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From: lateef@eemips.tamu.edu (Afroz Lateef)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Why Allah? (Why not).
Message-ID: <1991May9.114157.21740@wpi.WPI.EDU>
Date: 9 May 91 11:41:57 GMT
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In article <1991May8.200343.490@wpi.WPI.EDU> christy@CRVAX.Sri.Com (Christy Chase) writes:
>
>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.
>>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.





     I will have to agree with christy over here in this respect.
I come from India, and over there if one says God, then the question
 will be : which God. Hindus beleive in numerous Gods, god of fire, 
god of light, god of destruction, death, wind, rain etc. etc.

 If God in Arabic is Allah, then (not that i disagree) how about the tr
  translation "La- Ilaha ill-allah"  There is no god but Allah.

Being a muslim we should stick to Arabic as much as possible.
  We should say Bismillah, but not in the name of God.
 
  Better is to write whenever one writes Allah, then in brackets
 write god.



Afroz Lateef