Stop the presses -- quite literally, at the Herald, unfortunately. An update on this story. "'Allah' decision suspended," from the Associated Press, January 6 (thanks to Twostellas):
A Malaysian court Wednesday temporarily suspended its decision to let non-Muslims use the word "Allah," pending an appeal by the government in a case that raised religious tensions in the Muslim-majority country.
High Court Judge Lau Bee Lan said her December 31 ruling will not take effect until the Appeals Court decides on an appeal by the Home Ministry. No date has been set for the Appeals Court hearing.
Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail welcomed the suspension.
"The faster the matter is settled the better it will be for everybody in the country. As far as I am concerned it is a matter of national interest," he said.
In her landmark decision, Lau struck down a 3-year-old ban on "Allah" being used by non-Muslims as a translation for God. The decision was seen as a victory for ethnic minorities, who practice Christianity, Hinduism and other religions.
Lau ruled on a petition by The Herald, the main publication of Malaysia's Roman Catholic Church, which uses the word Allah to refer to God in its Malay-language edition read by indigenous Christian tribes in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak.
The government says Allah, an Arabic word that predates Islam, is exclusive to Muslims, and its use by others would be misleading. Many Muslim activists say indiscriminate use of the word would entice Muslims to convert to Christianity. They ignore the argument that "Allah" is used widely by Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia in their worship.
Since the December 31 decision, Malaysia has been roiled by angry blogs and commentaries by Muslims on the Internet. Government ministers have blasted the decision and The Herald's Web site has been hacked three times and plastered with profanities and veiled threats.
Muslim Malays comprise 60 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people. Ethnic Chinese, Indians and indigenous tribes, who are ethnically Malay, make up the rest.
The Herald's lawyers raised no objection Wednesday to Lau's decision to suspend her ruling.
"We have agreed to the stay in the national interest," said attorney Derek Fernandez. The Herald's editor, the Rev. Lawrence Andrew, said: "We want to be rational. We don't want to be emotional."
Somebody's gotta do it.
Minorities in Malaysia increasingly complain of religious discrimination.
The government denies any discrimination. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion.
Yet many Muslims and their apologists suggest that "Allah" does mean the God of Abraham.
I'm so confused.
Not surprising at all. The judiciary is one of the components of the ruling government. Non Muslims in the ruling government are having their tails between their legs. And if the non Muslim government officials supported the High Court judgment, the Muslim government will feel insulted and will accuse non Muslims as questioning the institution of the supremacy of the Malays and the Muslims.
YHWH is a better, truer, PROPHETIC name for God.
It's from the Hebrew verb haya (to be)
They say it's inscrutable, but it isn't at all.
It's the verb "to be" in the future passive:
"He will come to be"
Now, who could that be now.....................??
There's no confusion calling Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Muslim, though?
Once again Muslims show themselves to be both petty and liars.
Almost everything is in violation of their selfish sacred world, if the westerners can not call Islam as the marauding ideology that it is, I see no way the Malaysian non-Muslims could use Allah to practice their satan inspired religion, the whole world of Islam is one catastrophic joke.
Malaysian Muslims are so much like fire ants. They bite for no particular reason, and exist for no real purpose. If the Muslims of Maylasia are so worshipful of Allah, they should worship him, and allow others to go about their own worship, whatever it might entail, short of anything that poses a danger to others.
The thought of the Christian and Jewish God being called "Allah" makes me want to hurl, but if that's what Malaysian Catholics want...It's inexplicable, but it's up to them to decide.
"Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail welcomed the suspension.
"The faster the matter is settled the better it will be for everybody in the country. As far as I am concerned it is a matter of national interest," he said."
What he means is that, the faster the matter is settled in favor of banning the use of Allah in the Herald, the better. Because the matter could be settled already, if everyone accepts Lau's decision. Or if Malaysia's Muslims had just let the matter be to begin with.
"Many Muslim activists say indiscriminate use of the word would entice Muslims to convert to Christianity." Of course, that's balderdash. Are Muslims so weak in their faith, that a Christain newspaper for Christians only could confuse them? This is about putting those uppity Dhimmis in their place. Actually, if anything could convince Muslims to convert to Christianity, or anything else, Malaysia would be all the better for it.
Is anyone surprised about this? Ever since the original story came out a few days ago we knew the reversal would be forthcoming, just as soon as the Islamic government assembled the right justifications for doing so in collaboration with their religious scholars.
I have been studying the difference between the Koran and the Bible. And there is a huge difference!
1st- the Koran does explain that Allah is not the God if Iseral, Abraham, Issac, Jacob!
So I don't know why any Christian would Call Allah the Father in Heaven one with the Trinity who has One begotten Son Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary, died on the cross and is resurrected into heaven sitting at the right hand of the Father-- One with the Father who sent the counselor to help us!
Because the Koran doesn't believe any of that!
And it states in in their Sura entries!
You can read about it type in "The Bible Vs. the Koran"
Then you can read the Koran on line at USC and see for yourself.
I am sorry but those Christians are mistaken.
That Catholic church is mistaken.
Allah is the Devil.
The Koran is the Devils bible.
It is all a lie. The great deception of our times.
Do not worship Allah.
Plus- Jihad- Allah- Islam is not in the Bible!
God is Abba- Jehovah- Yahweh- Jesus Christ the Lord savior redeemer of the entire world.
There is no way to heaven except through Him
Allah will take you to hell.
And you will die the second death.
Rebuke it now before it's too late!
I have been studying the difference between the Koran and the Bible. And there is a huge difference!
1st- the Koran does explain that Allah is not the God if Iseral, Abraham, Issac, Jacob!
So I don't know why any Christian would Call Allah the Father in Heaven one with the Trinity who has One begotten Son Jesus who was born of the virgin Mary, died on the cross and is resurrected into heaven sitting at the right hand of the Father-- One with the Father who sent the counselor to help us!
Because the Koran doesn't believe any of that!
And it states in in their Sura entries!
You can read about it type in "The Bible Vs. the Koran"
Then you can read the Koran on line at USC and see for yourself.
I am sorry but those Christians are mistaken.
That Catholic church is mistaken.
Allah is the Devil.
The Koran is the Devils bible.
It is all a lie. The great deception of our times.
Do not worship Allah.
Plus- Jihad- Allah- Islam is not in the Bible!
God is Abba- Jehovah- Yahweh- Jesus Christ the Lord savior redeemer of the entire world.
There is no way to heaven except through Him
Allah will take you to hell.
And you will die the second death.
Rebuke it now before it's too late!
JUST IN FROM MALAYSIA ON 1/7/10
Officials: Church set on fire in Malaysia (1/7/10)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Unidentified attackers set fire to a church in Malaysia early Friday amid a growing conflict in the country over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, officials said.
My sense is that it is probably true that the Evangelical Christian churches are using the word 'Allah' to proselytize in Malaysia but so what ? Muslims are permitted to proselytize without restriction to non-Muslims. The article is wrong.....Allah is not a Malay word
it is an Arabic word used by all Muslims but it is derived from Arabic only. 'God' in Malay is TUHAN...Tuhan was widely used in the past in vernacular Malay language materials to refer to God. It is only due to more recent Radical Islamicization and Arabization of Malaysia that
Allah replaced Tuhan when referring to God.
Maybe some Malaysian Christians are being disingenuous in using 'Allah' to try and trick Malays into converting but that hardly in any way justifies firebombing churches or Hindu temples or the repeated and continuous Muslim Malay discrimination against non-Muslims in Malaysia.
No one "tricks" Malays into converting to Christianity. "Tricked" conversion, (a la taqiyya) is not a conversion at all.