The Mufti, Al Kitab, and the Name of God: the controversy of the Malay Bible in Malaysia

Regarding: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mufti-says-islamic-law-bars-release-of-alkitab/

I see that many of my respected friends disagree with this.

OK allow me to be the dissenting voice here, if I may. I see the issue as not being that of denying local Christians from access to the Bible. One can easily get copies of the King James version in any good bookstore in Malaysia. I have several. I am a Muslim. I do read the Bible (just as I read the Gita, the Sutras, the Tao Te ching and so on in addition to the Quran. Yes I have way too much free time). For the last 30 years.

If the people with vested interest here wants to make this simple, then why not reprint the word Allah as God is called in the Al Kitab, as Tuhan, which is the generic Malay word for God. That should solve the problem.

Nowhere is God called Allah in the King James version or Latin versions of the Bible. In fact, he would perhaps be more accurately called Yah-Weh (YHWH, or Jehovah) as in the Old Testament (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh) Since Jesus was a Jew and his intent was to reform the Judaism of his time, this would be VERY appropriate. Jesus spoke Aramaic. The Gospel was originally in Aramaic, then translated to Syriac and Coptic, then Greek, then Latin, and later into the English of the King James version. Nowhere in those versions was God called Allah. So why now?

What we are talking about here is INTENT. The INTENT to proselytize / convert, someone of Muslim faith. Because Allah is the original name of the God of Islam in the Quran . Of Muslims.

But, you may say, is that not the same God? Here in lies the issue. In principle, yes it's the same God. But NOT QUITE.

The Catholic Church, (and subsequently the Protestant Church, which is actually a dissenting branch of the Catholic Church after the Reformation) believes in the Trinity of The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost/Spirit. This was a result that was started by the Council of Nicea called by Constantine in 325 AD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Council_of_Nicaea). Starting from that, and eventually as a result of subsequent Councils the Nicene Creed was adopted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed). I can quote other sources, but wikipaedia is easily accessed by everyone, so lets stick with that.

In this Creed, Jesus gained the status of Divinity.

Note that the original Apostles' Creed, the earlier version based on Canonical gospels, the letters of the New Testament and to a lesser extent the Old Testament says NOTHING about the divinity of Jesus or the Holy Ghost/Spirit. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed). This change in the latter Nicene Creed is viewed by Muslims as a heresy (Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verses 116; http://quran.com/2/116 ), since Muslims view Jesus, and Moses before him, as merely preaching earlier versions of Islam, the monotheism of Abraham. (Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verses 62, 136; http://quran.com/2/62 ; http://quran.com/2/136 )

(I dont even want to go near the "Original Sin" Doctrine of the Catholic Church)

Even within Christianity this Trinity is an issue! There are sects that considers Jesus a mere man, not divine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorianism)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-Arianism)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Barnabas)(http://barnabas.net/how-the-gospel-of-barnabas-survived.html).

Yet after the original Council of Nicea, and subsequent councils, many Christian viewpoints and documents became labelled as heretical and belonging to heretical sects. Especially so were those who do not subscribe to the Nicene Creed. Only a few of those texts were included in the modern Christian Bible. Some are called the Apocrypha (http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/index.htm ). And some were totally excluded (http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/index.htm), considered totally heretical, and may be found in the so-called Gnostic Gospels (http://www.sacred-texts.com/gno/fff/index.htm;http://www.sacred-texts.com/gno/index.htm). But there are texts, such as the Book of Revelation, which was a work of St John the Divine, or St John of Patmos, parts of which was not even of Jesus' original teachings and found in the Bible!(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation;http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/kjv/rev.htm)

Recall that the burning of heretics was a historical fact of Christianity.

After the original Council of Nicea, as well as subsequent councils, there was a Great Schism in the Christian Church (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East-West_Schism). One of the greatest issues is that of the "filioque"(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filioque). This creed, foundational to Christian belief since the 4th century, defines the three persons of the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This formally equates the Son (Jesus) to the remaining members of the Trinity ( The Father and the Holy Ghost/Spirit ). In fact the Church of Rome once refused to lend support to the Emperor of Byzantium (The Eastern Roman Empire), then under attacks by the Turks, because the "filioque" was not incorporated into the Byzantium liturgy.

And later in one of the Crusades, the Crusaders actually sacked and destroyed Byzantium/Constantinople! The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian (Eastern Orthodox) city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire). The first official city of Christianity. This is seen as one of the final acts in the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church.The crusaders established the Latin Empire (1204–1261) and other "Latin" states in the Byzantine lands they conquered. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade)

So why does it matter to us you say? Because in Islam the GREATEST SIN is the equation of ANYTHING or ANYONE to Allah (Al Quran, Surah 112, Al-Ikhlas; http://quran.com/112/ , which Muhammad SAW has called half of the Quran). In ISLAM, to do so is SHIRIK, to equate something with ALLAH is FORBIDDEN.

"La Sharikalahu, Wa Bizalika umirtu, Wa anna minal Muslimin: I am not one who equates (anything else with Allah), that is how I was taught, I am someone who has surrendered (to Allah)." is part of the Creed of Abraham that is recited in the beginning of the Islamic Prayer (Solat).

THE SHAHADAH or the Muslim's Creed states: "There is no Allah (God) but Allah (God). And Muhammad is his Prophet".

There in lies THE Schism between Islam and (mainly) Catholicism and its offshoots.

Islam accepts Jesus, the one of Virgin Birth.(Al Quran,Surah 3, Al-Imran, verses 42-63; http://quran.com/3/42) (Ah....some of you of the less devout persuasion may also laugh and question the virgin birth.....but then I suggest you look up "parthenogenesis". You may yet learn something. Biologically, scientifically, this is NOT impossible!).

Islam accepts the Holy Spirit ("....., We gave Jesus son of Mary Clear (Signs) and We strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.........." (Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verses 87; http://quran.com/2/87))

Islam accepts the Torah/The Laws of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus/Isa ibni Maryam. (Al Quran,Surah 3, Al-Imran, verse 3; http://quran.com/3/3 )(Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verses 62; http://quran.com/2/62 ) .

ISLAM DOES NOT ACCEPT THE TRINITY. THIS GOES AGAINST THE MAIN CREED OF ISLAM. ( Al Quran, Surah 9, Al Tawbah, verses 30 ;http://quran.com/9/30 ; Al Quran, Surah 4, Al Nisa, verses 171 http://quran.com/4/171 )

THEREFORE, BY THIS ARGUMENT, THE GOD OF THE TRINITY IS NOT ALLAH!

And as the name ALLAH was never used in any previous/original/earlier version of the Bible, only in this so-called Malay version of the text, when Allah is not even a Malay word for God, (which is Tuhan in Malay), and Allah is actually the name of God in the Quran, then quite obviously the use of the name Allah in the Al-Kitab is actually INTENDed to confuse and proselytize Muslims, especially young, confused or poorly informed ones into converting to Christianity.

AND IN MALAYSIA, BY LAW, TO PROSELYTIZE TO MUSLIMS WITH INTENT TO CONVERT THEM TO CHRISTIANITY IS AGAINST THE LAW!

So back to the original story......http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mufti-says-islamic-law-bars-release-of-alkitab/

Well maybe the guy has a point, you know!

Now does this worry me tremendously? No. Personally, I think we are talking about the same God.

And to me the heretical belief is the Catholic Church, and only mainly because the founders pandered for political/temporal reasons to Emperor Constantine, who originally was a follower of the Cult of the Sun; thus Sunday (Sun-Day) is now the Holy Day, instead of Saturday (Saturn-Day) or Sabtu in Arabic/Malay, which is the original Sabbath of the Jews, of whom Jesus was. The Cult of the Sun or Sol Invictus, Constantine's original State Religion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Invictus) probably originated from Egypt under Pharaoh Akhenaten (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aten ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hymn_to_the_Aten), which was one of the first monotheistic cults.

After all before Constantine Christianity was a persecuted religion in the Roman Empire! So when the Bishop of Rome took over the role of Pontifex Maximus, the powerful head of the former Roman State Religion, under Emperor Constantine's protection, the persecution of Christians stopped.

It's also worth noting that Pontifex Maximus was a role filled by the Emperor/Caesar himself (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Roman_Republican_holders_of_the_role_of_pontifex_maximus), but Constantine did not personally become a Christian until late in life and was often based half a European continent away from Rome in Constantinople (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great#Religious_policy). So the Bishop of Rome usurped this position, which has become institutionalized today being as that of the Roman Catholic Pope (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifex_Maximus).

Even in Constantinople, Constantine did not assume the head of Christian religion there and deferred to the Bishop of Byzantium/Constantinople, who is today the Primate or Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church. Yet unlike the claimed Primacy of the Pope, the Roman Pontiff, over all other Christian Churches on Earth, and imposition the Doctrine of the Papal Infallibility, the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church only considers himself the first amongst equals. This dissent to the claimed Primacy of the Pope is another disagreement with the other Christian Churches that is at the core of The Great Schism.

This is an example of how the Catholic Church usurps prevailing cultural symbols in dominant societies in it's missionary work and in the attempt to become the dominant sect. In the process it has incorporated heretical principles into its theology.

Don't you ever wonder why Christianity celebrates the so called Birthday of Christ (Christmas Day) on different days, according to which denomination that you belong to? The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January the 7th. But why the 25th of December?

In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar in his Julian calendar established December 25 as the date of the Winter Solstice of Europe. Since the winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as midwinter, the longest night or the first day of winter. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice#Date)

The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days in the Northern Hemisphere/Europe/the Roman Empire.

Since then, the difference between the calendar year (365.2500 days) and the tropical year (365.2422 days) moved the day associated with the actual astronomical solstice forward approximately three days every four centuries, arriving to December 12 during the 16th century. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decided to restore the exact correspondence between seasons and civil year but, doing so, he did not make reference to the age of the Roman dictator, but to the Council of Nicea of 325, as the period of definition of major Christian feasts. So, the Pope annulled the 10-day error accumulated between the 16th and the 4th century, but not the 3-day one between the 4th AD and the 1st BC century. This change adjusted the calendar bringing the northern winter solstice to around December 22.

In 274 AD Roman Emperor Aurelian (a predecessor to Constantine) consecrated the Temple of Sol Invictus (the Cult of the Sun) that he built to celebrate the God's support to his victories over revolts in Egypt, Syria and Gaul (today France) which had threatened to split the Roman Empire. The consecration took place on the 25th of December, the Julian Calendar's Winter Solstice. Following this date the days of gradually becomes longer until mid-summer, thus the "re-birth of the Sun". Thus subsequently in the Roman Empire this date has been celebrated as the birthday of the Sun.

When the Bishop of Rome usurped the position of Pontifex Maximus and effectively took over the official position of the Head of the Roman State Religion, formerly the Cult of the Sun or Sol Invictus, he did not bother to change the date of celebration of the birthday of the then Official God of the Roman Empire, Sol Invictus.

Why confuse the ordinary layman citizen? To change the Birthday of God would have been totally confusing! What more to explain why the founder of this new religion died on the Cross, and not really the main god, according to their theology. After all the punishment of crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals of the Roman Empire! The Roman Emperors were warriors who look to their God to help them win wars. Constantine was inspired by a vision that supposedly urged him "with this sign, conquer". "According to Christian writers, Constantine was over 40 when he finally declared himself a Christian, writing to Christians to make clear that he believed he owed his successes to the protection of the Christian High God alone" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great#Religious_policy ). "Thou shalt not kill" is not a law that is emphasized.

Thus to this day Christmas of the Catholics is celebrated on the 25th December.

This history of the Catholic Church's subversive methods in its missionary work is especially reflective of what it is trying to do in Malaysia by incorporating the Quranic name of God, Allah, in the Malay translation of the Bible, Al-Kitab, that it is trying to import into Malaysia, when the Name was never used in any original versions of the Bible, and the generic name for God in Malay is "Tuhan". The intent is to proselytize and convert Muslims to Christianity.

While it is easy to feel sympathy for the Catholic Church of Malaysia's insistence that this is about freedom of worship and human rights, I suggest that this is not that easy and innocent.

The Catholic Church once ruled all of Europe and it ruled not with compassion but rather with an iron fist. The cruelty and the corruption of the Church of Rome was well documented and was what led to the Protestant Reformation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation#Corruption; http://www.adishakti.org/_/peter_de_rosa_vicars_of_christ_the_dark_side_of_the_papacy.htm). And yet the Church for all intents and purposes has never apologized nor owned up to its excesses.

Even today, despite slight appearances of accommodation on contemporary issues, including contraception and AIDS, by the late Pope John Paul II and the present Pope Benedikt XVI (born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, a German) essentially no change has been made to the Church's position on these matters.

This is all about the Doctrine of Papal Infallibility, meaning any theological position taken by the Pope cannot be in error.

Yet as we have seen, the Popes and the Church has been wrong often in the past. The Pope is after all a mere man. The most glaring was the doctrine that all celestial bodies revolved around the Earth, the dissent for which Galileo Galilei was punished, forced to recant, and imprisoned in his home until death. Yet as we all now know Galileo was right and the Church was wrong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo#Controversy_over_heliocentrism). And Galileo was lucky. Many thousands others were tortured and killed in the most cruel ways.

In recent years we have also seen the Church being complicit in the coverup of the sexual abuse of children under its care by priests. Pope Benedikt XVI, as Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop of Munich was involved in the coverup of priests' abuses there too (http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4656143 ; http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/21/pope-benedict-xvi-catholicism).

It bears reminding that the current Pope, Pope Benedikt XVI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI) , as Cardinal Ratzinger held the Office of Prefect of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)(Congregatio pro Doctrina Fidei), previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition (wherefrom arose the names Roman Inquisition or Holy Inquisition popularly used in reference to the 16th century tribunals against witchcraft and heresy).

Indeed it was this body within the Catholic Church that oversaw and was responsible for the unbelievable cruelty to and murder of thousands (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition) who were deemed devil-worshippers, witches, infidels and heretics, and the destruction of native cultures, in South America as well as Europe. It was done in the name of God but in reality it was done for gold, silver, riches and temporal power. Forget not the gold that was robbed from South America and brought to Europe, minted into Spanish Real (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_real ; http://bruceruiz.net/PanamaHistory/treasure_fleet.htm). For awhile the Spanish Real became the currency of world trade between the 16th and18th Century. (Even today in Kelantan, locals refer to one Ringgit as one "Rial". Cambodia's currency is still called Riel today).

Yet despite not having recanted these past wrong doings, they would have you believe that what they are doing today is merely practicing a simple faith.

I think not. Do not be so easily deceived.

While the West are becoming more secular, in developing countries the converts are still on the increase. The Church is intent on getting converts in Malaysia, by any means possible.

Do not forget for a moment that given the opportunity the Church will be back to its ways of the past. If they have to lie and cheat to regain worldly power, then as they have unscrupulously shown in the past they are not averse to that. If that were to include falsely accusing others of wrongdoing, I have no doubt that they would do it. After all they have never recanted their past actions.

But I don't lose sleep over it. I hold to the verse in the Quran that states "There is no compulsion in Religion" ( Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verse 256; http://quran.com/2/256). And I believe TRUE Islam is inclusive: " Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christions and the Sabians - any who believe in Allah and the Last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." ( Al Quran, Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verse 62; http://quran.com/2/62)

In Malaysia I believe everyone can practise their faith, as long as they don't trespass. (And in civil society, especially a multicultural one, one should not trespass!). Just as it once was practised in the Al-Andalus (Moslem Andalusian Spain; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus). Which is more than what can be said of other places. In fact even in Andalusia, as soon as Muslim Spain fell to the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella, all the Jews and the Muslims remaining were forced to convert to Catholicism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_the_Moriscos) under threat of death! And that was the beginning of the Inquisition!

And lest it be forgotten, it was this Inquisition that led to the exodus of Jews ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra_decree ) from Spain to North Africa and Istanbul, and later to Amsterdam. Yet before the fall of Andalusia to the armies of Ferdinand and Isabella all communities lived in harmony and tolerance there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus).

Muslim rulers in the past have always showed tolerance to other faiths, in return for peaceful coexistence and payment of the Jizya tax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizya). But this is no different to the expectations of Muslims who is expected of the same and the payment of another type of tax called the Zakat ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakat ).

As we have seen, the same cannot be said of Catholic powers.

There is no doubt gaining converts is what the Catholic Church really wants to do in Malaysia. And to take over the country politically if possible. The Catholic Portuguese tried it once.

After the Fall of Malacca in 1511 CE/AD, it took 450 years before the natives of the Malay Peninsula regained political independence from the forces of Colonialism. This year will the be the 500th anniversary of the Fall of Malacca to the Portuguese. And the Catholic Church is trying it again, through deception if they must.

Please understand that in saying all these I am not trying to offend the ordinary Catholic layman. I recognise that he/she is trying to worship in peace and probably is not really aware of the history of the Catholic Church outside of what is written in the Bible. And the Church has not been active in educating the layman on its less than illustrious past. But the Catholic Church is not a mere religious organization. Don't take my word for this, do your own research.

So there. I have said it. I have a feeling this is going to let more feathers ruffle and fly. Let the straws fall where they may.

free website hit counter code