It may be that use of “Allah” in speaking with English speakers is innapropriate because it implicates that one is speaking about Islam (where not cancelled) – but still, if such traditions exist within the East, it seems a bit silly to insist that in their languages, the same implication exists.

That is incorrect. It’s a frequent misconception because many Arabic words that begin with “al” have that included article.

Maybe its not and I’m just making too much of it (though my own writing doesn’t show it, I can take words way too seriously sometimes).

My concern is more about how Christians in those regions communicate with non-believers, specifically Muslims. I can’t help but think that followers of Islam are getting the impression that the “Christian God” is just a slightly revised version of “Islam’s God.” In other words, do they think of Christianity the way we think of Mormonism?

I didn’t know “Jesus” (or Yeshua Ben-Joseph) was supposed to be a password. I thought He was supposed to be Lord? Silly me.

My superscript html tag didn’t work. Perhaps all the confusion can be cleared up by using ALT codes:

Allah ™ = Allah (alt 0153)
Allah † = Allah (alt 0134)

“Allah” already means, literally, “The God.”

Hypothetical:

Suppose I am one of the thousands of Christians in Damascus. I say, (in Arabic) the equivalent of “Praise God!” Is anyone who knows me confused about what I mean? Do they doubt my Trinitarian beliefs?

You might be confused about my beliefs . . . or some passing visitor from (say) Lebanon, but that does not seem like my fault. If I thought you unsure, I need only cross myself as I say it and then you would be sure.

This does not seem that hard to me.

All of this is an entirely separate question from whether Muslims are “pointing” to the actual God when they say Allah, given other beliefs they have when they say “Allah.”

That’s a tough question. First, I’d say that those who are most familiar with the culture (missiologist, bible translators) should decide whether it is even an issue. If it does cause confusion (as I suspect) then I think that some alternative should be proposed, say, adding a modifer or prefix (e.g., “The God”) or using an alternative term altogether.

In speaking to monotheists the Koran uses “Allah” as if it will be comprehensible to a non-Muslim audience as the name of God generally.

But doesn’t Mohammad assume that any reference to Allah is a reference to Allah? The Bible talks about gods and God and the distinction is clear. Is there not something similar in the Koran?

Jeff Are we talking about Allah, or Allahtm? :)

I think that is the solution: Muslims should add the copyright or trademark symbol to the name of their deity. (And if the non-Muslim Arabs had filed a trademark infringement case against Mohammad, we wouldn’t have to worry about this issue.)

I know I sound like a broken record, but I believe it is incumbent on Christians now, given the rampant pluralism and redefinition of terms, to be absolutely specific about the God and Lord we worship: Jesus.

To Name the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That would go a long way to preventing any possible confusion or misunderstanding what what we mean when we say “god” or “Allah.”

The Islamic “Allah” is not the God whom we worship and adore.

If Christians can’t figure that out, it makes me wonder what part of CHRISTianity they don’t get.

Are we talking about Allah, or Allahtm? :)

Hard to disagree with this when I can no longer say that someone is “bonnie, blythe, and gay.”

BUT:

What are native Arabic speakers supposed to call God? Should they rewrite liturgies?

Here is the worst problem:

In speaking to monotheists the Koran uses “Allah” as if it will be comprehensible to a non-Muslim audience as the name of God generally.

Do we now have to rewrite (Allah forbid!) the Koran?

Now it may be that I’m making much ado about nothing and that when people around the world hear “Allah” they are thinking of a “fill-in-the-blank god” like we do for the term “God.” But if they are associating it with Islam or at least with the characteristics of the Muslim deity, then that is a problem.

Also, I’m not convinced that we can’t abandon words just because they’ve been used in certain ways for centuries. There are a lot of good words that have been co-opted and have been encrusted with new connotations. Sometimes we have to let them go.

I imagine there are some Germans who wish they could have named their kid after a favorite relative but who would nevertheless never dream of naming them Hitler. ; )