Spent the evening with my brother Lee and family and their guests including Anne's brother and his family from Kuala Lumpur and Lee Horng the youngest of the Ong brothers. One of the reasons why I return to Georgetown and it was well worth the trip from Kuala Trengganu. gave Lee a massage and received one back from Lee Horng. The rest is history... it was good to touch the bases of all those you find love in your life, friends and relatives alike.It was a great evening to spend the Chinese New Year. my lower back is screaming with aches and pains but it was well worth the drive back from K.Tr.
Lee and his family are devoted Christian and he is very much concerned with the present trend of religious deputes that includes the use of the Arabic word Allah in the translated to Bahasa Malaysia Bible being published by a church and later was confiscated by the Malaysian religious department.as illegal use of the the word by a non Muslim religious group....details! So i try to share with him his concerns and my take on the issue as best i could. Had he been following my blog entries for the last few days it would have made it more simpler, then maybe he does read it but wants me to take a stand in a conversation which includes his brother in law who is a heart specialist visiting from KL.
I told him the same thing about what I wrote earlier that it is to me an ignorance that both sides have towards the issue or perhaps too much understanding of it, the Word. It defies my intelligence to even dwell upon the subject, it simply is senseless bickering between brothers on who gets to carry on their father's name and who does not, but who am I to say as it is the court of the land that decided on this and I am just an ordinary citizen my thoughts and feelings are only just that; concerns. How far will this be dragged on? Till all hell breaks loose between the two religious groups simply because words cannot resolve the issue of one word.
We live in the age of information where knowledge is at our fingertips and we can understand beyond words most of us, and this is on both sides of the divide, Christians and Muslims alike. If our faith in the word is greater than our understanding of It than we will die defending the word we succumb to our base instincts of making it a war, we resort ways to our tribal ways and negative mindset. Is this what is going to cause the rift between two religions of the 'Book"? Are we not Brothers? Do we not worship the One True Being, whether we choose to call Him God or Allah (SWT)? Do we dare to commit a single crime against humanity based on our claims of the word itself.
Truth be told I take no side on this issue because I feel all great persons in this day and age of information will not undermine their intelligence by any stand on the issue. I assume against my best interest that most of us are capable of coming to a wise conclusion and the need tow in is not a factor; there is not winner in this issue. There is only the reflections of our own ignorance. We who tell ourselves that we cannot change the world but we can make every effort to change our own personal perceptions. There are things left unsaid or discussed among men except for the acceptance of things as they are and allowing for it to transform into what it is meant to be without our further feeding the flame of ignorance which will turn into hatred and then there is no more peace between brothers. Arguments will be thrown back and forth for or against we will al have our own personal views but, but not all of us are intelligent and this issue can be blown so out of proportion by those easily swayed by those who can persuade that we get ourselves entangled beyond redemption.
If I have to stand and defend myself as a Muslim, my faith in what the word 'Allah" stands for is questioned, "He who justifies does not convince, not even to himself." and Old Boy in China once said. Islam is total submission into the One True Lord of the Universe, again I call Him by his Muslim name of Allah.(SWT). You too can call Him that, if fact you should as this word in itself as it is, sound and spelling is unique and not to mention what it signifies spiritually, especially to Muslims. The word 'God' is used in the Bible through translations or Indo European origin, not a Biblical word, the word God never existed during the time of Jesus. Jesus called out to his Lord, Elohim! Read! Then again I am no Biblical scholar, but I know the word Gog if read from a mirror of itself becomes DOG. Not the best word to use for that which you worship. Again to each his own, you your way, I mine. Insha' Allah, God Willing we will come to a better understanding at the end of our days, In the meantime we need all our skilful means to contain the situation that it does not become more important than the rising cost of living, corruption and human, trafficking and such...lest we loose our sight of what truly is our problems today.
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