JAN 8 — I’m trying to make some sense of all the hot and toxic air that is being spewed out about the exclusivity of the use of the word “Allah” by persons who make it appear as if they are talking on behalf of Allah himself!  

If non-Muslims use the word “Allah” in all reverence to talk to their God during their prayers in their houses of worship in which there are no Muslims present, or should not be present even in disguise (as happened once), how does that affect the faith of the Muslims out on the street?

How can the presence of the word “Allah” in the holy books of other faiths which Muslims are prohibited from reading, affect the faith of the Muslims who do not read these books, or confuse them?

Anyway, if any Muslim wanted to read the holy books of other faiths for an understanding of those faiths, or for comparison of those faiths with their own, what is wrong with that? .These Muslims need not go to the churches or temples to find these books as these are available at the touch of a button on the computer.  

If it is wrong for the non-Muslims to say the word “Allah”, why is it not wrong for them to also hear this word? They hear it everyday from the loudspeakers of the Masjids and suraus. Have any of them complained about being confused about their own Gods after hearing the word “Allah” everyday? 

Now, I want to take this one step further and I mean no disrespect to anyone. I go to the market and see butchers selling beef, which is pantang (taboo) for me. Can I say that by displaying the beef in the marketplace which I have to go to to get fresh food for the table, these butchers are insulting me, not being sensitive to my sensitivities, or even that they are trying to convert me into a beef eater?  

So on seeing the beef, should I run amok, pick up the butcher’s knife and butcher the butcher who has not respected my sensitivities?  No, I choose to smile and just pass by. I don’t feel offended. My adrenaline does not rush up to make me loose my good senses. I do not create a ruckus.

Similarly with the display and sale of pork or pork containing products in the markets, shops and supermarkets. Does it mean that if a supermarket has pork containing products on its shelves which are accessible to Muslims and all alike, the supermarkets are trying to encourage the Muslims to try those products, or are trying to convert their Muslim customers to become pork eaters? It will be argued that the labels will indicate whether they are halal or not, and the Muslims will know how to avoid what is “haram”. So Muslims cannot be confused about what is halal and what is not for them to eat. 

Well, similarly, the covers of the bibles in the Malay language very clearly indicate that they are not halal for Muslims. So what is the problem? If a Muslim is caught eating non-halal food from a supermarket, who would JAIS or JAKIM or any other religious policeman go after - the person knowingly eating the non-halal food or the supermarket that is selling it with proper labelling?

So, with the Malay language bibles, which are properly labelled as “non-halal” for Muslims, why should any Muslim be reading them? What wrong is committed by having such bibles in premises which are out of bounds to Muslims?

JAIS’s afterthought of an excuse that it raided the premises of the Bible Society as it was duty bound to investigate complaint(s) received, holds no water. Only if Muslims were present and attending Bible lessons when the raid took place, could it be said that an offence had been committed. Even then, which of the parties would be wrong – the Muslims who had no business to be there in the first place, or the Christians in their own premises, or both as in the case of corruption where both the giver and the taker are said to be wrong?

The offence is in trying to convert Muslims to another religion. What rationality is there in the argument that when Christians use the word “Allah” during prayers in the churches, they are by some mysterious process, trying to convert the Muslims on the street outside?  The Muslims on the street would not even be hearing the word “Allah” as the prayers are not broadcast for the whole surrounding area to hear.

Islam is the name given to the way of life that the Holy Prophet practiced and taught his followers.  If he did not order his followers to prohibit others from practicing their own beliefs pertaining to God, then who are JAIS, JAKIM and similar other bodies to override the Prophet himself?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.