Of course your first question would be, where? Because we know that in this world Christians are not welcome in some parts. If I told you this was occurring north of Edmonton, you would be shocked. If I told you that this was occurring in Moscow, you would be curious. But then when I tell you that this actually occurred in Malaysia it would be fair to say that many would greet this news with indifference, saying, “What does this really have to do with us?”
That would be a fair response. However, this story is a rather prickly one, because what you may not know is that the church mentioned is a Catholic congregation that has a practice of printing a Roman Catholic Newspaper in a country that is 60% Muslim. At this point some people may adjust their trucker's hat and condemn the Muslims for attacking a Christian church, thinking once again that it is 9/11 all over. But that response would not be fair. Because what the church did was petition the Malaysian courts for permission to use the name Allah instead of God in their published stories. Once permission was granted they did just that.
The reason for wanting to use the name Allah instead of the usual terms used in Christianity such as LORD or Heavenly Father, was to reach out to the majority Muslim community in an effort to get their attention and introduce Christianity for the purpose of evangelizing. In simpler words they believed it was a soft sell to conversion.
It pays to advertise because I can't help to consider that they got the attention of their market and at least their intended audience came within an arm's throw distance of the church. But what this speaks of is the Church's failure to do “due diligence” in understanding their market. For they assumed the name Allah was just the Arabic translation of the name God. In fact, in this world, God by any other language or faith can be referred to as Yahweh, Elohim, Adonia, Shen, Eluah, Bhogwan, Wageguru, Ishvara, Jehovah and Father. Islam not only refers to God as Allah but they also have a list of “99 of God's most beautiful names”.
The actions of this Muslim group that attacked the church are not justified by any legal standard even in Malaysia where Islam is the official religion and the courts are to follow the jurisdiction of Shariah Law. Nowhere in the Qur'an does it justify acts of violence when someone outside Islam refers to Allah, but what this speaks of is the ignorance of the Malaysian Roman Catholics in using Allah as a Christian term publicly.
It comes down to the old phrase, “You say Tomato and I say Tomawto.' (phonetically spelled) So really, what's in the name? It actually came down to the understanding of God in accordance to Christian doctrine.
God to the majority of Christians is a triune God. God is One God in three distinct, but not separate, persons. There is God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Triune meaning three in one. So in essence, the Christian understanding is that only one God is worshiped and therefore Christianity is a monotheist religion. In fact, Judaism as well as Islam are monotheistic. So for a western view of this offense against the church in Malaysia, we once again adjust our trucker’s hat and claim persecution of the church. Again, that would not be fair.
The Triune doctrine is just one problem that these hooligans saw in using Allah as a Christian God, because to them there is only one God and Allah is his name. To Muslim's the understanding of who Allah is to them is found in the 112th Sura in the Qur'an. It simply states that “In the name if Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate. Say (O Mohammad) He is Allah the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone.”
Do you see it? If the Malaysian church had made an effort to understand and read this, the attack on the church would not have happened. Because, under the Christian understanding, Jesus is the son of God, and God the Son. He was born of a virgin, begotten by the Father, and under mainstream Christian teachings which definitely includes Catholicism, Jesus is God.
The two opposing doctrines of Christianity and Islam, the understanding of God is simply an irreconcilable difference. According to Islam under the 112th Sura, the use of “Allah” as a Christian God, is an offense to Islam.
In a country where only 9% are Christian, and over 60% are Muslim, and a country where Religion and State have not been separated, the Christian church should have at least understood that using Allah as a public term for God was not a soft sell to evangelism but rather a narrow view.
So what's in a Name? Plenty.
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