Friday sermon: ‘Enemies’ of Islam staking claim over ‘Allah’ to confuse Muslims
January 25, 2013
JAKIM cited “scientific” research to back its assertion that Christians have no legitimate claim to the word “Allah”. — File pic
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 25 ― Federal religious authorities warned Muslims
nationwide today of attempts by “enemies of Islam” to confuse them into
believing that all religions are the same, prolonging the debate over
the usage of “Allah” by Christians even as it drives a deeper wedge
between the country’s two most dominant religions.
In today’s Friday sermon prepared by the Malaysian Islamic
Development Department (JAKIM) here, Muslims were told that being too
open-minded and allowing Islamic rights to be abused by other religions
was a “dangerous” act.
“It is very clear that, today, enemies of Islam are seeking to divert and undermine the Muslim community’s faith.
“They are united among themselves and are attempting, with their many
tricks and ways, to stake their claim on the usage of ‘Allah’ in their
scriptures,” the sermon said.
JAKIM insisted that “Allah”, a word that millions of Arab Christians
and those in non-Arabic-speaking lands use to describe their God,
belongs to Muslims and is an exclusive right to those who profess Islam
as it is clearly to prevent Muslims from becoming confused over the true
identity of their God.
Citing unnamed academic research, JAKIM said that the word “Allah”
was never found in the Bible as God ― to Christians ― exists as the
Trinity of “God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.”
The general term for the Holy Trinity, said the religious department,
is “The Lord” which is the English translation of biblical text.
As such, JAKIM insisted that the National Fatwa Council’s 2008
decision on the matter was accurate in stating that “Allah” cannot be
used by those of other religions and cannot be likened to the gods of
others.
“We would like to say that as Muslims who believes in Allah and his
messenger, then it becomes our responsibility to preserve the sanctity
and defend the word ‘Allah’ in the best way possible, and should there
be elements of insult and abuse, it should be stopped in accordance with
provisions in the Federal Constitution.
“Muslims must be firm in protecting the sanctity and the identity of their religion,” JAKIM said in the sermon.
The authority also warned that painful punishment would await
disbelievers in the afterlife, noting that these “symptoms” of Islam’s
collapse would only destroy the glory and prestige of Muslims here.
The “Allah” dispute, which first erupted after the watershed Election
2008, remains a hot-button topic in the run-up to this year’s polls.
Debate resurfaced last month after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan
Eng, who is also the Penang chief minister, called on Putrajaya in his
Christmas message to lift a ban on Malay-language bibles in Borneo
Malaysia.
Hot on the heels of the DAP leader’s remarks, several state Rulers
and Islamic religious authorities reminded non-Muslims of state laws
banning use of the word, despite conflicting with a 2009 High Court
judgment that ruled “Allah” was not exclusive to Islam.
In his defence of the issue, Muslim cleric Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul
Abidin said in a recent lecture that Muslims who dispute the use of
“Allah” by non-Muslims are those confused about their own faith.
In a 14-minute video clip posted on YouTube, the former Perlis mufti
explained that while the government has a right to restrict usage of the
Arabic word for God, it should not use religion as an excuse because
Islam allows for followers of other faiths the right to call their gods
“Allah” if they are referring to the Supreme Being.
Mohd Asri highlighted that Jews and Christians in the Middle East
have been using “Allah” from long ago and continue to do so without any
confusion — an argument adopted by non-Muslims in Malaysia, particularly
the churches.
“Firstly, when did Christians first call Al-Masih the son of Allah?
When? Yesterday? Did it start with the Penang gang? Or has it been since
a long time ago? When?” the 42-year-old Islamic studies lecturer said
in a seminar that was video-recorded and posted online under the title
“Penggunaan Nama ALLAH Oleh Bukan Islam [Use of the name ALLAH by
non-Muslims]”.
Al-Masih is the Arabic name for Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe
to be an aspect of God, but the Muslim community here has argued that
the use of the word “Allah” should be exclusive to them on the grounds
that Islam is monotheistic and the word denotes the Muslim God.
But the scholar had also insisted that he was not defending the Christians but simply stating a fact.
“Allah refers to the Supreme Being, it does not refer to the idols.
Allah refers to the essence of God,” he said, stressing that “basically,
they can if they are referring to the Supreme Being”.
But stepping into the fray was Malay rights leader Datuk Ibrahim Ali
who rejected all claims to “Allah” by non-Muslims, even invited Malays
last Saturday to burn Malay language Bibles that use the word.
Ibrahim’s remarks sparked an even greater firestorm of protests and
resulted in several police reports lodged against the controversial
Pasir Mas MP.
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