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From: christy@CRVAX.Sri.Com (Christy Chase)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Why Allah?
Message-ID: <1991May8.200343.490@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 8 May 91 20:03:43 GMT
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In article <1991May7.223211.31482@wpi.WPI.EDU>, sch2q@palm.cs.Virginia.EDU (Saad C. Himmich) writes...
> 
>I really don't understand why people keep on calling God as Allah.
>Allah is just the arabic word for God. Keeping on saying Allah lead to a
>situation where non-muslims think that Muslims have a different God.
>Many christians I have been talking to have so many wrong ideas about Islam! 
>Allah is the same god that sent Jesus as a prophet. So why not say God
>or Dieu (in French) or Dio (in Spanish) or ... 
> 
While I can understand this idea, and I do often use the word God when speaking
with Christians, I must say that I also disagree.  What I understand is that
although God and Allah are alike, both refer to the One and Only Creator, they
are also different.  God may become gods, godess, or goddesses.  Allah is not
male or female and it cannot be made plural.  In this sense, it is much more
specific.  Also, this is the way Allah refers to Himself in the Holy Quran.
We should try to translate as little as possible, as in every translation there
is a loss or change of meaning.

Christy