Much Ado about "Allah"

Recent developments in the Malaysian theological scene remind us how much the Islamic Authorities there have gotten their priorities wrong.

If you are a working for the Malaysian Federal Government or a related Islamic Authority, you might take offence with my choice of title above.

For a lot of Muslims in Malaysia, the word “Allah” is placed on a sanctified pedestal. It is not fit to be used by just anyone, anywhere. In fact, so consecrated it is that the Malaysian Government has rescinded a Catholic newspaper's right to use the word "Allah" in all its publications when referring to God.


The word “Allah” when found in even the faintest imagery on anything like a tomato is revered as a sign from God.

The word “Allah”, it seems, can only be invoked by Muslims when referring to God. This, according to the Government, would prevent Muslims in the country from being confused about their faith.

This latest turn of events has consequentially revealed insecurities that Malaysian Muslims have with regards to the fortitude of their faith. They refused to allow Yoga because it could erode the trust they have in their religion. Now they claim exclusive use of the word “Allah” for fear that it could jeopardise their beliefs.

Is the faith of Malaysian Muslims so brittle that it requires the federal government to police every spectre that it deems a threat to Islam? Or are the Islamic Authorities in Malaysia simply making a bogeyman of trivialities, when their attention should instead be focused on the various social problems that pose a real threat to the well being of Muslims in Malaysia?

The real threat to Islam in Malaysia is neither the Catholics’ usage of the word “Allah” nor the Hindus practising Yoga. The real threat to Islam in Malaysia comes from Muslims who have allowed Islam to spiral down an abyss of evanescent rituals and frivolous observations instead of making it a compass of life.

The real threat to Islam in Malaysia comes from Muslims who have refused to go down the path of economic and educational enlightenment according to what Islam has decreed.

The real threat to Islam in Malaysia comes from Malays who refuse to abandon their Bumiputra crutches and compete with the rest of the world on equal footing for the betterment of their people.

The real threat to Islam in Malaysia comes from Muslims who have allowed the country to decay into a crime haven of daily robberies, carjacking and murder-cum-rape cases. These should instead be the focus of the Islamic Authorities. Not Yoga or “Allah”.

But no, instead so much effort and discourse has been spent to reinstate these diminutive bans with no real benefit to the general Muslim population in the country.

For the uninitiated, the word “Allah” is the standard Arabic term for “God” and has been used by Arabic speakers of the faiths that descend from Abraham, including Christians. The word is still being used today in Arabic translations of the bible and torah in many Muslim-majority nations. There is no instruction in the Quran or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad that an exclusive term for “God” be reserved for use by the Muslims.

Allah has 99 other names. Perhaps the federal government should complete its pursuit of trivialities by claiming exclusive rights to them too.