No end to 'Allah' row with politics part of the mix

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YOURSAY ‘It is the most useful weapon Umno has in its arsenal to use when in trouble.’

Three PMs, three broken promises on 'Allah'

FairMind: The answer is simple - every Umno leaders past, present and future, need Christians as scapegoats to shore up their popularity with the rural Malays to stay in power.

When former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad asked the question what if Muslims take the Bible out from the church compound, read it and get confused by it, it is very clear the Christians can do no right no matter what. You should change your strategy to talking to the prime ministers because by doing so, it will only help them. And they will come back to you for more.

Kangkung: Not in a million years will this ‘Allah’ issue will be resolved as it is the most useful weapon Umno has in its arsenal of weapons to use when it is in trouble. If you want any concession from Umno, wait till GE14 is around the corner then it will come up with one of its fables again, like the so called '10-point solution' .

Sali Tambap: I have been asking, what is there to be confused about? I suggest one way to solve this is to start a campaign in a big way - through forum, media, relevant religious departments, mosques and churches. Pick out the issue of the confusion and then move on to explain it along the lines – the Islamic belief as compared to Christianity belief.

Council of Churches secretary-general Herman Shastri is right for the most part – that the Bible is a Christian holy book for Christians from which most of its belief is founded on. It is not an Islamic holy book.

It never is and never has been.Both adherents of the respective religions must be clear about the Bible - it is a Christian holy book and therefore it does not teach Islam. It has nothing to do with Islam.

No Christian sermons had, have and will mention Islam, not, at least, that I know of, simply because Islam as it is today was non-existent as far as the Christian Bible is concerned. Do get this right, especially in the dense heads’ of those Muslims in Umno.

I am saying this because most Muslims are not this stupid, they are able to distinguish what is and what is not part of their religious teachings.

PK: For this issue to be outstanding for so long, there must be good reasons. Comparatively small groups of "leaders" and "spokespersons" on this issue appear to have other hidden agenda. Islam, as I understand it from some renown religious leaders worldwide through their writings, YouTube etc, is certainly not this way. Why, oh why, does this happen only in Malaysia? Are the majority of Muslims here feeling the same, too?

Apa nama: All the three PMs only gave short-term solutions. They wanted to keep this issue unresolved because they need this issue to strengthen their power base among the Malay Muslims. This is the tactic they used. In short, there is no genuine solution.

OH YA?: There will not be any solution if the politicians continue mixing religion with politics to gain political mileage. Where on earth other than in Malaysia do they have a national religion?

The ruling elites under siege is using religion to divert attention. And the politicking lingers on endlessly since GE13 whereas the real issues of rising cost of living, middle income trap, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), National Automotive Policy (NAP), National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), falling education standards etc, etc, are conveniently forgotten for the tine being.

Armageddon: The ruling against the Malay-language Bible seems to be getting more and more stringent. Could it be due to our PMs are getting more and more religious every time there is a change in PM? They seem to be even more religious than PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Guys, don't judge a book by its cover.

Multi Racial: They imply Muslims are confused lot as anything printed in Bahasa Malaysia can affect them. There are Quran written in English and many other languages and you do not find other races in this country or other countries complaining about it.

In China, the Quran and Bible are in Mandarin, but were the Chinese confused by it? No. So please, have faith in Muslims and trust your fellow citizens regardless of their race or religion. Focus on uniting and not dividing the people.

JusticeNow!: The Allah issue is nothing but Umno’s insecurity, period. They put fear and create insecurity among the Malays to secure their position as the champion when they cannot stem the march of Pakatan Rakyat.

The truth is there are more non-Muslims converting into Islam than the other way around due to marriages. It is just a simple task for all mosques and suraus to be issued a copy of the Alkitab and that way, all Muslims can have a good look at it and be told that this is not the Quran but a Christian Bible. Problem solved.

Mirror Mirror On the Wall: What is Herman suggesting? That Christians abandon their strategy of peaceful negotiations? If they do, then they will fall into the trap of their opponents that is baiting them to a fight.

There is a time to fight and a time to make peace. A time to sow and a time to reap. Is this the time for a fight? I don't think its enough reason. You cannot reason with the unreasonable.

Sleepy: It is not that the Malay and Muslims are confused, but rather the government will "crack". It's political and the three PM's have proved it. Don't be "confused", it is not Christianity against Islam.

Cocomomo: Christians must remain firm in their beliefs and be and act peacefully at all times. Christians should use peaceful and lawful means to assert their rights.

They should not react negatively just because those less civilised and lacking in knowledge or those who support extreme groups led by selfish leaders become abusive or violent.

Such leaders will ultimately have to answer for their actions to the Supreme Creator. Christians should live by example and not become like those who practice wrong ways.

YF: When the "leader" of a country fails to have any integrity, the whole government and it's executive bodies will also follow the same. That explains the dire strait that Malaysia is in. We now see a collapse of law and order and everyone acts above the law, even those who are suppose to uphold it.

Not Confused: The Malay Muslims in this country should be utterly ashamed and embarrassed by this ridiculous issue that has dragged on for years now. Muslims in this country are led by the nose by an arrogant dictatorship of Umno (forget the other parties within the BN coalition, for they count for nothing now).

Umno needs to keep the Malays under some undefined threat and encourage this siege mentality in order to keep them under their control.

Pemerhati: The ‘Allah’ issue and the controversy it generates enables Umno to show the gullible, naive and simple Muslims in the rural areas that it is the champion and protector of Islam and hence worthy of their electoral support.

Unless the differences in constituency electorates are limited to 15 percent above or below the average constituency electorate, as was the case in 1957, it will be virtually impossible for the opposition to win in any future elections.

1Malaysia2Agama: It all boils down to Umno's policy of ketuanan (supremacy) of race and religion. Umno needs to be seen to be holier than PAS. Politics, race supremacy and religion make a dangerous cocktail- we are now in living in turbulent times. May God Almighty protect us all.

Fairnsquare: The Prophet's assurance to Christians in AD628: "Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses." Umno seems to have totally disregarded this.

Tiredofsuchnonsense: If the orders of the cabinet can be defied so easily and conveniently, what credibility is there to talk about except lawlessness and civil disobedience.

Wake up Umno/BN minority government and do something if you are still in office. Otherwise, please vacate for a more capable team to take over. We just cannot allow our beloved country to rot further.


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