Is Allah for Everyone?

Recently there has been an uproar about the use of the name "Allah" by Christian missionaries in Malaysia. Here is a basic lowdown on Malaysia's religious breakdown. Malays are known to be Muslims - they are born Muslims and do not convert out of Islam (this is what is stated in the mainstream media). A fraction of non-Malays, who are mostly Chinese and Indians, are Christians. The rest are Buddhists and Hindus respectively. I would say Christinaity has be spreading widely in Malaysia. We see the church doing alot of charity and social work that allow them to be the attractive choice of "way of life."

Recently they have requested to use the name "Allah" instead of "God" in their English publications.

The government (mainly Muslim) rejected their request in order to safeguard the sanctity of Allah's name, citing that it would not befit Allah Ta'ala to have association with the Church. I can't speak for the Muslim reaction but I would guess many would be bewildered as to why Christians would want to be associated with "Allah" in the first place. "They" worship God, we worship Allah.

When I first hear about this I thought, well the Arabic Bible is written in Arabic, and God is known as Allah. That was my first reaction, which stunned many. I guess not many people know that an Arabic bible exists let alone Christian Arabs exist. At the same time, I do feel worried that such gazetted Christian publications with the reference to God as Allah and Prophet Jesus (blessings upon him) as "son of Allah" would be misleading to Muslims who lack the opportunities to pursue a fulfilling education. By reading stories or publications with such references, children especially could easily interpret that what they were reading was a Muslim message.

I don't disagree with the missionaries using the name Allah. As for as I am concerned, Allah is the work for God in Arabic, and in actual fact, Muslims worship God and God alone. Sure, I do not believe that Allah has a son - and that is why I am not a Christian - and having said that, I also do not believe that God has a son - it is exactly the same thing. I understand that Muslims revere "Allah" in a way no other religion does, I do not deny that. At the same time however, the fact that these particular group of Christians are accepting the word "Allah" as God speaks for itself.

Muslims are often represented as worshippers of Allah the God of the Moon, Allah the Arabic God, Allah the God of Something or Another - and some other extremely hurtful and atrocious names and descriptions. Na'uzubillah. I feel somehow, this change acts as silent da'wa for Muslims. Could the Christian missionaries in the long run suddenly realise that the word Allah is a word for God that can never pluralised? Allah can never represent more than one deity, let alone 3. We will see, Allah knows best.

I think it is a good thing, that after some thought, the government reversed their decision, allowing the Church to substitute God for Allah. Allah knows best, Allah knows best. He Himself preserves his religion in ways we fail to imagine.

But for Muslims, especially those who are still learning to understand Islam as the complete way of life and have not studied other religions to understand their beliefs and practices, it is a call to wake up and learn to appreciate what Islam has to offer. I speak for myself too. I believe that if I had not known about the Arabic bible I would have strongly opposed such a request by the Church.

It is not fair to blame others when brothers and sisters leave the faith. Christianity and Judaism share more similarities to Islam than differences - and we should know of both of them. There are plenty of honourable references to Christians and Jews in the Qur'an as the People of the Book.

We will see how this unravels - I am sure this has happened in other countries - the word Allah being used in other religions. If there are, let us know, it would be interesting to see how Muslims around the world react to changes like this.

With Knowledge Comes Power

Now, who said that? Was it Uncle Ben in Spiderman? Or one of Kent's parents in Superman. I'm pretty sure Stan Lee used this line in one or more of his many lengedary comic books.

I am also pretty sure it is somewhere in the Qur'an and / or the Hadith. There are plenty of sayings by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to seek knowledge, and to even seek it to the depths of China (Bukhari). So, there is power in knowledge, and the opposite of knowledge is pure ignorance through and through.

Alot of misconceptions of Islam and Arabs in the non-Muslim world, is pretty much due to the mainstream media that easily lines up the "good guys" against the "bad guys." Not everyone is given the opportunity or makes that extra effort to read up on the other side of the story.

However, there is a fair segment of the Muslim and Arab society who sometimes encourage negative perceptions of the religion to be formed.

Personally I have found that many misuderstandings about Islam are due to cultural interferences in Islamic practice that give rise to the perception that the religion is tedious and embalmed in ritual practices without the sense of logic.

Some examples are such as wedding celebrations, funeral proceedings and even simple things like the 'Eid festival. While Islam makes everything really simple, without much weight on obligations, many cultures practice this differently and often forget that Islam frowns upon many of their superstitious traditions that usually translate into a waste of money, valuable time and energy. Some practices can even turn into shirk - associating partners with Allah. Astargfirullah....

Coupled with the fact that all of this done without knowledge, stress and anger quickly settle in. For example, dealing with debt after and elaborate wedding, not having to hold "follow up" ceremonies after a funeral, or wasting time on the night of 'Eid baking cookies until 4 in the morning and missing the 'Eid prayer.

If you are a Muslim and you reading this, you would probably know what I'm talking about. Islam outlines the complete way of life without any hardship upon us, but we always manage to find ways to complicate matters.

When in doubt of traditions, it is probably best to consult the Qur'an and / or the Hadith, to ensure what we are doing does not violate Islamic teaching. :)

The last thing a Muslim wants to do is to displease Allah Ta'ala and it is obligatory for every Muslim to make that extra effort to read His side of the story.

A multitude of talents required, please!

"If you do not feel ashamed of doing something, do whatever you like." (Bukhari)

Arabs are Muslims. Muslims are Arab. Sound familiar? That is just one of the popular misconceptions related to the Islamic faith.

Another popular illustration of Muslims, or Arabs, for the matter, is that they sit around all day, probably in a mosque, or a home, chanting melodic verses from a large book, sometimes in unison, sometimes not. These people who chant comprise mostly of men - no women in sight at all - and boys.

The man, or boy, in focus does not differ a great deal from the man, or boy, sitting next to him. They dress the same, their hair is combed the same way, they both wear a skull-cap and both grow a beard to the best of their ability. Where are the women? Probably sitting in a room down the hall, with the lights dimmed, all wearing black, chanting the same verses too.

Many believe that this picture denotes the only way one can be a firm follower of the Islamic faith.

Scholars though, along with the multi-cultural Muslim society scattered around the globe, beg to differ. With the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) to do "whatever you like," directly reminds Muslims of the infinite amount of knowledge, also scattered around the globe, and the importance of attaining as much knowledge as possible to build a progressive, developing society, known as the Muslim umma. A progressive nation requires a multitude of talents.

Though it is true that there are Muslims who devote their lives in becoming experts in the realm of Islamic creed, it is not mandatory on every Muslim to study Islamic fiqh as their main career in life.

A Muslim, is allowed and encouraged to delve into studies of his or her interests and choose the field that allows him or her to flourish by capitalising on his or her strengths.

Like followers of other faiths, Muslims are doctors specialising in different disciplines; engineers, with sometimes more than one degree to their name; writers and journalists; accountants and bankers; lecturers and historians; politicians and economists; architects and artists.

What Muslims have to observe however, is that whichever field of knowledge they specialise in, they are required to hold steadfast to the Islamic principles that govern their expertise.

For example, Muslim bankers can only enter into banking contracts that are enacted without the element of interest. Architects are allowed to express their creativity provided their architectural designs do not violate Islamic beliefs. For example, they may not incorporate human images in their designs.

These practices are in conjuction with the Muslim way of worship, whereby each follower loves and hates for the sake of Allah, demonstrating that Islam is indeed a complete way of life with Muslims holding steadfast to the truth - together.

By adhering to this Islamic conduct with regards to the various strands of knowledge, Muslims also acknowledge hat infinite wisdom belongs to Allah and to Allah alone. The knowledge acquired by one person throughout his or her lifetime is but a speckle of dust caught in a drop of water resting on a grain of sand on a vast beach stretching a cross a tiny country.

A Muslim, or an Arab for that matter, is not only a lawyer, realtor, warden, police officer, or construction worker - he or she is encouraged to be whatever he or she wants to the best of his or her ability and interest.

The uniqueness of one Muslim to the next is important in order to complement another person's field of speciality. A society would not survive if every member of the community shared the same profession, even if it were a whole society devoted to Islamic creed.

Diversity is the key of a progressive nation. This goes to show that no one person, regardless of faith would ever be able to survive in this world all alone. There is no such thing as living as an island as far as Islamic belief is concern.

This principle is further strengthened by the opening chapter in the Qur'an, which Muslims recite at least 17 times a day during prayers: "Thee do we worship and thine aid do we seek," (Al-Fatiha: 5). The verse clearly reflects the humility of a Muslim towards Allah Ta'ala through his or her invocations and his or her humility towards the Muslim praying next to him or her.

A Muslim worships with his or her brothers and sisters of the Islamic faith, portraying that Muslims need the unique strengths of his brothers and sisters in order to successfully worship his of her Creator.

Therefore the next time a newsclip on Muslims is aired on television, understand that worship in the traditional sense is not the only activity Muslims partake in, 24 hours a day.

Every Muslim is different from the next in what he or she does during the day. At the same time however, it is so important for Muslims to sit down together whether in prayer, reading of the Qur'an , rememberance of Allah (dzikr), or the breaking of the fast (iftar), to remind each other of the greatness of Allah Ta'ala.

The people are one thing...

Despite the embarrassment of this, I assure curious seekers and learners that this DOES NOT represent the general Arab or Muslim population--just the institutions unfortunately. We have brilliant Arabs and Muslims, but unfortunately they are hardly recognized in the Arab or Muslim world. So, many come to the West and are greatly appreciated for their knowledge and skill. What do they call this? Um...Brain Drain???? This hurts the Arab and Muslim worlds.


Arab Universities Not On List Of 300 Best
The Jordanian daily Al-Dustour has reported that not a single Arab or Muslim university is included among the 300 best universities worldwide.
The paper also reported that none of the Muslim countries, some of which are extremely wealthy, are among the 20 countries that spend the most on research and development.
By contrast, India and China had 1.2 million students graduating last year with science and engineering degrees.
Source: Al-Dustour, Jordan, May 23, 2007