Many Muslims and even some Christians have misunderstood the use of “Allah” in Bahasa Bibles. To clarify some of the confusion:
1. The BM Bible or the Alkitab is not translated from the English Bible but from the original languages, ie Hebrew and Greek.
2. The Hebrew word for God is 'El' or 'Elohim' (similar root as 'Ilah' in Arabic) and 'Yahweh' for LORD. The Greek words are 'Theo' for God and 'Kurios' for Lord.
3. Biblical translators all over the world have used the local language terms for 'Elohim' and 'Yahweh' eg God and LORD in English; 'Dios' and 'Senor' in Spanish, 'Shangti' and 'Zhu' in Chinese
4. For 15 centuries, Arabic Bibles have used Allah for God and Rab for Lord (predate Islam)
5. The first Malay translation of the Bible was made in 1612, and Allah was used for God and Tuhan for Lord in this and all the subsequent translations till today.
6. Malay-speaking (and Iban) Christians have used the term Allah for more than a hundred years in Malaya and the Borneo states in worship, prayers and reading their holy scriptures.
7. Twenty million Christians in Indonesia have used Allah for years without any misunderstanding or objection.
8. English Bibles nor Bibles of other languages obviously do not use the Bahasa terms
9. Forbidding the use of the term “Allah” by Christians, not only infringes their rights to practise their faith but also lead to confusion. For example, is the “Tuhan” in Negara-Ku and Rukun Negara not the “Muslim God” or can Christians sing the Selangor anthem where “Allah” is used?
10. Theological meanings between Christianity and Islam will always be different whether the term used is “Allah” or “Tuhan” or “God”.
-harakahdaily
From : Malaysia Chronicles
1 comment:
hello writer..I'm just too interested reading ur blog, of which u ink your thought with a really good point. but in my mind the reason why the malays muslim because they feel like they are threaten by this issue.
i'm sorry if my comment here can cause disagreement, but we are human, design to make error. but first i am a muslim. an open minded muslim. what u have write is not wrong but im not saying it is right though.
it is kind of sensitive when we talk about religion especially regarding The Almighty Creator. for me it is not an issue to use what name for our God. but the most important thing is how we embrace the name. in Islam we believes that Isa sent by Allah as one of His messenger with the holy Injil. if Bible and Injil comes from the same creator, by right it should be no problem, since the creator of Injil is the One who create holy Quran. but it is possible for u to confirm that Bible teaching is same what is writen in Injil, then it should be no problem. but the most important things is how u embrace the name of the Allah. if u use the name appropriately than it should be okay as long as u didnt compare the god. as what we learn Allah is the only one..so thus Christianity i guess where the god is only 1.but i'm not sure about Zeus,Hades, Poseidon and all that.haha.joke aside.
my point is some of malays very sensitive of things that can affect their believes. my view is they like to critics issues like this, saying they love Islam, but did not practice what Islam teach them. i'm speaking frankly to you because some caught by my eyes. but for me as long as the religion respect each other, why bother??this is just my sense talking. im not saying im right either.
thanks if u read my comment.but im sure we have a lot of common in politics though.btw i'm from sarawak, city full of craps if u want to talk about politics.
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