Catholic Bishop Favors Beautiful Allah
- From: Kayid Al-Kuffar <Kayedhom@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 08:23:43 -0700
Catholic Bishop Favors Beautiful Allah
By Nasreddine Djebbi , IOL Correspondent
THE HAGUE - A Roman Catholic Bishop in the Netherlands believes
people of all faiths should use Allah, the Arabic word for God, which
is already being used by Arab-speaking Christians, to foster
interfaith understanding.
"Allah is a very beautiful word for God," Bishop Martinus "Tiny"
Muskens, from the southern diocese of Breda, told the "Network"
television show earlier this week.
"Shouldn't we all say that from now on we will name God Allah?"
Bishop Muskens, 71, said that Arabic-speaking Christians already use
Allah to refer to God.
He added that in Indonesia, where he spent eight years, priests have
for decades been using Allah while celebrating Mass.
"In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why
can't we start doing that together?"
The Catholic bishop said people are needlessly "bickering" over such
terminology.
"What does God care what we call him? It is our problem."
Bishop Muskens has broken with Vatican leadership to endorse the use
of condoms as a means of preventing the spread of AIDS.
In 2006, he traveled to Uganda to endorse the work of a group called
Stop AIDS Now, which emphasized condom distribution.
He has also suggested that those who are hungry may steal bread to
eat.
Long-term
Gerrit de Fijter, chairman of the Protestant Church in the
Netherlands, welcomed any attempt to "create more dialogue."
He does not support the suggestion.
"Calling God Allah does no justice to Western identity. I see no
benefit in it," he told Netherlands' biggest-selling newspaper De
Telegraaf on Wednesday.
A survey in the daily said 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people
polled disagreed with Bishop Muskens.
Bishop Muskens, who is retiring soon for health problems, recognizes
that his suggestion might take a century or two to gain widespread
acceptance.
The word "God" gives the meaning of giving, fairness and capability.
The word's root can be found in the Arabic term jude (generosity),
which root is jawada. Its equivalent in English is the word "good".
As for the word "Allah", it recognizes the English word "all", giving
one of the best characteristics of Allah's attributes; The All-
Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing, All-Merciful etc.
Every baby born has, as his first utterance, the short "a" sound,
which is an expression of the oneness of humanity, in relation to its
Creator.
Also, all final deathbed gasps exhale the "h", the last letter of the
name of Allah.
This is because He is the First and the Last!
When we scream in pain or cry out in fear, or grunt and groan during
strenuous exercise or disgust, or exclaim in joy or surprise, it is
the very same... "ahhh" that we all emit.
http://tinyurl.com/2mw7xf
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