KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 — Seven Islamic experts who attended a forum organised by the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) here today to discuss the use of the word “Allah” as a replacement for God, were of the view that the translation was not accurate.
The seven experts were Assoc Prof Dr Kamar Oniah Kamaruzzaman from the Usuluddin and Comparative Religion Studies Department of the Interational Islamic University Malaysia; Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin, the Religious Advisor to the Prime Minister; PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang; Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) supreme council member Dr Mohd Nur Manuty; former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin; Ikim’s Humanities and Economic Studies Centre director Dr Mohd Sani Badron and Md Asham Ahmad, a Fellow at Ikim’s Syariah and Law Studies Centre.
The forum entitled “Terjemahan God Sebagai Allah: Mengenalpasti Punca Permasalahan dan Penyelesaiannya” (Translating God as Allah: Identifying the Cause of Problems and Finding Solutions) lasted some eight hours from 8.30am and was chaired by Ikim director-general Datuk Nik Mustapha Nik Hassan.
Ikim president Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (picture), at a press conference afterwards, said the forum also surmised that the translation of Allah as God was factually wrong because it contradicted the concept of God as espoused by Islam in Malaysia.
He said the forum succeeded in achieving its objectives, which was to identify the causes and clarify the background of the problem on the translation from the perspective of religion, language social aspects and law.
“The forum also stressed on the understanding and context of the use of Allah in the Quran, touched on Islamic jurisprudence on the use of the word Allah by religions and cultures other than Islam as well as reach a unity in thinking among Islamic experts and leaders,” he said.
Abdullah added that the stand of the experts would be brought to the attention of the government and that another forum on managing crises between religions would also be organised by Ikim on Jan 25.
He said the forum on Jan 25 would also involve leaders of the Malaysian Consultative Council on Buddhsim, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), and was aimed at seeking solutions to misunderstandings to preserve the multi-racial harmony in the country.
Abdullah said Ikim hoped the followers of all religions respected the boundaries of their own religions so that unwanted incidents like what happened recently would not recur.
“In today’s discussion, we all agreed that all Malaysians must respect and uphold the Constitution of Malaysia, which allows freedom of religion to be practiced in peace and harmony,” he added. — Bernama
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