Clearing the confusion on the use of Allah in Bahasa Bibles

From Dr SK Teoh. Published by Free Malaysia Today on 31 December 2012.

Many Muslims and even some Christians have misunderstood the use of “Allah” in Bahasa Bibles.  To clarify some of the confusion:

• The BM Bible or the Alkitab is not translated from the English Bible but from the original languages, i.e.  Hebrew and Greek.
• The Hebrew word for God is El or Elohim (similar root as Ilah in Arabic) and YHWH or Yahweh for LORD. The Greek words are Theo for God and Kurios for Lord.
• Biblical translators all over the world have used the local language terms for Elohim and Yahweh e.g. God and LORD in English; Dios and Senor in Spanish, Shangti and Zhu in Chinese
• For 15 centuries, Arabic Bibles have used Allah for God and Rab for Lord (predate Islam)
• The first Malay translation of the Bible was made in 1612, and Allah was used for God and Tuhan for Lord in this and all the subsequent translations till today.
• Malay-speaking (and Iban) Christians have used the term Allah for more than 100 years in Malaya and the Borneo states in worship, prayers and reading their holy scriptures.
• Twenty million Christians in Indonesia have used Allah for years without any misunderstanding or objection.
• English Bibles nor Bibles of other languages obviously do not use the Bahasa terms.
• Forbidding the use of the term “Allah” by Christians not only infringes their rights to practise their faith but also leads to confusion. For example, is the “Tuhan” in Negara-Ku and Rukun Negara not the “Muslim God” or can Christians sing the Selangor Anthem where “Allah” is used?
• Theological  meanings between Christianity and Islam  will always be different whether the term used is “Allah” or “Tuhan” or “God”.

Link:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2012/12/31/clearing-the-confusion-on-the-use-of-allah-in-bahasa-bibles/

Johor State Anthem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johor_State_Anthem

Allah peliharakan Sultan
'Nugrahkan dia segala kehormatan
Sihat dan ria, kekal dan makmur
Luaskan kuasa, menaungkan kami
Rakyat dipimpini berzaman lagi
Dengan Merdeka bersatu hati
Allah berkati Johor
Allah selamatkan Sultan

Related report: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/embrace-islam-if-you-want-to-use-allah-harussani-tells-non-muslims/

Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria today told non-Muslims who insist on using the word “Allah” to refer to their Gods to convert to Islam if they refused to accept that the word belongs only to Muslims.