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| Yes, this post is partially an excuse to give and receive Slack with this graphic. |
Maybe you could let the Catholics use the word "Allah" in their newspapers if they didn't capitalize it? You know, like we here in America do when talking about our neighbor's objects of religious veneration? Is capitalization even a thing in the Jawi alphabet?
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Is it the same word? Sure.
ReplyDeleteDoes it describe the same person? Nope.
I actually have a sort of weeds-eye view on this, as both my parents were recently missionaries with an organization that evangelizes Muslims, and their mission split in two over this issue. The issue wasn't Allah/God per se, but rather, where does the culture of Islam start and Christianity begin?
Boring stuff for those of you aren't in the mix, I know, but if you've invested a large amount of your lifespan into getting people to ascribe to your faith, things like that matter. A lot.
I guess the Eater of Souls is out too!
ReplyDeleteGerry
Gerry I read that as easter seals and given the zombie theme maybe not.
DeleteJOHN MOSES BROWNING IS ONLY TO BE REVERED AND JEFF COOPER IS HIS PROPHET !
ReplyDeleteIt's one of those things where yes, Allah means the God (al ilah contracted) but modern connotation is troublesome. The intent of the Catholics in Malaysia is clearly not to reference the god of the Muslim faith, but in the context of the US, saying 'Allah' in an otherwise english sentence seems to be a reference to Islam.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't care. If you are using Allah to refer to the proper noun God of your particular faith, fine. The only issue I come across is that in Islam, certain words and actions have a lot of symbolic power. We may understand 'Allah' to refer to any proper noun god, but good grief do some fundie muslims get bent out of shape about it. That is not a reason to not use it in that fashion, but it is cause to take note when references to Allah turn up since it may mean something different to someone else.
Take the Bob Berghdahl thing. I've heard it said that his statement at the White House essentially publicly claimed the ground for Islam. I am too lazy right now to find out if that is even remotely true, but for the sake of discussion, let's pretend it was. On the one hand, you may have some fundies yammering about how it's theirs now and we can all go away, and from their context, they could be right. On the other, I very much doubt that argument would hold much water with the secret service. On the gripping hand, it's just a matter of balancing how much other people's interpretations really matter.
TL;DR, Words have meaning, and people on all sides of this one screw up the meaning of Allah.
"Does it describe the same person? Nope. "
ReplyDeleteWell, actually, yes. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all ascribe to the God of Abraham. All three branches have to one degree or another attempted to remake G-d in their own image, with some interesting results. I earnestly hope the Creator looks upon those attempts with amusement.
"I claim this planet in the name of the Earth!"
ReplyDeleteTalk is, of course, cheap.
(And we're running low on shaving cream.)
What about drawing pictures of him/her/it?
ReplyDeleteWait--Jawas have an alphabet?
ReplyDeleteJawas always write in single file to hide their letters.
ReplyDeleteThe Redskins trademark decision has imitators.
ReplyDeleteDog.
ReplyDelete@ og: No. Wrong. Dead wrong.
ReplyDeleteAllah is described, in the Qur'an, as "the best deceiver(yes, the connotation translates)." Sounds a lot like "the father of lies," doesn't it?
Do some research--there are countless parallels between the Allah of Islam and Old Scratch himself. Not to mention the objective, secular, easily-provable fact that Islam has basically contributed NOTHING of value to the world in 1400 years, but has spread violence and hatred wherever it has been allowed to take root. "By their fruits ye shall know them."
I can see what these people worship, and it is NOT the God of Abraham. Just because they claim so, does not make it true.
Allah was an amalgamation of the gods of other religions followed by those who interacted with Mohamed in his formative years as a trader before he became a warlord and murdered his whole tribe. There is no evidence of which I am aware in the historical record indicating that Allah and Yaweh are supposed to be the same, save maybe some rhetorical derp on the part of John Paul II.
ReplyDeleteDo your own research. I've been studying theology for forty years. Allah is the God of Abraham, period. The twisted theology of Islam does not make it any less so than the twisted ideology of the Westboro baptists.
ReplyDeleteFor a blog as full of slack as yours, Tam, why are all the links pink?
ReplyDelete;)
"Allah" is merely a word in Arabic that means "the God." Muslims believe that they worship the same God that Christians do, for the same reason that Christians believe they worship the same God that Jews do. Arabic-speaking Muslims and Christians both call God "Allah." (English-speaking Muslims and Christians both call God "God.") I have been trying to explain this to people for years.
ReplyDeleteThat is kinda what I said in the post, yes.
ReplyDelete