Is The Word ALLAH Exclusive To Muslims Only?

January 19-2010:

Is The Word ALLAH Exclusive To Muslims Only?

The Malays Think So!

In Malaysia the Catholic Church there used the world ALLAH in their organizational bulletin or periodical to inform their followers about Islam and Catholicism. The pre-dominant Malay indigenous community there, who are mostly Muslim, felt annoyed, and wanted the Catholic Church to remove or stop using the word ALLAH in any of their written periodicals or information sharing documentation.

The Malays also claim that Islam in Malaysia has the exclusive rights to that name, and only Muslims are allowed to Speak or write the name of ALLAH, their concept of God. The church refused to do this bidding, and some of their buildings were fire bombed by alleged Muslim arsonists who wanted to teach them a lesson.

A Fatwah was issued by a prominent Muslim Clerical Group, advocating for the establishment to adhere to their concept and exclusivity, for the use of the word ALLH, to be used only by Malays who are also Muslims.
THE ALLAH Debate In Malaysia:

Is based on Semantics or Interpretation. They feel ALLAH must be used by Muslims only. But the rest of the world says, we don't care who adopts it as their own! ALLAH, according to the Malays, MUST be used only by MUSLIMS. (At least in Malaysia).

But this conflicts with the use of ALLAH in other Muslim countries, and non-Muslim countries.

However, religion should be interpreted by Consensus. And MUST never be Espoused via Coercion, Threats, Fanaticism, or Exclusion.

Derryck.
NYC.