92% Dutch Catholics Oppose 'Allah' - "Its A Moon God"

Did Jesus Call God "Allah"?

Should Christians call God by the name “Allah”? They should if they heed the advice of Dutch Roman Catholic bishp Tiny Muskens. “Allah is a very beautiful word for God,” he recently told Dutch television. “Shouldn’t we all say from now on we will name God Allah?…What does God care what we call him?” 

He based his opinion in part on the fact that churches in Indonesia call God “Allah” in the Eucharist: “In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can’t we start doing that together?”

This suggestion, however, has not sat well with many Catholics. In a survey published in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraf, 92% of people polled opposed the Bishop’s view. 

Roman Catholic priest and FOX News analyst Father Jonathan Morris said, “I’m sure his intentions are good, but his theology needs a little fine tuning. Words and names mean things. Referring God as Allah means something.” 

Even the chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Gerrit De Fjiter, said “Calling God ‘Allah’ does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it,” according to AP.
 

It is not, however, that far-fetched as many people think. Since its very beginnings, Muslims have asserted that they worship the very same God as Jews and Christians, the God of the Bible, the God of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. 

Some Christian leaders have disputed this. The Rev. Pat Robertson, for example, claims that “Allah was the moon god from Mecca. 

That is why Islam has the crescent moon. The flag of Turkey has a crescent moon with a star in it.Well, the crescent moon is because Allah was the mood god, and that is the deal. But we don’t serve a moon god.”

2.    Dutch bishop suggests calling God Allah 

August 15, 2007 THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- 

A Dutch Catholic bishop who once said the hungry were entitled to steal bread and advocated condom use to prevent AIDS has made headlines again, this time by saying God should be called Allah. Breaking News Alerts "Allah is a very beautiful word for God. Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will call God Allah?" Bishop Tiny Muskens said in an interview broadcast this week. "God doesn't care what we call him." 

In this nation where religious tolerance has been eroded in recent years by a rise in radical Islam, the comments drew little support. Muskens, bishop of the southern Diocese of Breda, previously created a stir by suggesting the hungry could steal bread to feed themselves. He also supported the use of condoms as a way of reining in the spread of AIDS and suggested popes have term limits of 10-15 years and an age limit of 85. 

In an interview broadcast on Monday's edition of current affairs show "Netwerk," Muskens said he had worked in Indonesia where God is referred to as Allah in Christian services. 

But a spokesman for one of the capital's leading mosques said he was not happy with the statement. "We didn't ask for this, a spokesman for the Moroccan Mosque in Amsterdam told De Telegraaf. "Now it is as if we have a problem between Muslims and Christians." 

Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the General Synod of the Dutch Protestant Church, also rejected Muskens' suggestion. "I applaud every attempt to encourage dialogue with Muslims, but I doubt the sense of this maneuver," De Fijter told De Telegraaf.