It was Easter in 2006 and I was attending a Maronite Catholic Mass in the Middle East. I was (somewhat cockily) celebrating the Risen Lord with my new found ability to read Arabic. The Liturgy was beautiful, the music angelic (with everyone singing), and the Mass really, really long.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was taken a bit aback when I uttered “Allah” when “God” or “Father” was called for in the English translation. In my simple mind I thought, “Of course, ‘God’ is an English word, we’re of Abrahamic roots, and it only makes sense to use ‘Allah.’” Next verse.
I can assure you, I was the only person in the 5000+ member congregation who entertained such thoughts.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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But, thoughts about this many cultures must have, to the point of declaring court orders. In Malaysia, not even a fortnight ago, the Kuala Lampur High Court ruled on 31 Dec to lift the ban to allow Christians to refer to “God” as “Allah.” Again, why not? “Allah” has been used in Malay to refer to the Christian “God the Father” for centuries.
Fire bombings ensued. Not from joyous Christians celebrating their newly-sanctioned term (of old), but from conservative Muslim groups. Eight churches have been destroyed by arson, and thousands of Christians are living in fear.
Many would say that politics fomented the current outburst, with the sharia-enforced bureaucracy restricting the use of “Allah” to Muslims. Others take a socio-economic view.
Reporters observed that there was great restraint, which prevented “tit for tat retaliations.” With Christians comprising only 9% of the population, I think this was more a matter of being outnumbered than an exercise in turning the other cheek.
Regardless, our brothers and sisters in Malaysia could use a prayer or two to Allah the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
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