Which Allah?

Submitted by Tony Costa (Canada), Sep 29, 2006 at 15:23

The word "Allah" like "God" is an empty term without a context, like a box that you can place anything in. The English word "God" denotes different things to different peoples of faith, To some Hindus, "God" is the impersonal force/essence of the universe, to Christians and Jews "God" is a personal Being, who is one.

Some Hindus affirm over 330 million gods, and hence are polytheists, whereas Jews, Christians and Muslims are monotheists. Anyone can use the term "God", but what do they *mean* by "God"? Definition is paramount at this point. Arabic Christians use the word "Allah" for "God", but no Arab Christian would agree that their definition of "Allah" is the same as Islam.

To Arab Christians "Allah" is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to Muslims, "Allah" is a monad, a unitarian being who does not have "a son" a clear denunciation of the Christian belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Furthermore, Allah in Islam is not "Father", while in Christianity and Judaism, God is seen and prayed to as "Our Father". Words are meaningless without context and it is here that the great divide between Christians and Muslims is seen. What Muslims means by "Allah" or "God" is not what Jews and Christians mean. Words can be deceiving.

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