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On a visit to East Malaysia, Papal Preacher, Fr Father Raniero Cantalamessa, said he was surprised at Muslim objections to the use of “Allah” by Christians referring to God.
“I can’t judge why the Catholics in Malaysia took this decision of using the word ‘Allah’ for God,” Fr Cantalamessa told the Daily Express.
“I don’t know whether in other Muslim countries, the same applies. Where English is spoken, of course people use ‘God’. But where local languages are at work, to convey to the people the version of God, they use the most common,” he said.
Fr Cantalamessa, who was in Kota Kinabalu on a visit, expressed surprise at the strong Muslim objection to Catholics using the name “Allah”.
“It’s strange enough. One could expect even the opposite reaction of being happy that other people want to share the name of ‘Allah’. But I suppose there was no intention of any competition. It was just to use the name of God most common in a region because ‘Allah’ means God. So it’s just a question of God.”
“As the Pope said in the mosque of Istanbul, we have but one single God.
“We have different names but God is always the same. As you are aware, there are always groups of people who are more sensitive than the others, who act in a different way.”
Asked whether he thinks Christian communities in countries where Christianity is not the official religion should compromise on an issue like this, he said:
“I don’t think this is compromise. It’s more a question of terminology than doctrine. I should say we should dialogue and appreciate each other and share what is good common concern for peace and justice.”
“It’s something positive. In this case, it’s a question of language usage,” he asserted.
“In Spain, where the Muslims were present for centuries, the word ‘Allah’ ended up in the Spanish Language. Even today, when the Spanish want to say, ‘May the Lord Do This’, they say ‘Ojala’ (a word of Arabic origin).
“Ojala” is partly formed by “Ala” from Insya’allah (or “God Willing”).
“This tells that the name of ‘Allah’ is presented even in other countries in their common language,” Fr Cantalamessa said.
SOURCE
Why Malaysian Catholics resorted to using the term ‘Allah’ (Daily Express)
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