deity and interchangeable with Yahweh. (Sarc)
The deity Allah was never worshiped by the Jews nor Christians. Allah has a mythology complete with rituals that is completely separate and foreign to the deity of the Jews and Christians. Yahweh was what the Jewish deity called Himself, if I remember right, He actually spelled it out.
While I understand that some Christian sects in Arabia may have called their deity "Allah", that was NEVER the Christian deity's name.
It would be best in my very humble opinion, that the Christians let the Muslims remain unconfused and call the Christian deity "Yahweh" and the Muslim deity "Allah".
This would also help those apologists for Islam understand that Islam is not nor has it ever been an Abramic faith, and Islam is not in any way related to nor a continuation of Christianity or Judaism. Apologists here in the west have added to Muslim confusion by telling everyone here that we all worship the same "God".
No we don't.
I yearn for the day when the liberal media starts to question Barry about this. Oh wait, they don't give a damn.
How Many Times do we have to repeat the Obvious!!
Their Moon God is their "Allah", and He is SATAN himself!! Where did the imbecilic paedophile with only the animalistic emotion (he is lower than all the animals and has NO Brain, therefore reacts to sense - e.g. when he feels the fleas on his body drinking the excrement that flows through his "veins") - yes this was the Prophet Muhammad!!
When he saw 6-year Old Alisha - yes - there was a paedophile Rape Target!! Go Islam!! You Sick and Perverted Cult of Death and Satan!!
The Koran states: The Jews try to escape, but the Stone calls out "behind me is a Jew - kill Him!!""
Sorry Islamic followers, God's Chosen are THE JEWS. You Muslims, without repentance to the Lord & Saviour and JEW, Jesus Christ - are Hell-Bound!!
To which the God of the Universe replies in Totality - begone you Islamic Filth!! Your "Allah" is from the PIT of HELL to which he will spend His Eternity, and You as His Follower will also spend Your Eternity in Hell!! Muslims beware, find My One True Son, or You will Perish and feel Hell's Fire for all Eternity!!
Yep, it's THAT SIMPLE!!!
G-d Bless theChosen, the Jewish Nation, Israel, His People and of whom we are Grafted In!!
Israel we love you!!
second time my comment was deleted.
Don't know why.
let me repeat.
Allah is not the God of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Moses.
Allah is not mentioned in the Holy Bible. Not even once.
God is Emmanuel, Yaweh, The Almighty Father etc..
But not Allah.
I am Catholic and would never call the Father Allah!
That would be a disgrace.
The Koran is the bible of the devil.
Allah is the devil.
Mohammad is the antichrist.
Jesus Christ is the Lord my God.
The Holy Trinity is real.
Christ died on the cross and was resurrected on the 3rd day.
He is coming back.
Be ready. Repent and turn to Him.
second time my comment was deleted.
Don't know why.
let me repeat.
Allah is not the God of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Moses.
Allah is not mentioned in the Holy Bible. Not even once.
God is Emmanuel, Yaweh, The Almighty Father etc..
But not Allah.
I am Catholic and would never call the Father Allah!
That would be a disgrace.
The Koran is the bible of the devil.
Allah is the devil.
Mohammad is the antichrist.
Jesus Christ is the Lord my God.
The Holy Trinity is real.
second time my comment was deleted.
Don't know why.
let me repeat.
Allah is not the God of Israel, Jacob, Abraham, Moses.
Allah is not mentioned in the Holy Bible. Not even once.
God is Emmanuel, Yaweh, The Almighty Father etc..
But not Allah.
I am Catholic and would never call the Father Allah!
That would be a disgrace.
The Koran is the bible of the devil.
Allah is the devil.
Mohammad is the antichrist.
Jesus Christ is the Lord my God.
The Holy Trinity is real.
Christ died on the cross and was resurrected on the 3rd day.
He is coming back.
Be ready. Repent and turn to Him.
All this talk about Allah, Jesus, Muhammad, Moon God, Sun God, Chosen people, Lord, Savior, Islam, Christian, Jew, blah blah blah blah............Isn't 5000 plus years of my deity being "better" then your deity ENOUGH ALREADY?!!!
Don't you just love the weaselwording of the press?
From the article - "a series of arson attacks that have raised religious tensions".
'Religious tensions'.
By which, primly, the NYT tries to suggest that the blame for what is happening is somehow equally shared; there's just all this 'religious tension' spread around, like gas.
But we haven't heard about any *mosques* in Malaysia being firebombed by angry Christians (or, for that matter, by angry Hindus and Buddhists, both of which groups have also been on the receiving end of assorted Muslim vilenesses in Malaysia over the years).
Nope: what's happening is *Muslims* attacking *Christian houses of worship* on the flimsiest of manufactured excuses. The Muslims are angry and violent - and probably working themselves up to *killing* people, not just burning buildings; meanwhile the Christians are feeling scared.
The blandly abstract word 'tensions' just doesn't begin to cover it.
'Religious tensions' = fanatical Muslim thugs with molotov cocktails.
Let's rewrite that first paragraph:
"Muslim fanatics vandalised a church on Monday in mostly-Muslim Malaysia, in the ninth of a string of Muslim arson attacks on churches carried out in order to frighten Malaysian Christians out of using the word "Allah" for 'God'."
Now CAIR have "Action Alert #598: U.S. Muslims Asked to Help Repair Malaysian Churches"
Taqiyya, perhaps?
If CAIR is so concerned about Malaysian churches then acting to stop the Malaysian members of the Ummah causing the damage in the first place would have been a good idea.
In their Action Alert, CAIR states that "CAIR Donations to the 'CAIR Spirit of Islam Fund' (SEE: www.cair.com) will be given to the Malaysian embassy in Washington, D.C., for delivery to the churches". CAIR also states that "One hundred percent of the donations will be turned over to the Malaysian embassy for use in repairing the churches".
It would be good to know how much money has been donated and how much actually gets to the churches.
To Ice Star, OneWay Jesus & Lisa,
Quit bitching about Christians using the word 'Allah'. Mideast Christians have been doing that for hundreds of years before Islam. Allah is simply the Arabic word for God.
Moreover, you're falling into the same trap as Muslims in thinking that God has a proper name. This is akin to idolatry. God has no 'name'. Whatever name we assign him are only our attempts at labelling the Infinite.
Lastly, regardless of the name's origin, Allah was clearly modelled after the Old Testament God. He does not have a wife and three daughters nor is he the head of a host of lesser deities like your alleged pagan god. Instead, Muhammad said Allah was the only God, gave him the same warlike personality as Yahweh and claimed the Abrahamic prophets as his own. No point trying to smear polytheism by conflating it with Islam. Allah is simply the crueller version of the Abrahamic God. Own it.