I refer to the letter by HF entitled Why not use Iban word for 'Allah' in Bible translation?

The assumption in the letter is that 'Allah' or the Arabic word for God is exclusive to Islam and Bahasa Melayu, and that all Malaysians who are not Muslim but who use Bahasa Melayu should find another word.

Allah is a pre-Islamic term: Remember how the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) cleared out the Ka'aba of idols of Allah's sons and daughters? In addition, Christians in the Middle East pray in Arabic, and they use the term "Allah" freely during their prayer and services. So do Christians in Indonesia who pray in Bahasa Indonesia, and no o­ne in the largest Muslim nation in the world has forbidden them or banned their bibles which include the word "Allah".

It is disconcerting that Allah/God himself is being used to divide us yet again as Malaysians. o­ne would think that praying to God, using the word "Allah" for us - Muslims and Christians - People of the Book, is the highest honour we can give that name, and can forge a strong bond between us while race and other issues continue to create deep and painful schisms.

Think of how difficult it is for Christians to teach their religion to generations of Malaysians who are educated in Bahasa Melayu, yet have to find other terms and with the banning of books, English-language books to help children learn about God, ethics and values.

The government periodically reminds us of this need to moral education so as to combat 'social ills'. Isn't banning the use of Bahasa Melayu (because this is what it amounts to as there is legislation against other words in every state in Malaysia, beyond Allah) contradictory to this need?

Most of all, isn't Islam a religion of mercy and compassion, when every surah of the Quran begins with " Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim "? Where is the mercy and compassion, the generosity that underlies these wonderful virtues, when Muslims in Malaysia - perhaps to exacerbate their differences with the rest - manipulate the use of the word "Allah" in ways that other Muslims elsewhere in the world do not and will not?