Should Christians Call God Allah?

Bishop Martinus “Tiny” Muskens of Breda, Netherlands thinks so.

The Bishop of Breda, Tiny Muskens, wants people to start calling God Allah. He says the Netherlands should look to Indonesia, where the Christian churches already pray to Allah. It is also common in the Arab world: Christian and Muslim Arabs use the words God and Allah interchangeably.

Speaking on the Dutch TV programme Network on Monday evening, Bishop Muskens (pictured) says it could take another 100 years but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches. And that will promote rapprochement between the two religions.

. . .

More than 30 years ago Bishop Muskens worked in Indonesia and, there, God was called Allah, even in Catholic churches. The Dutch should learn to get on spontaneously with different cultures, religions and behaviour patterns:

Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years. In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can’t we start doing that together?

Read the whole story.

I think the answer to the question posed in the title of this post is yes and no.

Referring to the Christian God as “Allah” is perfectly fine—for an Arabic-speaking person! “Allah” is simply the Arabic word for God. There’s no alternative Arabic word for God available for a Christiain to use when referring to the one, true God of the Bible. The word “Allah” predates Islam and does not necessarily refer to the Muslim’s false god. We know it as such simply because most Arabic speakers are Muslims.

Because of the connotations of the word “Allah,” the notion that non-Arabic-speaking people should use is clearly ecumenically driven. When a perfectly acceptable English or Dutch (or whatever) word exists, insisting that people use the Arabic “Allah” is an attempt to make people think the differences between Islam and Christianity are insignificant. It’s obvious, then, that no non-Arabic-speaking Christian should use the term “Allah” to refer to the God of the Bible.

Read the coverage:

• Catholic World News: Pray to Allah, Dutch bishop suggests
• Fox News: Roman Catholic Bishop Wants Everyone to Call God ‘Allah’
• Albert Mohler: “What Does God Care What We Call Him?”
• Radio Netherlands: Let’s Call God Allah
• Stand to Reason Blog: A Rose by Any Other Name? Nope.
• Times Online: Does God mind what He’s called?
• Washington Post: Dutch Bishop Suggests Calling God Allah
• World Net Daily: Bishop urges Christians to call God ‘Allah’

See also the related:

• Catholic World News: Australian Muslims to join in World Youth Day planning
• Sydney Morning Herald: Youth Day organisers meet Muslims

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