Christians Have No Intention to "confuse" Muslims

Christians have no intention to “confuse” Muslims
(appeared in fremalaysia.com) by Dr SK Teoh

It is unfair for some Muslims to accuse the Christians for trying to “confuse” the Muslims or even stronger accusations like “provoke” and “having a motive”. Just like Arab Christians and Indonesian Christians who have called God “Allah” for hundreds of years, Malay-speaking and Iban-speaking Christians have used the word “Allah” in their Bibles since a hundred years.

All without raising any “confusion” Even when several states passed enactments prohibiting 20 to 35 words, Christians have quietly continued their religious practices.

Even when the Bahasa and Iban bibles have been confiscated on several occasions by the Customs officials, Christians have tried to settle the problem quietly.

In spite of the fact that the Federal Constitution guarantees the right of all religions to practise their faith, Christians have quietly tolerated the restrictions on the building of churches.

 Christians have never used, and will not use, “Allah” in any other language Bibles other than in Bahasa and some other native languages which have adopted the term in their daily use. It is the practice of Bible translators all over the world to use the term for God which is commonly used in that language.

 Many Christians have moved over to Peninsula over the last 30 years, and thus several Bahasa language services have been started to serve them. Besides some Chinese and Indians who have been fully educated in the national schools are now more conversant in the Bahasa.

If some Muslims insist on their right to the use of Allah, or even enact laws to protect their religion, they have the right to do so as long as the fatwas and rules are meant for Muslims. Imposing their views on others will infringe on the Constitutional freedom not only of Christians but also Sikhs and Bahais.

 Allowing the present practices, as described in the 10-point solution, will not infringe on the rights of Muslims to their views and theology. Christians are using the term in private and in their own churches where Muslims do not usually enter.

If there were attempts to use such publications to reach out to Muslims, there are already laws against such acts.