Comments on: Bup Kudus

by: nelzs

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

As a Christian from Sabah, neighbouring state of Sarawak, i can tell you that we too use “Tuhan” and “Allah” interchangably in our Bibles. And we (of people of any religion) would use “salam” simply to mean “shake hands.” And we say “Astaga!” — which comes from “Astaghfirullah” — as if we would say “Oh maaaan!” to indicate shock or surprised disappointment.

by: Bin Gregory

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Thanks, I didn’t know that! Still, I think my point stands, that Tuhan is the original word for God in Bahasa Malaysia and the other languages in the same language family. If I were translating, I would choose the original over the borrowed. It’s not a religious objection, mind you. It’s the same problem I have with English words getting carried over into Malay in preference to perfectly good Malay alternatives, like opsyen instead of pilihan.

by: Sharizal

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Dear Bin Gregory

Nice blog! I have added you into my Daily Reads…

Anyway, your are right about using “original over the borrowed” is a preferred choice, and I agree with you on this but I have to point out that the usage of Astaga and Allah outside of the Malay(Bumiputra?)-Muslim circle has its roots from Indonesia.

I used to live there from quite a number of year and I recall Sunday sermons on TV in Bahasa Indonesia and the reference to God as Allah.

Mind you, I was only in my early teens then, and I was quite confused over the usage of Yesus (Tuhan)nand Allah (Tuhan) in the same sentence.

I do not know if you or nelzs would share my opinion, but I think the Ministry should at least impose an age limit on the access of this Bible?

by: nelzs

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

Not letting kids read the Bible?! Preposterous! Makes no sense either! I’m under the impression that using “Allah” in a Christian Bible is offensive, correct?

For Mass and prayer in Malay and ethnic languages, Christians here solemnly use “Allah” without any association with Islam, and it’s even pronounced differently. I did think it was wierd at first as a kid, but I easily found it acceptable. Personally I figured that since BM is so infused with Arabic influences, non-Malays/Muslims simply adopt Arabic words when they adopt BM. There’s nothing wrong there. Well, though I commend the expansion of vocabulary for the national language, I do think “opsyen” instead of “pilihan” sounds a bit silly… but come on, not “Allah.” I think my question is: can a religion have ownership to a word; any word for that matter?

by: Bin Gregory Productions

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 +0000

You’re right, nelzs. The confusion argument doesn’t really fly, Sharizal, even if we say that a muslim might decide to become a christian on account of it. That’s because it is every bit as likely that an Iban christian might “get confused” when encountering Islam and become muslim, perhaps more so since Islam is the majority religion. My point is that the use of the word Allah in itself does not constitute proselytizing, in my opinion, which would be the only possible reason to consider a ban.

Nonetheless, I can understand the concern on the part of the Home Ministry only because missionary activity in muslim lands is often done in an artfully underhanded way. This is what I was alluding to with the Arabic Bibles that begin with Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Here we have not just a translation of a word, but the introduction of a distinctly Islamic invocation that does not occur in the Bible. This could only have been done to make the Bible more comfortable and inviting to muslims.