KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia's "Allah" dispute heads back to court, Perkasa's Datuk Zulkifli Noordin has batted for the Home Ministry, saying the Malay version of Christianity's holy book is not "authentic" because it is only a far-removed translation.
In his attempt to dismiss the historical claim forwarded by Christians here on their right to use the Middle Eastern word for god, the vice-president of the far right Malay group also painted a dire outcome for the mainly Muslim nation that has become religiously conservative over the years even as it seeks to turn into a global economic force by 2020.
"A fundamental thing I got after reading the Al-Kitab, the Malay version of the Bible is that actually it is not the Injil as Muslims understand. It is actually the translation of the book called the Bible from the English version. "This means the Malay-Indonesian language version of the Al-Kitab Bible does not deserve to be called the original holy book, instead it is only a translation," Zulkifli wrote in an opinion piece published today in Umno-owned Malay broadsheet, Mingguan Malaysia.
In making his case, the lawyer moved to link Muslims, Christians and Jews as coming from a common religious history as members of the same Abrahamic family upon which the divine message had been revealed. Apart from the Quran, Muslims believe in the existence of three other holy books, Zulkifli said and named them as the Taurah, the Injil and the Zabur.
According to the Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, the Taurah -- also called the Tawrat -- refers to the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, and is commonly associated with the divine message as revealed to the Jews; the Injil refers to the Gospels of Jesus and the Zabur refers to the Psalms of David. "Whatever it is, we must realise that Moses and Isa were Jews. Therefore the original holy book as revealed to them was certainly in Hebrew or Aramaic," Zulkifi said.
He added: "Meaning that which can and qualifies to be called the holy book are texts in Aramaic, the language used by Moses and Isa. That is the book that should be the authority. As the Quran in Arabic is for Muslims." However, Zulkifli said Muslims believe the original Taurah and Injil are gone, with the Quran being the sole divine message revealed, which was why Muslims regard it as sacred.
In contrast, Christians regard the Bible as their word from god, but the former federal lawmaker cast doubt over its authenticity, claiming the book was actually a combination of two separate texts, the Old Testament that was originally written in Aramaic for the Jews, and the New Testament, originally penned by a Christian cleric of Roman ancestry named Saul. "This book was in Greek.
The Church then combined these two Testaments and labeled it the Bible. The Old Testament was translated into English from its original texts in Aramaic while the New Testament was translated into English from the original Greek.
"This English language Bible was the source of translation for the Malay-Indonesian Bible Al-Kitab," Zukifli said, and further argued that the Al-Kitab was so far removed from the original that it could no longer be regarded as anything but a thrice translated text, having passed through Aramaic, Greek, old English, new English before appearing in Malay and Indonesian.
He insisted that if anyone were to debate the divinity in the Christian faith, he or she must refer to the original texts in Aramaic or Hebrew. "So allegations that the Malay-Indonesian language Bible or the Al-Kitab is the original and authentic holy book are completely without basis. It is only a translation!" he said.
In his preamble to his article, the 51-year-old who has repeatedly drawn attention to an "aggressive" conspiracy to convert Muslim Malaysians to Christianity, pushed for Christian s to be denied any claim to "Allah".
"Their latest demand is for the right to use the word 'Allah'in their book and publications! What will be the effect of Christians are allowed to use the word 'Allah' in our country?" he asked. "Can we guarantee that when our children say 'La ila ha illalah -- There is no God but Allah'; are we convinced our children is referring to Allah as understood by Muslims to be Allah Almighty?
Or is he referring to Allah the Three In One Trinity that Christian missionaries have tried to graft onto us -- Allah the Father, Allah the Son and Allah the Holy Spirit! "This is what we must understand. This is a direct effect that will happen if Christians are allowed to use the word Allah in this country," he warned.
To back his argument that Muslim Malaysians may become a religiously confused lot if non-Muslims were allowed to use "Allah", Zulkifli pointed to an event at an inter-creed marriage in an unnamed neighboring. The groom was Muslim and the bride, a famous artiste, was a Christian, he said.
After their wedding, he related that the bride was asked if she would follow her husband and embrace Islam. "The answer of this famous and beautiful actress should serve as a lesson for us: Why should I change my religion! Isn't my god and his god the same," Zulkifli said, and added, "Allah! Na'zubillah minzalik!" The last phrase in Arabic is a prayer often invoked by Muslims asking for protection from a future disastrous event.
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