image source Asian SentinelEditors note: The facts in the case are from The Asia Sentinel article: Malaysia Takes God's Name in Vain.The Malaysian authorities' refused to renew the publication of the weekly Catholic newspaper The Herald unless it stops using the word Allah as the word for God in the Malay language. According to Deputy Internal Security Minister Johari Baharum, "Only Muslims can use 'Allah'. It's a Muslim word, you see. It's from (the Arabic language). The word 'Allah' is published by the Catholics. It's not right. We cannot let other religions use it because it will confuse people." he was reported as saying.
The Newspaper answered, Muslims, like Christians, do not worship a person called Allah. They worship a single supreme being, which the Arabic language denotes as Allah. An English Koran uses the words "In the name of God the compassionate and merciful," not "In the name of Allah the compassionate and merciful." For Muslims, Jesus was a prophet of Islam, and the Koran represents the continuation of God's revelation begun in the Old Testament. If Malaysian Malays are confused about the distinction between Islam and Christianity because they use the same word to describe the one God, clearly there is a lot wrong with the educational system.