They can count on the ignorance of most of their readers, the tacit approval of Muslim leaders who want the real meaning of the phrase obscured, and the assurance that none of their peers will hold them accountable for this inaccuracy, because the truth would be “Islamophobic.”
“Why media, officials mistranslate ‘Allahu akbar,'” by Art Moore, WND, November 2, 2017:
As the horrific news broke Tuesday that the driver of a Home Depot rental truck in New York City had mowed over pedestrians and bike riders, “terrorism” naturally came to the minds of most Americans.
When reports began circulating that witnesses heard the perpetrator yell “Allahu akbar,” even law enforcement officials typically reluctant to apply the terrorism label to such incidents acknowledged they were looking at something more than a tragic accident.
“Allahu akbar” is an Arabic phrase that has become significant in this post-9/11 era, yet in the aftermath of the attack Tuesday in which eight people were killed and a dozen injured, official after official and news outlet after news outlet mistranslated it, insisting it means “God is great.”
An accurate translation – and even Google Translate affirms it – is “Allah is the greatest” or, literally, “Allah is greater,” as in the god Allah is greater than all other gods.
The interpretation is important, contends Islam expert Robert Spencer, because it makes clear that the threat Western Civilization faces is rooted in a historic dogma of global conquest.
“‘God is great’ is a bland statement of piety. ‘Allah is greater’ is a declaration of supremacism and superiority, and of victory over the infidels,” Spencer told WND.
“The former is just an expression, the latter a declaration of war and of victory in that war,” said Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch and the author of 17 books about Islam.
Aware of the fear “Allah akbar” strikes in Americans, the New York Times ran a story Thursday headlined “‘Allahu Akbar!’ An Everyday Phrase, Tarnished by Attacks.”
Times reporter Eric Nagourney typically mistranslated the phrase, writing: “The Arabic phrase, which means simply ‘God is great,’ has, it sometimes seems, become intertwined with terrorism.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper mistranslated it in the aftermath of the attack Tuesday when he commented “Allahu akbar” is “sometimes is said under the most beautiful of circumstances.”
Tapper, who got into a Twitter battle with Fox News host Sean Hannity over his comment, said to a guest on his show “The Lead”: “The Arabic chant ‘Allahu akbar,’ God is great, sometimes is said under the most beautiful of circumstances. And too often, we hear it being said in moments like this.”…
Spencer explained to WND why establishment media outlets such as the New York Times get away with continuing to publish mistranslations of the phrase.
“They can count on the ignorance of most of their readers, the tacit approval of Muslim leaders who want the real meaning of the phrase obscured, and the assurance that none of their peers will hold them accountable for this inaccuracy, because the truth would be ‘Islamophobic,’” he said.
Asked whether or not there were any Muslim leaders or scholars the Times could interview who could set the record straight, Spencer replied, “Not that I know of.”…
Translating and understanding “Allahu akbar” as “merely ‘God is great’ strips the phrase of its crucial aspect of Allah’s supremacy over all other deities,” wrote Yigal Carmon of the Middle East Media Research Institute on Wednesday.
Carmon cited MEMRI’s October 2016 analysis of Allahu akbar, which explained how and why the phrase is misunderstood and mistranslated in the West.
The report acknowledged: “Translating concepts from one language into another is a difficult endeavor. Translating concepts that have no equivalent in the target language is even harder. Translating religious concepts for a culture in which religion has ceased to play a central role in the life of the individual and in society is hardest of all.”
One of the reasons for such mistranslations, MEMRI said, “is the fact that in the modern Western world the struggle for supremacy among religions has almost completely ceased, and to the extent that it still exists, it is nonviolent.”
“Therefore, statements of religious faith that embody a continuing historical struggle for divine religious supremacy lack a modern religious/cultural conceptual basis through which to be understood in the West, and consequently lack a linguistic equivalent.”…
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
This has been driving me crazy watching the coverage of the mass murder in Manhattan. Thank goodness for this posting. Allah is greater than your god, neener neener neeeeener. It’s a declaration of war on all Infidels, including athiests. To me that’s important. A person of any religion might say “our God is great” and that’s harmless. But not the corrective, aggressive “our God Allah is better than your god.”
J D S says
Allah Auckland…..This is simply a”Battle Cry” for Muslims who have been brainwashed
for centuries about a supposedly “religion” and a founder , who by the way, has never been proven to have existed crying out to a god who does one exist either… There is only one God The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob….. and if Abraham had kept his pants zipped The Muslim founder, Ishmael, would not have been born……..CENTURIES OF WASTE!!!
J D S says
Not Allahu aukland………spell check!!!???
J D S says
Not Allahu aukland………should be allahu ackbar…..spell check!!!???
Truthseeker says
There were no zippers in Old Testament times. No pants, either. But the idiomatic expression is still a good illustration. ?
Voytek Gagalka says
Subsequently, the best way to deal with that problem is not to translate it at all and use Romanized version literally: Allahu Akbar. It is plenty of precedence for that method within English language, where many foreign words and phrases were adopted without translation. So why not to use this one, too? Of course, by all means we must fight all those mistranslations and explain real meaning, using objective concepts proven with referrals to reality (and using that Arabic phrase by jihadis is the best and sufficient proof on its own): accept the meaning exalted by them; they know the best!
IQ al Rassooli says
With all due respect to all those who tell readers what “Allahu Akbar” means such as
“Allah is the greatest”
“Allah is greater”
“God is great”
First and foremost NEVER call Allah (God) since Allah was and still is the NAME of the supreme rock god of Pagan Arabia centuries before Muhammad transformed him into the God of the Bible
All the above translations are not accurate for one simple reason because when Arabs use the word AKBAR it literally means BIGGER or OLDER
For example; “My son is Older than your son” is “Ibni Akbar min Ibnak”
Or “My house is Bigger than your house” is “Beity Akbar min beitak”
Great is AATHAM in Arabic such as “Great Britain” is “Britania al Uthma” NOT “al Kubra”
The most accurate translation of “Allahu Akbar” is “Allah is Bigger” meaning bigger than all the other gods of Pagan Arabia
IQ al Rassooli
Kafir & Proud!
Custos Custodum says
In other words, AKBAR means “big” in the sense of senior, as in “big brother.”
“Allahu Akbar” then means “Our Allah is the big brother of your gods.”
RodSerling says
big is kabir, bigger/biggest is akbar.
Jim says
One can say that a two pound rock is bigger than a one pound rock. Or one could say that the two pound rock is greater than the one pound rock.
Jim says
Another way to put it is:
In mathematics the symbol for greater or *bigger* is “>”. So the Islamists mean Allah > all other beliefs, or Allah is greater. After, that is their point when they raise the single index finger in the air, “there is but one god and his name is Allah, the Greatest of Deceivers.” Well, the latter is one thing they say about Allah.
gseattle says
Allah. Bigly.
Their writings say “Allah is free of all wants and it is you who are needy” and therefore is not interested in flattery.
Zo. Can someone please let me know where the notion originated that they supposedly score points saying “Allahu Akbar” ?
Carolyne says
Here’s a context in which the phrase (Slightly altered) could be beautiful. This couple were driving on an interstate with three kids in the back seat grumbling they are hungry. The father spies a small restaurant. He says, “Allah Snackbar.”
bonnie loranger says
Thanks .
Benedict says
“Allahu akbar” is “sometimes is said under the most beautiful of circumstances.” –
Isn’t it a pity that such a beautiful exclamation has been contaminated by the very religion it derives from? Could it be that Allah is akbar simply means that the Muslim guy who cries it out himself is akbar —? no matter how repulsive his actions are? And that he, by crying “Allahu akbar!”, indicates that he won’t take responsibility, because he can’t be responsible for anything as an adherent to a fatalistic religion?
Only Jews, Christians and Americans can be and are guilty as the most vile of creatures.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
Could it be that Allah is akbar simply means that the Muslim guy who cries it out himself is akbar —?
Yes, it *does* self-refer to the Moslem shouting the war cry, for Moslems are one with their god Allah more so than a member of any other religion. This is why the Holy Ko-Ran is regarded by them as immutable, not open to interpretation. To interpret the Holy Ko-Ran’s contents would mean stepping apart from Allah and rendering one’s will on the Ko-Ran, which is impermissible. Moslems are solid.
DRHazard says
Controlling the meaning of words leads to controlling their thoughts, which is what the NY Times wants to do. That’s how you get the widely accepted absurdity that only white people can be racist. Muslims who can’t defend their faith through reason often resort to the claim the Quran can only be understood in Arabic. When that doesn’t work then the “you’re taking that out of context” emergency lever is pulled.
All of these arguments are used to shape what people can say and how and when they should or should not say it. And they ALWAYS undermine understanding, tolerance and cooperation. Everything is reduced to “I’m right and you’re wrong and you can’t talk about it until you agree with me”.
If that wasn’t enough the people who want to control your thoughts have no issue manipulating people’s emotions to silence or encourage them. This is the primary tactic of fascists, demagogues and self righteous people in general,
These tactics have no place in real journalism which is why the NY Times uses them.
thesailor says
Very nice observation. One can argue semantics all day, but in practice a word or phrase ends up meaning what it is used to mean. And in this context the meaning of it is quite clear.
As regards the claim that the Koran can only be understood in its original Arabic, I believe that this particular ancient form of Arabic is understood by so few Muslims as to make the claim quite nonsensical. It means that the Islam practised by 1.6 billion Muslims (take the odd learned three or four) has nothing whatever to do with the content of the Koran, and everything to do with the self-serving interpretation of a myriad interpretations of it, spouted by the local Imam.
Islam, in reality, is what we see it is, just like the Allah Akbar phrase is – a vile, violent, militaristic cult hellbent on destroying all human civilisation and replacing it with eternal darkness. If it came up through a hole in your kitchen floor, you would pour boiling water on it.
Craig W says
My God is bigger than your God … so there!
Craig W says
My God is bigger that your God … so there!
vanhetgoor says
There is another aspect to this. “Allah is greater [then the other gods]” is a comparison. And this is in conflict with the story that Allah is the only one.
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
The idea is that the others are fake gods and Allah is the real thing. Born from a rock god in the Kaaba back when it was a desert tourist trap owned by the Holy Prophet Mohammed’s uncle, Allah is now the real thing, the only thing. He’s especially unhappy with Yahweh, er, the mistaken notion of Yahweh.
eduardo odraude says
Couldn’t “God is greater” just mean “greater than anything and everything else” — (in other words, it does not mean “greater than your gods”, because the other gods are deemed by Islam to be non-existent. You can only use a comparative (“greater”) between things that exist, no? If someone says, “my God is greater than your gods,” that implies that your gods exist, does it not?)
But if Allahu Akbar just means “God is greater [than anything else],” that could still serve a supremacist system.
RodSerling says
Akbar in this sense is a superlative–a grammatical form that our journalists pretend does not exist in the case of this one particular phrase.
Re the point about existence of the gods: The meaning for many Muslims would be “Greater than yours because ours is real.”
For those of us (yourself included) who’ve studied Islam on our own for many years, we realize that the (perhaps unintended, or unadmitted) meaning of Allahu Akbar is actually “Muhammad Akbar.” Then when we study Islam and Muslims even more we realize, for all practical purposes, Allahu Akbar is reducible to “Muslims Akbar.”
Jim says
It’s more than just supremacy over other religions, it’s supremacy over other philosophies, other ideologies, other belief systems. Everything outside of Islam is dirt and must submit to Islam. Hence, the Islam, “submit.” That’s kowtow to you ruffians, or else bend your head for the sword.
Maybe you stupid lefty Quislings want to do that, but not me.
Don Vito says
Mistranslated on purpose to control the narrative, thereby controlling the public’s thoughts and thought processes. It is the same reason the word immigrant is used, when talking of illegal immigrants. Chaos communication, allows conflation in meaning.
tgusa says
Allahu akbar is sometimes said under the most beastly of circumstances. Other than that it’s all beautiful don’t ya know.I do believe that is a mis-translation of beautiful. Appears to be a lot of that going around.
308dawg says
Stop the quibling about the meaning of the phrase “allahu Akbar”,,,the point is that muslims shout this phrase whilst they are killing infidels…simple as that…and any rational person should be concerned that the number of muslims killing us in steadily increasing…open your eyes, all you dumb asses that have no knowledge of Islam. Your ignorance imperils all of us infidels!
RodSerling says
In this case it’s not quibbling. It’s a systematic “error” in establishment propaganda that–along with many other such examples–is being used to soften Islam’s image and pacify us about the ideology whose adherents are doing the murdering. The deception is inherently and inextricably linked to the violent jihad. Without the propaganda jihad–which is actually being facilitated by the vast majority of our leaders either out of ignorance or malice or both–our societies would not be so confused about handling the violent jihad.
gravenimage says
So, 308dawg–you are claiming that knowing more about Islam and why Muslims kill us is–somehow–actually “ignorance”, and that learning more about Islam actually endangers us? How exactly does that work?
samdav7 says
Politicians and mainstream media in the west have a strict orders from higher organisation to MISLEAD the masses knowingly & deliberately.
RodSerling says
I can understand there having been mistranslations that just happen to be biased in favor of softening Islam’s image in the few years after 9/11. But these mainstream media sources have been corrected so many times over the years that I find it extremely hard to believe that, at this point, these are mistakes. Even putting the issue of corrections aside, if they simply look up the words in the first place they’d know that akbar means greater/greatest/utmost, etc., whereas other words such as kabir are used for great.
As I’ve said before, after this many years, it’s simply not plausible to believe that the establishment media, politicians, officials, and academics (in areas related to Islam) would be systematically “mistaken” in ways that happen to facilitate the advancement of Islam and the demise of the West, and never make “mistakes” that harm Islam or defend the West. The decades-long program of anti-Western and pro-Islam propaganda in our educational systems has taken its toll. The vast majority of our leaders and institutions are now in effect working for the other side, against the general public in the West.
gravenimage says
Why the establishment media and public officials keep mistranslating “Allahu akbar”
…………………..
Important points–we have to know what we are up against.
gravenimage says
And what Islam really says.
Sarah says
I admit, i always thought the translation was ‘God Is Great’, although my assumption was that the meaning behind this was still one of immense superiority – that any Muslim shrieking it was still inferring that their God is the best God.
We all know that they rabbit on about their God being the superior God to any other religious deity out there. And any Muslim on the planet who is prepared to yell that arrogant statement, is someone who believes that their religion is the right religion and their God is the only God blah nlah blah.
It just makes me picture in my mind’s eye, the astonishing numbers of men, women and children throughout history who have committed terrible atrocities, or who have been the victims of terrible atrocities – all because of religion.
Sorry in advance to anyone here who is religious themselves in some capacity – but religion really is the biggest weakness of humanity and our history so far. That is not to tar every religion with the same brush. It is not to say that every religion is bad or contains mainly bad elements. It is not to even compare Islam with any other religion.
Because I do honestly believe that Islam today is a very different breed from the other mainstream religions, like Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism etc etc.
Suffice to say, as far as I’m concerned – anyone who uses religion as a justification for an action that brings arguable harm, misery or negative consequences against other another human being – is a bad person. And if that religion that is being used as justification is accurately applied (as Islam certainly is getting accurately applied as a justification by a Muslim when committing a terror attack), then that religion is filthy and sickening and just plain rotten, in my view.
I frankly, would like to see a Muslim try and explain in what possible context, could ‘Allahu Akbar’ be used where the scenario can show it is a thing of beauty.
Lu says
“Sorry in advance to anyone here who is religious themselves in some capacity – but religion really is the biggest weakness of humanity and our history so far”
I have always thought the same, Sarah. However – watching the Western Christian world succumbing to an oppressive and backward cult, and this demise being assisted by mostly largely irreligious people (I do not want to say outright atheists as many democrats and lefties in the West consider themselves Christians), I simply started to understand that the suppression of Christianity after WWII may have lead to the sorry state of affairs we experience today. But still – I do not get it: how can a rational autochthon in Europe support 3rd world invasion, mostly of a hijra kind?
Hence, the calls for “returning Christ” to schools, public places and our lives generally are caused by learning from history – only Christian Europe have seemed to be able to counter all the invasions of barbarians (Tours, Vienna, Barbary Pirates …)
Again – sorry for repeating myself – I do not get the whole picture: press, left-leaning parties, human right organizations – all these institutions appear to be blind and deaf and using naive, fallacious logic and reasoning when it comes to assess the clear and present danger.
I have no clue why is that – other than applying the proverbial “follow the money”, to which I am adding “follow the power”.
Ed Lee says
During 2015 and 2016, I read and studied the Qur’an; unpleasant but necessary. Now I’m reading the Bible. I am about half way through the Old Testament. Many of the major themes found there were obviously stolen by Mohammed and paraphrased in the Qur’an. On the subject of Allahu Akbar, I just read Psalm 95 verse 4: “For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.” Exactly the same message. Plagiarism must be OK in Islam.
Ed Lee says
Correction: Psalm 95 verse 3.
religionofpeace says
For a short sentence, it is not that hard to translate it accurately. However, we found that many occasions, the media deliberately translate “Allahu Akbar” to “Allah is great ” which is incorrect in translation.
If the media cannot translate the Arabic sentence “Allahu Akbar” correctly, why don’t they just don’t translate it ?
STJOHNOFGRAFTON says
Saying Allah is bigger or older than the God of the Bible by chanting allahu akbar verbalises and internalises Islam’s forlorn challenge to Christianity
As said in Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.
Now Ephesians 6:12 was meant for Christians to help them understand that Jesus Christ is their only source of power in battle. How on earth are the likes of CNN, NYT, BBC, ABC and the rest of blind humanity going to cope with the evil depredations of Islam?
The won’t and never will cope because their god is secular humanism. A futile force against spiritual wickedness.
Infidel says
It is a cry to instill UNEQUIVOCAL TERROR in the hearts of the Khafir..That is what AoK is
Creole Gumbo says
Allah is not the God of the Judeo Christian bible: http://www.menorah.org/allahtrc.html
John Forbes says
THIS IS ALL A PART OF THIS CONTINUAL REFUSAL TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ISLAM IS ATTACKING THE WEST & ALL NON BELIEVERS !
THE WEST JUST CANNOT GET THEIR HEADS COLLECTIVELY AROUND THIS FANATICISM CONCEPT AS THEIR FAITH IS FOR THE MOST PART LONG GONE !
SO RATHER THAN FACE WHAT SEEM THE REALM OF THE MAD – PRETEND THAT IT IS NOT THERE & IT IS EITHER A MENTAL ILLNESS , INSANITY TOTALLY OR JUST A CRIMINAL LIKE ANDY – THE MANCHESTER MUSLIM APOLOGIST MAYOR DOD FOR THE BOMBER THERE !
DESPITE THE REASONS FOR THE ATTACKS BEING POSTED ON LINE & IN THE US & ELSEWHERE IN PRINT- WE & OUR COWARDS IN POWER SIMPLY REFUSE TO LISTEN OR BELIEVE WHAT IS WRITTEN !!
THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS DELICATE & EASILY OFFENDED IDEOLOGY SIMPLY PUT- HATE US !!!!!!!!
duh swami says
AA cant be akbar because Allah doesn’t exist,,,Allah is a device invented long ago by men with an agenda..Allah, great, greater, greatest i s not only wrong, it i a lie…
Kj_not_a says
Believe allah exists, but not in the way muslims think he does. I believe he is a very powerful demon, doing the bidding of his master Satan.
gravenimage says
Good to see you posting, Swami. Hope you are well.
Brian says
and what is Arabic for — “there is only one True GOD’ and it ain’t Allah.
Chris LA says
Common sense informs us that “God is great” is nonsense in a terror attack as well as in most religious applications. When the muezzin climbs to the top of the minaret to call Muslims to prayer five times a day, he shouts, “Allahu akbar” several times. This is called the adhan. That call was the seventh century equivalent to an advertising sound truck or a TV commercial. What sense would there be in shouting, “Soap is good”? No, if one is advertising, he is going to say, “Dove is better.”
ronyvo says
My first language is Arabic. I said my ‘first’ because my mother tongue language is Coptic.
However, here is a very brief lesson in Arabic:
the word ‘akbar’ is deprived from the original word ‘kabeer’ (great).
So, Kabeer means great
Akbar Means greater
Al-Akbar means the greatest.
So, when you ask a Muslim, which I’ve done many times, what do you mean by ‘akbar’, you get many answers.
If you are lucky, and meet an educated Muslim and ask him/her the same question, the answer will be greater. OK, greater than who or what? Than other gods. But, your Koran teaches Allah of the Muslims is the same like the Jews and Christians.
This “intellectual”, there is no such thing as intellectual discussion with Muslims, will end up by physically harm, of course to you, or insults.
This allho Akbar became a traditional shout before or at war regardless of the true meaning, like every thing in the Koran, which is loaded with contradictions.
j_not_a says
Believe allah exists, but not in the way muslims think he does. I believe he is a very powerful demon, doing the bidding of his master Satan.
Aron says
MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUND INDEED…
https://youtu.be/3TYGdTTX9C8
gravenimage says
That sums it up…