Legal Issues

Pengharaman Penggunaan “Allah”: Perdebatan Teologi dan Hegemoni Ideologi

This paper summarizes the major themes found in a three-part article posted in 2010 – Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy [See links given below]. Pengharaman Penggunaan “Allah”: Perdebatan Teologi dan Hegemoni Ideologi Tujuan makalah ini adalah untuk membantu umat Kristian 1) memahami trajektori sejarah pertikaian tentang perkataan Allah, 2) mengenal pasti … Continue reading “Pengharaman Penggunaan “Allah”: Perdebatan Teologi dan Hegemoni Ideologi”

This paper summarizes the major themes found in a three-part article posted in 2010 – Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy [See links given below].

Pengharaman Penggunaan “Allah”: Perdebatan Teologi dan Hegemoni Ideologi

Tujuan makalah ini adalah untuk membantu umat Kristian 1) memahami trajektori sejarah pertikaian tentang perkataan Allah, 2) mengenal pasti sumber-sumber sejarah, linguistik dan teologi yang menjadi alasan bagi penggunaan sah akan perkataan itu oleh umat Kristian, 3) mematahkan hujah-hujah tidak berasas yang dikemukakan oleh cendekiawan Muslim yang menuntut monopoli Muslim dalam penggunaan perkataan Allah dan 4) memahami bagaimana konsep bahasa suci menyebabkan orang bukan-Muslim tidak dibenarkan daripada menggunakan perkataan Allah. Continue reading “Pengharaman Penggunaan “Allah”: Perdebatan Teologi dan Hegemoni Ideologi”

Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

29 Januari 2013 Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab Artikel ini diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggeris dari website Krisis & Praxis Mengapa Tidak Mungkin Menggantikan Allah dengan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab Orang Muslim di beberapa negara lain di dunia (Arab, Afrika Utara, Pakistan dan Indonesia) tiada bantahan dan tidak bimbang akan kemungkinan keliru apabila orang Kristian … Continue reading “Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab”

29 Januari 2013
Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

Artikel ini diterjemahkan dari Bahasa Inggeris dari website Krisis & Praxis

Mengapa Tidak Mungkin Menggantikan Allah dengan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab

Orang Muslim di beberapa negara lain di dunia (Arab, Afrika Utara, Pakistan dan Indonesia) tiada bantahan dan tidak bimbang akan kemungkinan keliru apabila orang Kristian menggunakan perkataan Allah. Sebaliknya, segolongan orang Muslim Malaysia pula mendakwa mereka keliru; suatu fenomena yang sangat aneh. Pemerhatian ini membuktikan kebenaran kepada andaian bahawa isu Allah ini merupakan isu Melayu buatan dan bukan isu Muslim sebenar. Sebenarnya, bantahan yang dirancang terhadap keputusan Mahkamah Tinggi pada 31 Dec 2009 untuk membenarkan Catholic Herald (dan orang Kristian) menggunakan perkataan Allah harus dilihat sebagai manipulasi sinis oleh ahli-ahli politik Melayu untuk mendapatkan undi daripada masyarakat mereka. Continue reading “Allah dan Tuhan dalam Terjemahan Alkitab”

Collated Resources: Christians from pre-Islam Arab Christians to Bumiputera Christians have the Right to Use Allah

*You may read additional articles grouped under the category Islamization of Malaysian Laws Christians have offered well-documented evidence and cogent arguments to refute the claim that only (Malaysian) Muslims have the right to use the word Allah. However, the dogmatic assertions (notwithstanding the ‘scholarly garb’) from Muslim scholars in the current flare-up suggest that they … Continue reading “Collated Resources: Christians from pre-Islam Arab Christians to Bumiputera Christians have the Right to Use Allah”

*You may read additional articles grouped under the category Islamization of Malaysian Laws

Christians have offered well-documented evidence and cogent arguments to refute the claim that only (Malaysian) Muslims have the right to use the word Allah. However, the dogmatic assertions (notwithstanding the ‘scholarly garb’) from Muslim scholars in the current flare-up suggest that they have either chosen to ignore the evidence or are simple unable to follow an argument outside their logical Procrustean bed. Undoubtedly, their closed mindedness arises because they learned how to use Arabic without reflecting, much less analyzing the linguistic determinants behind Arabic.

I would like to invite readers who are new to the controversy to read some of my early articles given in the list below: Continue reading “Collated Resources: Christians from pre-Islam Arab Christians to Bumiputera Christians have the Right to Use Allah”

Why Defacement of the Alkitab is Desecration

Click on the following link to read my post giving reasons why the defacement of the Alkitab (Holy Bible) by government officials is an act of desecration. http://libertysentinel.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/why-defacement-of-the-alkitab-is-desecration/ “Desecration” is not a word we simply throw around. As such, when Christians protest to the government that it has desecrated the Alkitab (Malay Bible) it is … Continue reading “Why Defacement of the Alkitab is Desecration”

“Desecration” is not a word we simply throw around. As such, when Christians protest to the government that it has desecrated the Alkitab (Malay Bible) it is incumbent on Christians to give reasons to support the claim for such a serious crime. Failure to do so will only reflect badly on the Christians themselves.

I invite you therefore to read my post which gives a careful analysis and arguments to support the charge that the Malaysian government committed desecration when its officials defaced the Alkitab.

Malay Bibles Desecrated by Malaysian Authorities

“Oh No! They killed our loved ones even though we paid the ransom.” This is the worst nightmare experienced by people who paid ransom to kidnappers only to find their loved ones returned to them executed. “Oh No! They desecrated our beloved Holy Bibles.” This is the heart wrenching experience of Malaysian Christians who found … Continue reading “Malay Bibles Desecrated by Malaysian Authorities”

“Oh No! They killed our loved ones even though we paid the ransom.”

This is the worst nightmare experienced by people who paid ransom to kidnappers only to find their loved ones returned to them executed.

“Oh No! They desecrated our beloved Holy Bibles.”

This is the heart wrenching experience of Malaysian Christians who found their Holy Bibles returned to them defaced and desecrated. READ MORE

Top Court Throws Out Hindu Mother’s Conversion Challenge

Top Court Throws Out Hindu Mother’s Conversion Challenge Malaysia’s highest court (the Federal Court) abdicated its duty to exercise sound and courageous moral judgment when it relied on technicality and rejected an application by a Hindu mother (Shamala) to the Court to rule against her husband’s unilateral conversion of her children to Islam. LINK

Top Court Throws Out Hindu Mother’s Conversion Challenge

Malaysia’s highest court (the Federal Court) abdicated its duty to exercise sound and courageous moral judgment when it relied on technicality and rejected an application by a Hindu mother (Shamala) to the Court to rule against her husband’s unilateral conversion of her children to Islam. LINK

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3 Translation Issues To buttress their case, Mohd Sani and Mohd Aizam provide several examples which allege that Christians are inconsistent in their usage of the word Allâh and this results in confusion for both Christians and Muslims. However, their claim of inconsistency shows little understanding … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3

Translation Issues
To buttress their case, Mohd Sani and Mohd Aizam provide several examples which allege that Christians are inconsistent in their usage of the word Allâh and this results in confusion for both Christians and Muslims. However, their claim of inconsistency shows little understanding of the translation skills required in the translation enterprise that demands the ability to make distinctions when a particular word assumes different shades of meanings (semantic range) in different contexs. This is especially true of Semitic words. For example, the Hebrew word, ruach, can take the following meanings, depending on the context: wind, breath, vital powers, feelings or will. That Mohd Sani seems unaware of these dynamics of translation will be evident when we discuss the translation of élöhîm in Old Testament. Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 3/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3 Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single … Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”

Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Arguments in the Allah Controversy. Part 2/3

Allâh is Certainly Not a Proper Noun/Personal Name

Introduction: Allâh and Other Loan Words in the Quran for God
The fundamental and contested presupposition in the present dispute on the use of Allâh is whether there are words so exclusively defined by a single linguistic system that their usage is reserved for that linguistic system alone. In this regard, scholars like Dr. Mohd Sani Badron, Prof Khadijah Mohd Hambali and Mohd Aizam operate on the assumption that Quranic Arabic and subsequently, Bahasa Malaysia have sole proprietorship over certain words (especially the word Allâh) since these words been ‘purified’ (Islamicised) for the purpose conveying Islamic truths. As such, they call for Christians to be banned from using the word Allâh as improper usage of the word by Christians will lead to corruption of revealed truth. Continue reading “Refutation of Muslim Scholars’ Argument in the Allâh Controversy. Part 2/3”