Open letter to Shaik Dawood – Stephen Ng

Shaik Dawood,

I read your letter with great amusement when you said that "Modern day Muslim scholars, however, think that Allah should not be translated as it is a Proper Name and is free of number or gender, whereas God can be general or specific (god/God), singular or plural (god/gods) and male or female (god/goddess)".

This is in contrary to what your very own world-renowned Muslim scholar, Dr Yusof Qamadi and a number of other modern Muslim scholars.

You can read them in The Malaysian Insiders. They are all laughing at you and the other Muslims in Malaysia who are claiming a copyright to the word Allah.

The word Allah as translated means God. It was used by the Arabs even before the prophet Mohamad as referring to the unknown God.

The word Allah is also found in the Sikh's holy book for many centuries, just as the word God had been translated into Malay as Allah in the Alkitab at leat a century ago for the sake of the Malay speaking natives in Borneo.

I cannot help but laugh when I read that certain individuals from Perkasa say that the Arabs are ignorant, when they allow non-Muslims to use the name Allah. So, are we saying that in Malaysia, a certain segment of the Muslim community are claiming superiority over the other Muslims in other parts of the world?

Therefore, it makes me agree with Humpty Dumpty that Muslims like you, Ibrahim Ali, Zulkifli Noordin, Syed Hamid Albar and the likes would rather pack what you choose to mean in that one word – nothing more and nothing less – when the word has so much wider usage than what your little mind can comprehend.

Don't tell me you are Humpty Dumpty waiting for the great fall!

Whatever you have said, Shaikh Dawood, holds no water. I would that you find a country in this world that would allow you to copyright the word Allah, and you could all pack your bags and go there.

I bet you will not find it here, or there in the life hereafter, because Allah is God, and God is Allah.

This whole issue about the word Allah is nothing but a game of politics by Umno at a time when Umno is about to sink.

Shaikh Dawood, let me end with this one question: How would you feel if you were living in the United States, and there Obama told you that you have to call your God by another name and your wife is not allowed to put on the purdah? Would you still obey the laws of the land?

Mutual respect is the key to peace and harmony between the people of different races and religions, and this is what the present Government since Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1986 banned the Alkitab, had failed to show any respect to the Christian community.

We have suffered in silence but now, we will speak up and pray that there will eventually be a change of government in the coming General Election.

Enough is enough! 56 years, and Umno has never learnt to live in peace and harmony with the rest of the Malaysian population.

*Stephen Ng reads The Malaysian Insider.