The Bishop of Breda, Tiny Muskens, wants people to start calling God Allah. He says the Netherlands should look to Indonesia, where the Christian churches already pray to Allah. It is also common in the Arab world: Christian and Muslim Arabs use the words God and Allah interchangeably.Why doesn't Bishop Muskens go to Indonesia and publicly request that Muslims use the Christian term instead of Allah?
...“Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years. In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can’t we start doing that together?”
Bishop Muskens now has the answer to his question.
(I wonder if he has looked into exactly why the church in Indonesia uses the name Allah--in the interests of peace...or preservation?)
[Hat tip: LGF]
Technorati Tag: Bishop of Breda and Bishop Muskens.
5 comments:
actually, the reason why they say 'Allah' in Indonesia is because Allah is the Indonesian word for "God" (just like in Arabic)
That is interesting.
But is it possible it was influenced earlier when Muslims first came into the area?
probably, but Muslims were probably the first monotheists in Indonesia, so the Arabic term became the normal word for 'God'
Granted this is hardly scientific, but according to answers.com
Though Jews arrived in Indonesia early as the 7th century, Jewish immigration grew in the 11th century.
Meanwhile, according to Wikipedia
Islam was first brought to Indonesia by Indian Muslims sometime during the 12th century AD and, through assimilation, supplanted Hinduism by the end of the 16th century in Java and Sumatra.
In any case, I don't understand why there should be a causal connection between Islam as a monotheistic religion and the acceptance--as opposed to coercion--of the name Allah. It didn't happen with the Hindus, and considering Muslim history, wouldn't it be at least as likely that the acceptance of that name would be due to force or fear?
Also: are there other countries where Christians did this?
Then there is this at The Corner:
"Kathryn, a priest from Malta once told me that the word for God in Maltese is Allah (the language is a fusion of Arabic and Italian). So the Maltese have been ahead of your Dutchman, ever since the demise of the Latin mass."
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