Bibles released from prison

I just got the news I had been waiting for - 35,000 Bibles have been released from prison (well customs custody actually) in Malaysia. Praise God.

It was in the home of Iban friends in Subu (in Sarawak, East Malysia), over a kitchen table loaded with empty bear cans and chicken bones, that I heard the story last month. As a result of a long runing dispute within Malaysia as to whether Christians can be allowed to call God "Allah", the port authorities in East Malaysia first impounded 5,000 Bibles and then another 30,000 which Christians were trying to bring to their, quite substantial, communities in Sabah and Sarawak. The post authorities threatened to destroy the 'illegal' books. Last week I heard from another friend in West Malaysia, Bishop Ng Moon Hing, that a group of church leaders were mounting a high profile, and internationally publicised, protest. Fortunately Pakatan Rakyat (opposition) politicians picked up the case and today the government ordered port officials in Kuching and Klang to release the Bibles.

So why do Christians in Malaysia want to call God "Allah" in the first place. Very simply because "Allah" is the natural translation of the English "God" and Hebrew "El" in their language, Bahasa Malaysian. They are not alone - many Christians across the Middle East, who speak Arabic and related languages also call God "Allah". Perhaps a more sensible question would be, "Why do British Christians want to call Allah "God", and in so doing adopt an old word from northern Europe with pagan origins!

Language is fascinating and can lead to heated debates. I also heard tonight of another debate raging in certain mission circles about whether we should, or should not, avoid talking of Jesus as the "son" of God when sharing our faith with Muslims - because they find this so offensive. For most Muslims "son" implies a biological (yes, sexual) relationship and so in saying Jesus was the "son" of God we are affirming that God had sexual intercourse with Mary - that's the only possible interpretation. Some missiologists however are now pointing out that even the Qu'ran uses "ibn" (son) in ways that are not biological or literal. Sura 2:177 talks of a traveller as being a "son of the road" for example. So, the arguement goes, we should not give up on the use of "Son of God" but rather help our Muslim friends to see the deeper meanings of "sonship".

Isn't language complicated! But tonight my thoughts are with Iban friends in Sarawak who can once again buy a Bible in their own language - and worship "Allah".

Can I call you Allah?

"Thank you Mr. Oxbrow", says the young call centre worker in Bangalore when I give him my account details, "can I call you Mark?". When I have spent too much of my precious evening talking to call centres I must admit I am sometimes tempted to reply, "No, please call me Your Majesty". Names are important. The fact that one person calls me "Mr. Oxbrow" another "Padre" but most people "Mark" says something about the relationship I have with those people.

Yesterday an angry mob in Kuala Lumpur felt so strongly about names that they set fire to a church, tried to burn three more and damaged cars belonging to Christians. They were Muslims reacting to a court ruling that Christians were free to call God "Allah". (A friend, Bishop Ng Moon Hing of Kuala Lumpur, has written a response which you'll find on the Faith2Share website.) Whilst Christians in Malaysia have been campaigning to be allowed to use the word "Allah" for God in their local language Bibles, Muslims have maintained that they alone have a right to use this word. Of course there are many Christians as well who would be concerned about calling God "Allah" because of the confusion, they claim, it causes.

Underlying all this is the much deeper question - is the God whom Christians worship one and the same as the God to who Muslims pray in their mosques? That's a 'big question' which I don't intend to answer here ... other than to suggest that if God is really God then there can only be one God and we are not in a position to choose which God we want to worship. So ??

Perhaps, like the call centre worker, we need to ask God what he would like us to call Him. God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Jesus - in the end they are only names, surely not worth fighting over. Pray peace on Malaysia.