Defining God: Revealing the Poverty of Religious Literacy

[rug]

Posted: 10/16/2013 4:46 pm
Peter Dziedzic

While the celebration of Eid al-Adha this week should be a joyous time for Muslims globally, headlines remind us that the state of affairs in the proposed Muslim world are far from celebratory. Recent conflicts, attacks, and inter-communal violence in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, and events such as the Nairobi mall shooting and the sinking of a refugee ship off the Italian coast at Lampedusa, reveal the constant face of suffering in the world. While all of these events and crises demand our mourning and reflection on the implications of violence and bloodshed, a recent development in Malaysia also demands our reflection on the implications of ignorance and fear in our world.

The Malaysian Court of Appeals this past Monday banned the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims when referencing God. This ruling overturned a 2009 decision by a lower court to allow The Herald, a Catholic newspaper in Malaysia, to use "Allah" in its Malay-language newspaper. Chief judge Mohamed Apandi Ali stated that, "The usage of the word is not an integral part of the faith in Christianity...The usage of the word will cause confusion in the community." Hundreds of Malaysians in support of the ban stood outside of the court in the administrative center of Putrajaya to welcome the ruling.

With the reinstated ban, The Herald will no longer be able to use the word "Allah" to refer to the Christian experience of God, despite the centrality of the word in Malaysian Christian liturgy and worship for centuries. The Arabic word "Allah" is commonly used by Christians in Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Arabic-speaking countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, to refer to God. This decision has sparked religious tension and raised questions over minority rights in Malaysia.

While Islam is the largest religious community in Malaysia, there are active minority religious communities, including Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Taoists. Despite this ban being in direct relation to the publication of The Herald, wider societal implications are feared. The 2009 ruling to allow non-Muslims to use the word "Allah" spurred acts of attack and vandalism at houses of worship in Malaysia and solidified a culture of inter-communal tension. Such tension and violence may once again spread.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dziedzic/defining-god-revealing-th_b_4102722.html

[fitman]

1. Banning the word allah by non muslims?

Crazy muslims at it again..best to ban all religion..

[rug]

2. That's a leap.

[fitman]

3. Let me back up and say organized religion

[cbayer]

4. Lol! Ban all religion? How would you like to start that little movement.