Islam

High Court Judgment on Allah controversy: Home Minister Wrong in Four Crucial Areas

High Court Judgment: Home Minister Wrong in Four Crucial Areas The High Court ruling on the Allah controversy on 31 Dec 2009 by the learned judge Lau Bee Lan is a model of acute and coherent reasoning. The learned judge 57-page judgment found the government wrong in four crucial areas : 1) The Home Minister’s … Continue reading “High Court Judgment on Allah controversy: Home Minister Wrong in Four Crucial Areas”

High Court Judgment: Home Minister Wrong in Four Crucial Areas

The High Court ruling on the Allah controversy on 31 Dec 2009 by the learned judge Lau Bee Lan is a model of acute and coherent reasoning. The learned judge 57-page judgment found the government wrong in four crucial areas :

1) The Home Minister’s ban is illegal

2) The Home Minister’s ban is unconstitutional

3) The Home Minister’s ban is irrational

4) The Home Minister’s claim that the ban was to safeguard public security and order is without merit

Read full report at Religious Liberty Watch LINK

Allah and Conversions in Malaysia: The Facts!

Allah and Conversions in Malaysia: The Facts! Muslim activists have claimed repeatedly that Christians in Malaysia refuse to drop using the word Allah because they want to confuse and convert Muslims, thereby posing a threat to national security. The claim is both groundless and insincere.

Allah and Conversions in Malaysia: The Facts!
Muslim activists have claimed repeatedly that Christians in Malaysia refuse to drop using the word Allah because they want to confuse and convert Muslims, thereby posing a threat to national security. The claim is both groundless and insincere. Continue reading “Allah and Conversions in Malaysia: The Facts!”

More Academic Resources on Pre-Islamic Use of Allah

Rejoinder – Allah is Not a Personal Name: More Evidence Needed, Not Mere Assertions Again in response to some comments on the article “ Allah is not a Personal Name LINK I have decided to post my own rejoinder as a full post: Further comments on use of allah I am not concerned with how … Continue reading “More Academic Resources on Pre-Islamic Use of Allah”

Rejoinder – Allah is Not a Personal Name: More Evidence Needed, Not Mere Assertions

Again in response to some comments on the article “ Allah is not a Personal Name LINK
I have decided to post my own rejoinder as a full post:
Further comments on use of allah
I am not concerned with how Muslims understand Allah (whether personal or generic; that is their personal liberty that I have no wish to interfere). But the thrust of the argument of my articles is that the Christian use of allah is consistent with the centuries of usage among the various Semitic languages/dialects. This argument has not been addressed, much less challenged. Continue reading “More Academic Resources on Pre-Islamic Use of Allah”

Allah is Not a Personal Name

Allah is Not a Personal Name It is bad enough when the Malaysian government bans Christians from using the word Allah. It is worse when some misguided Christians (granted it is a small minority) agree that Muslims have sole proprietary rights to the word Allah, even though this capitulation amounts to surrendering their centuries old … Continue reading “Allah is Not a Personal Name”

Allah is Not a Personal Name

It is bad enough when the Malaysian government bans Christians from using the word Allah. It is worse when some misguided Christians (granted it is a small minority) agree that Muslims have sole proprietary rights to the word Allah, even though this capitulation amounts to surrendering their centuries old usage of the word Allah for worship and spiritual instructions.

Perhaps this capitulation results from a misunderstanding of Arabic grammar, that is, the view that Allah is a personal name. Allah, as such, refers solely to the individual Supreme Being whom Muslims (and no other believers) worship. Accepting this misunderstanding would give grounds to the Muslim’s (still contestable) demand that only they have the right to use the word Allah and its related terms.Such a capitulation must be vigorously resisted seeing how the Malaysian government unrelentingly prosecutes its ban against Christians using the word Allah. It is imperative that we analyze and correct this misunderstanding.

Continue reading “Allah is Not a Personal Name”

Dialogue on Islam and Christology: Reports and Comments

Seems like the following summaries of my dialogue with Dr. Louay Fatoohi at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies on August 13 2009 are being sent around the Internet. http://ameia-kl.blogspot.com/2009/08/islam-and-christology.html LINK http://www.iais.org.my/details.php?content_id=226 LINK I have problems with the summaries at a few points but at least they give a rough idea of what transpired … Continue reading “Dialogue on Islam and Christology: Reports and Comments”

Seems like the following summaries of my dialogue with Dr. Louay Fatoohi at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies on August 13 2009 are being sent around the Internet.

http://ameia-kl.blogspot.com/2009/08/islam-and-christology.html LINK

http://www.iais.org.my/details.php?content_id=226 LINK

I have problems with the summaries at a few points but at least they give a rough idea of what transpired in the dialogue. I did not consider posting further comments on the dialogue, but now that these summaries are being circulated, I will just fine-tune them with a few caveats. I will post a full response only if it turns out that the book is widely received by the reading public and the academia. Continue reading “Dialogue on Islam and Christology: Reports and Comments”

Beer and Tyranny of Majority

The authorities from Shah Alam City Council declared that “the sale of all alcoholic drinks including beer will not be allowed at Muslim-majority areas”. The logic underlying this declaration goes as follows: 1) The majority population has the right to decide whether a cultural practice is acceptable 2) Muslims are the majority in Shah Alam … Continue reading “Beer and Tyranny of Majority”

1) The majority population has the right to decide whether a cultural practice is acceptable
2) Muslims are the majority in Shah Alam
3) Muslims decide what is culturally acceptable and prohibited in Shah Alam
4) Muslims cannot accept sales and consumption of alcohol
5) Therefore the sales of alcohol is not allowed in Shah Alam

How to we challenge this logic? You may read my response at the following site: http://libertysentinel.wordpress.com/2009/08/02/to-beer-or-to-bear-with-the-tyranny-of-the-majority/ LINK

Response to Prof. Dzulkufli Abdul Razak Misreading of the Malay Bible

Tan Sri Prof. Dzulkufli Abdul Razak, Vice Chancellor of University Science Malaysia wrote an article on the use of ‘Allah’ in the Malay Bible, Alkitab (Bahasa Indonesia version) in the SUN on 11 March 2009. LINK It would have been easy just to dismiss this article since its premise is flawed from the word go: … Continue reading “Response to Prof. Dzulkufli Abdul Razak Misreading of the Malay Bible”

It would have been easy just to dismiss this article since its premise is flawed from the word go: He compares the Malay translation with the New King James Version when the base text of the Bahasa Indonesia version has never been any English version. Indeed the Alkitab makes it clear that it is based on the Biblia Hebraica text for the Hebrew/Aramaic Old Testament and the Nestle Aland text for the Greek New Testament. Continue reading “Response to Prof. Dzulkufli Abdul Razak Misreading of the Malay Bible”

Non-Muslims have a Right to Comment on Fatwas

You may want to read this new post by Ng Kam Weng in his second blog: Non-Muslims have a Right to Comment on Fatwas Link Non-Muslims Have a Right to Comment on Fatwas

You may want to read this new post by Ng Kam Weng in his second blog:

Non-Muslims have a Right to Comment on Fatwas Link

Non-Muslims Have a Right to Comment on Fatwas

Allah lawsuit: Muslim Councils Rush to Intervene, Archbishop Objects

Comment: Amazing! So many Muslim Councils rushing to join the fray. Perhaps they are nervous about losing their case and seek assurance in numbers. It would have been so much simpler if people concerned just allow the two immediate parties involved in the suit to calmly and rationally argue their case. Surely it can’t be … Continue reading “Allah lawsuit: Muslim Councils Rush to Intervene, Archbishop Objects”

Comment: Amazing! So many Muslim Councils rushing to join the fray. Perhaps they are nervous about losing their case and seek assurance in numbers. It would have been so much simpler if people concerned just allow the two immediate parties involved in the suit to calmly and rationally argue their case. Surely it can’t be the case that 10+ Muslim councils are each presenting its own unique argument? Indeed, judging from eyewitness report describing the atmosphere at the court, It seems to me that some Muslim are more propelled by emotions than by rational and respectful argumentation.

More likely, and more disturbingly, the flood of applications, or rather the inflated crowd at the court is a show of force to intimidate the Catholic Church or the honorable judge. Continue reading “Allah lawsuit: Muslim Councils Rush to Intervene, Archbishop Objects”