Amid the heated debate on whether Christians can use the term Allah, Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin argues that it is an issue of translation.
Quoting the bible in the Hebrew language, the former PKR MP noted the portion where Jesus Christ, following the crucifixion, had cried, "Eli, Eli, Lamma sabachthani."
In English, he said, the sentence was translated as: "My God, My God, why have thy forsaken me."
However he added that when translated into Bahasa Malaysia (the Indonesian version), the sentence read: "Allahku, Allahku, mengapa kau tinggalkan aku."
On the contrary, Zulkifli argued that the correct translation should have been, "Tuhanku, Tuhanku, mengapa kau tinggalkan aku."
"In Bahasa Melayu, 'God' means 'Tuhan'. And this is the reason why the Rukunegara states 'Kerpercayaan kepada Tuhan' and not 'Kepercayaan kepada Allah'," he added in his blog.
Zulkifli said that Christian evangelists had either "deliberately or ignorantly" translated the word "God" to "Allah".
"So the issue of forbidding Christian evangelists from using the term 'Allah' is not an obstruction or violation of their religious freedom," he said, adding that Christians are allowed to freely practice their faith in Malaysia.
The former Kulim Bandar Bahru MP also noted that the Christian God in the original Hebrew bible was named "Yahweh" or "Yhwh".
"However, they were forbidden from using this term as Lev 24:16 stresses: 'He that names the name Yahweh shall surely be put to death'.
"This means their bible forbids Christians from uttering the name of their God. We don’t hear them discussing about this... But they are keen on the 'misuse' of the term 'Allah'," he added.
Zulkifli also backed the enactment that bars Christians and other non-Muslims from using the term "Allah" and 35 other terms in the practice of their respective faiths.
"This is because Allah is not the God they believe in, 'Allah' is not the God they pray to, Allah is not the God whose teachings they adhere to.
"So Muslims must not become confused to the point of wanting to defend the so-called rights of the Christian evangelists to use the term 'Allah'. They have erroneously translated the term... So it is our (Muslims) duty to correct this mistake," he added.
Quoting the bible in the Hebrew language, the former PKR MP noted the portion where Jesus Christ, following the crucifixion, had cried, "Eli, Eli, Lamma sabachthani."
In English, he said, the sentence was translated as: "My God, My God, why have thy forsaken me."
However he added that when translated into Bahasa Malaysia (the Indonesian version), the sentence read: "Allahku, Allahku, mengapa kau tinggalkan aku."
On the contrary, Zulkifli argued that the correct translation should have been, "Tuhanku, Tuhanku, mengapa kau tinggalkan aku."
"In Bahasa Melayu, 'God' means 'Tuhan'. And this is the reason why the Rukunegara states 'Kerpercayaan kepada Tuhan' and not 'Kepercayaan kepada Allah'," he added in his blog.
Zulkifli said that Christian evangelists had either "deliberately or ignorantly" translated the word "God" to "Allah".
"So the issue of forbidding Christian evangelists from using the term 'Allah' is not an obstruction or violation of their religious freedom," he said, adding that Christians are allowed to freely practice their faith in Malaysia.
The former Kulim Bandar Bahru MP also noted that the Christian God in the original Hebrew bible was named "Yahweh" or "Yhwh".
"However, they were forbidden from using this term as Lev 24:16 stresses: 'He that names the name Yahweh shall surely be put to death'.
"This means their bible forbids Christians from uttering the name of their God. We don’t hear them discussing about this... But they are keen on the 'misuse' of the term 'Allah'," he added.
Zulkifli also backed the enactment that bars Christians and other non-Muslims from using the term "Allah" and 35 other terms in the practice of their respective faiths.
"This is because Allah is not the God they believe in, 'Allah' is not the God they pray to, Allah is not the God whose teachings they adhere to.
"So Muslims must not become confused to the point of wanting to defend the so-called rights of the Christian evangelists to use the term 'Allah'. They have erroneously translated the term... So it is our (Muslims) duty to correct this mistake," he added.
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