Open Letter to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur

I just sent this letter to The Sun Daily, The Star, The Malaysian Insider and The Malay Mail Online.  I'm not sure if it will get published.  However, I share it here.

Most Reverend Tan Sri Datuk Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam, PSM, PJM
(Image from Wikipedia)

Open letter

to

Most Reverend Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam,

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur

Your Grace,

I am writing this as a concerned Malaysian Muslim on the distress caused by the “Allah” issue on the inter-faith/inter-ethnic relationships in our beloved Malaysia.

Before I begin, permit me, Your Grace, to quote from the well loved children’s book ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carroll.

 ‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

 ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

I begin with this quote because I think that words do have meanings of their own and should not be taken out of context or used in ways that it was not intended to be used.

In writings on or about Islam in English, ‘Allah’ is often rendered as ‘God’.  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).

Your Grace has been quoted in the media as saying, “The First Article of Faith in the Catholic Creed and for all Christians is: ‘I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth’.  Any Christian, who denies or modifies this statement of faith, incurs excommunication and would be considered a heretic. It is to be noted that for centuries the Bahasa Malaysia translation and the Arabic equivalent of the one God, is the sacred word Allah, which the Christians have been using peacefully.”

As a Muslim, I fully support anyone’s use of ‘Allah’ in the context that Your Grace was quoted above, whether Christian or otherwise.  (I must qualify that this is my personal opinion and may not reflect the views of the Malaysian Islamic authorities.)

In the AlKitab, God is translated as Allah.(e.g.: Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. / Kejadian 1:1  Pada mulanya Allah menciptakan langit dan bumi.)  This, I think, is the God/Allah that Your Grace refers to.

However the AlKitab also translates god and gods as allah, albeit with a lower-case ‘a’. (e.g.: Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods...  / Ulangan 32:17 meraka mempersembahkan korban kepada roh-roh jahat yang bukan Allah, kepada allah yang tidak mereka kenal, allah baru...)

To the best of my knowledge, there is no allah (with a lower-case ‘a’) in the Malay Language.  Even in Arabic, god is i’lah.  The Malay word for god is dewa, with the plural form written as dewa-dewa.  God is also Tuhan.

Interestingly though 'Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites' in 1 Kings 11:5 is translated as 'dewa kejijikan' while 'Milcom the god of the children of Ammon' in 1 Kings 11:33 is 'allah'.

                                                                                                                        

Goddess is translated as dewi.  (e.g. 1 Kings 11:5 … Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians… / 1 Raja-Raja 11:5  … Asytoret, dewi orang Sidon… )

In Malay, Allah is always the proper name, while Tuhan is the general term used for God.  The Translators of the AlKitab have chosen to reverse the order, so that Tuhan is the proper name and Allah is the general form.  (e.g.  Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! / Ulangan 6:4  Dengarlah, hai orang Israel: TUHAN itu Allah kita, TUHAN itu esa!  Also in: Mark 12:29 ...Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. / Markus 12:29 ...Dengarlah, hai orang Israel, Tuhan Allah kita, Tuhan itu esa.)

Your Grace, I cannot claim to know the intentions of the Translators of the AlKitab.  I can only assume that they were persons well versed in the Malay Language who choose to follow Humpty Dumpty.  I find this misleading, deceitful and dishonest, and as a Muslim I feel extremely hurt and insulted.

Your Grace, in the interest of truth and harmony, may I suggest that Your Grace appoints a person or persons to undertake an honest and accurate translation of the Bible in the Malay Language.  Deo volente, we will have an early closure to this issue.

May the Almighty bless and guide us in all our endeavours.

I am, Yours respectfully,

Shaik Dawood

Note:     Bible quotes in English from New King James Version, quotes in Malay from AlKitab (Lembaga AlKitab Indonesia)

The 'ALLAH' Issue, Will there be a resolution any time soon?

'Palace of Justice'
Putrajaya, Malaysia
(from Google Images)

The Court has decided and now the court of public opinion is in full swing.  While some agree that it is about 'preventing confusion' and 'preserving harmony' many others are asking, "what happened to freedom of religion?"  I have shared my opinion earlier here, here and here.

In Islamic writings in English, 'Allah' is often rendered as 'God'.  However, some scholars maintain that the word should not be translated as 'Allah' is unique, while God can be general or specific (god/God), male or female (god/goddess), singular or plural (god/gods).  Moreover 'God' has different connotations to different people based on that individual's conception of God.

The Sikhs use 'Allah' to describe God as do the Qadianis. (In Malaysia, as in Pakistan and other Muslim countries, the Qadianis are not considered Muslims.) Those of the Baha'i Faith probably also do the same.  (The founder's name is Baha'u'llah.)

Now let us look at the Christian use of the word.

In the English Bible, there is not only the word 'God', but there are also 'god', 'gods' and 'goddess'.  God may be translated as Allah, but how do you translate the other three?

In the AlKitab [the Indonesian Bible] God is Allah [upper case first letter for both]. (e.g.: Genesis 1:1 / Kejadian 1:1), god is allah [lower case first letter for both] (e.g.: 1 John 4:8 /1 Yohanes 4:8) gods is also allah [the 's' plural form to be understood from the context] (e.g.: Deuteronomy 32:17 / Ulangan 32:17 ... demons that were no gods, to gods they had never know, to new gods...  ...roh-roh jahat yang bukan Allah, kepada allah yang tidak mereka kenal, allah baru...), but goddess is dewi [here a Malay word is used instead of an Arabic one] (e.g.: 1 Kings 11:5 / 1 Raja-Raja 11:5).

Interestingly though 'Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites' in 1 Kings 11:5 is 'dewa kejijikan' while further down in 1 Kings 11:33 'Milcom the god of the children of Ammon' is 'allah'.

In Malay, God [upper case 'G'] is Tuhan, while god, gods and goddess can be rendered as dewa, dewa-dewa and dewi respectively. Even in Arabic, god [lower case 'g'] is i'lah not Allah.

So if the Church insists on using Allah to include god and gods (as used in AlKitab), it could be seen as act of provocation (i.e. purposely using words out of context with possible intent to offend/insult) and not about freedom of religion.

Bucky Quotes

R. Buckminster Fuller
(image from http://www.rwgrayprojects.com )

With all that is happening around us everyday these days, I'd like to share the following Bucky quote for us to reflect on.  I copied it from the book "A Fuller View" by L. Steven Sieden.


What can a little man effect toward such realizations in the face of the formidable power of great corporations, great states, and all their know-how, guns, monies, armies, tools and information?

The individual can take initiatives without anybody's permission. Only individuals can think, and can look for the principals manifest in their experiences that others may be overlooking because they are too preoccupied with how to please some boss or with how to earn money, how to take care of today's bills. Only the individual disregards his fears and commits himself exclusively to reforming the human environment by developing tools that deal more effectively and economically with evolutionary challenges.

Humans can participate - consciously and completely - in fundamental ways, to changes that are more favorable to human life.  It became evident that the individual was the only one that could deliberately find the time to think in a cosmically adequate manner.

Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue/Scenario

Reviving Communist Ideology

Karl Marx, author of Das Kapital
and The Communist Manifesto
Image from Wikipedia

Now that Chin Peng is dead, communism is again in the spotlight.  The IGP says that stern action will be taken against those trying to revive communist ideology in Malaysia.

I remember reading somewhere that the reason the socialist / communist movement hasn't taken real root in the United States is that it has high levels of economic productivity and social mobility. Also contributing is the the strength of their religious beliefs and the absence of feudal remnants.  The poor considers himself / herself a millionaire who just happens to be down on his / her luck at the moment.

This is in opposition to Russia and elsewhere in Europe where it held appeal to distraught workers and others who feel oppressed.

Maybe the authorities should take the above into consideration before they come up with some hastily laid plans 'to curb the disease', so to speak.

Al Quran Al Kareem

Al Quran cover
Image from Google Images

I've been attending weekly lectures, together with some family members, at this place in Taman Tun. It's on tafseer, an explanatory translation of the Quran.

One of the points that the Ustaz keeps repeating is about the Muslim's duties towards the Quran. There are obligatory duties (i.e. Must do) and there are optional ones (Nice to do).

Among the optional duties are that one should read the Quran, memorize it and seek blessings from it.

Among the obligatory duties are to understand the Quran, ponder upon it's teachings and implement them in our lives.

When I think about it, my emphasis has always been on reading it (never mind if I don't understand the meaning of what I read) and seeking blessings from my reading.  On memorizing, I've done a few short surahs (chapter) just so that I can perform solaah (ritual prayers).

I've never really given any importance to understanding the Quran let alone implement its teachings. Earning a living was already hard enough, and letting religion get into it was unthinkable.  Of course I did my solaah and my sawm (fasting), but that was it.

May Allah forgive me for my ignorance and guide me (and all of us) to His Way.  Ameen!

AlKitab - my personal view

Image from Google Images

Actually this is still about the "Allah" controversy.  Many of my Christian brothers and sisters, including my brothers and sisters of other religious persuasions, think this is only about language so why the fuss?

When we translate religious texts into other languages, the name is usually not translated.  That's why we have the Quran (sometimes spelled Koran), the Gita, the Vedas, the Tao and etc. all in English.  In Malay, the names are retained but the spelling may differ slightly based on pronunciation.

The Bible is translated as AlKitab in Indonesian, but the word is not Indonesian but Arabic.  In Arabic "kitabun" is a book while "Al Kitab" means "the book" but the Bible is not "a book" nor "the book", it is a collection of books (the number varies among the different denominations), so why the need to translate the title?  Why not leave it as "Bible" or "Bibel" based on the way it is pronounced.

The Old and New Testaments are translated as the Perjanjian Lama and Baru.  To me the word "Testament" means a covenant, a statement of belief, an evidence of proof or something in those lines.  "Perjanjian" on the other hand simply means an agreement or contract.

Coming to "Allah", it is Arabic and not Malay.  If it is to be used, it must be used in the way it is understood in Malay i.e. the specific name for God.

The problem with using it in the Bible is that God is used sometimes as the specific name for the Deity and some times in the general sense.  Other times the specific name of the Deity is Lord, Lord God and even Lord Jesus.

I think that the way forward is for the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, as the "guardian" of the Malay Language, and the Church authorities to get together in producing an accurate Malay translation of the Bible.

Having said that, what about those, like the Islamic religious authorities, who think that having a Malay translation of the Bible would lead to mass apostasy among the Muslims?  My answer is, "Please resign your posts.  If you cannot educate Muslims in the proper concepts of their faith, why are you there?"

Adverts in my mailbox

Pamphlets littering the street
Image from Wikipedia

I'm sure you find pamphlets, ad magazines and other unsolicited advertisement stuff in your mailbox from time to time. I'm no exception and often the thing is discarded even without a second look. Sometimes, however, I do browse through booklets or magazines just to see what is being offered.

Usually there are offers for goods and services and there have been one or two occasions where I have actually dialed the phone numbers given to make inquiries.  I have yet to make a purchase though.

Lately a lot of money lenders have also resorted to this medium to promote themselves.

What fascinated me to write this post today were advertisements in one of the ad mags from two Wats (Thai Buddhist Temples) in our Northern States.  They were offering help to those who were down on their luck.  Nothing interesting about that!

What was interesting was that they both carried a testimonial each, purportedly from Malay Muslims, on how they were helped in overcoming their hardships and how thankful they were for having relied on these temple priests.  One was a lady who won the 4-digit lottery to ease her financial burdens, the other a male did not specify the nature of his problems but is ever thankful to the priest who helped him even if he is of another religion.

I'm sure the "Champions of Islam" will be aghast at these acts of apostasy (not to mention the advertisements itself), but I would like to know where they usually hide when their Muslim brother or sister most need them.