This is a very sad situation. Allah is a word which means “God,” and in Arabic speaking nations Christians use it, just like in Greek speaking nations Christians say ho theos and in English speaking nations, we say God. In Malaysia, where Arabic is used, Christians are known to use the word Allah in worship and in their publications. There was an attempt to stop this, but the courts have thrown out the law which said the word could be used only by Muslims. Because radical Muslims want to keep the word to themselves, they have gone violent, and now are ruthlessly attacking churches in vengeance. Please pray for the situation, that law and order can overcome the disruption, and that the way of peace and forgiveness, as preached by Christ, will triumph.
The irony is that in English speaking nations, the people who would criticize and attack these Christians would not be Muslims, but their some of their fellow Christians. It’s quite common for an English-speaking Christian to denigrate the word Allah, to see it as some sort of name for a pagan God. I know — I’ve encountered such hostility when quoting Arabic Christian prayers. The immediate response is that I must be a closet Muslim and silenced.
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